Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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42. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his Department is aware of the ongoing infrequency of some older bus routes following the most recent phase of bus connects, such as the 11 bus; the steps his Department is taking to ensure a reliable service for users, and address any barriers to full operation of services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34940/25]

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.

The performance of all public transport operators is monitored by the NTA as part of their contractual arrangements. 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.

BusConnects is a transformative programme of investment in the bus system, providing better bus services across our cities. It is the largest investment in the bus system in the history of the state and is managed by NTA.

I can assure you that my Department is committed to providing investment in our public transport network and that I am supportive of the Governments goals in delivering an accessible, affordable and reliable public transport network throughout the country.

In terms of frequency, we are supporting the rollout of increased service levels on existing services and ensuring enhanced frequency on new services as they are rolled out.

On reliability we have major infrastructure plans under BusConnects for each of the five cities as well as introducing improvements to vehicle location system and the real-time passenger information, all of which will improve the reliability of the system.

New bus services in Dublin are already being delivered, with the first five phases of the Network Redesign rolled out in recent years. Most recently, the E-Spine connecting Ballymun to Bray and L routes in Wicklow rolled out in January this year.

Overall, BusConnects will transform bus services in our cities, allowing passengers to travel more conveniently, quickly and sustainably, and I look forward to its full implementation.

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