Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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88. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if the National Transport Authority real-time app is to be replaced; the timeline for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22838/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally and for the scheduling and timetabling of these services in conjunction with the relevant transport operators.

I understand that the data displayed in the TFI Live app is provided directly by the bus operators and that it is the responsibility of the operators to provide accurate vehicle location data relating to all their services. This data is provided by the on-bus AVL (Automatic Vehicle Location) system which records the position of the bus as it proceeds on its route and generates predicted arrival times for each bus stop.

The NTA TFI Live app receives this data from the bus operator and publishes it in the app. The issue of a bus service being displayed in the app but not showing up at the stop is typically caused by the operator not cancelling that service in their AVL system if that service is not being operated (for example, due to a shortage of drivers). TFI Live cannot display a service as cancelled if it has not received the appropriate cancellation message from the operator and as a result it reverts to showing the timetabled time that the bus is due to arrive at a stop.

The performance of all public transport operators is monitored by the NTA as part of the contractual arrangements in place between it and the operators. These contractual arrangements allow for not just the monitoring of performance by the NTA and the publication by it of annual performance reports, but importantly, the contracts also allow for the imposition of financial penalties where performance does not meet the required standard.

In light of the NTA's responsibility in this area, I have referred the Deputy's question to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.

James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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89. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport which routes in Dublin will be prioritised for the initial rollout of the transport security force; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22822/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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There is a strong commitment under the Programme for Government to create a Transport Security Force under the NTA, which would operate and have similar powers to Airport Police and Customs Officers.

Work in the my Department is ongoing around identifying the necessary legislative proposals to progress the Transport Security Force commitment, in conjunction with the NTA.

The decisions regarding the appropriate model for the Transport Security Force are currently ongoing and in the preliminary stages of the deliberative process, however it is important to note that the introduction of such a force will require the development of legislation, which can have a significant lead time.

Nonetheless, the Government commitment to delivering a safe and secure public transport network, and the ongoing interim work on public transport safety, will continue, as will the continued support and funding for operator measures – such as the recent extension of the Dublin Bus Security Pilot Scheme.

Anti-social behaviour is a broad societal issue, to which public transport is unfortunately not immune, and it is those passengers and staff who regularly use and work within our public transport network who are most directly impacted by any safety or security incidents that may occur on the network.

We will continue to work with all stakeholders to provide safe, sustainable public transport.