Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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105. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the improvements planned in 2025 to ensure greater and more seamless access to public transport for those with disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33746/25]

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I know that for disabled people being able to make seamless journeys in accessible environments and on public transport are critical to their daily lives and active participation in society. Ensuring they have 'access of choice' and are empowered to access education, employment, health services and recreational activities on the same basis as everyone else is paramount.

During 2025, we are making public transport more accessible for disabled people, by firstly ensuring new services, facilities and infrastructure are accessible from the design stage. This means that, for example, new services under Bus Connects and the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan use accessible buses.

However, the real challenge is our older infrastructure, which is why we have allocated increased funding in 2025 to retrofit such legacy infrastructure. The 2025 allocation of €25m for the Public Transport Retrofit Programme is a 67% increase over the 2024 allocation. During 2025, the Programme is funding accessibility improvements in bus and train stations, the installation of accessible bus stops in rural and regional areas, the installation of accessible bus bays and the allocation of grant funding for more wheelchair accessible taxis. For example, funding under this Programme has contributed to the increase in wheelchair accessible taxis from 4% in 2024 to 25% in 2025.

It is also important to provide supports for disabled people, including those with hidden disabilities, to travel independently on public transport. During 2025, in line with the Programme for Government, our agencies will continue to provide Disability Awareness Training to front-line staff, and continue to promote the Just A Minute (JAM) card for those with communications difficulties. The NTA is also planning the expansion of the Independent Travel Support scheme, previously called the Travel Assist Scheme, to more regional areas following on from its success in the cities and its introduction in Galway in January 2025.

John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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106. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport for an update on the development of a map displaying all public transport services, nationally and regionally, including a print version as well as an online, digital version; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34001/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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As Minister for Transport, my role involves setting public transport policy and overseeing overall funding. However, I am not involved in day-to-day operations. The statutory responsibility for delivering and managing public transport services, including the publication and maintenance of network maps, rests with the National Transport Authority (NTA).

I have been informed by the NTA that they have developed a wide range of network maps that cover the public transport network, which they have published on the Transport for Ireland/TFI website.

These maps include a TFI Regional Public Transport map that displays regional bus routes, rail lines, train stations, airports, ferry ports and also included points of interest across Ireland. They have developed six city network maps covering Dublin, Cork Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Kilkenny, including the different bus and train routes for each city.

There are also maps summarising town bus services available in Cavan, Navan and Drogheda as well as Portlaoise Clonmel and Sligo areas.

I have also been advised that members of the public can obtain digital maps for individual journeys on the TFI website. These can be accessed on the journey planner section of the website by inputting the preferred route number.

The NTA have confirmed to my Department that they are currently working on an updated version of their network maps with regard public transport and hope to be in a position to publish them in the coming months.

The use of these public transport network maps forms a key part of transport planning, and work in line with the Programme for Government commitment for the improvement of transport networks countrywide, to promote increased business investment in the economy and the supply of new housing.