Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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216. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the status of the installation of the next generation automatic vehicle location system on bus services nationally in Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35409/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy may be aware, as Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure, including the development of related technology systems.

The NTA awarded a contract to implement and support a National Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) system for all Public Service Obligation (PSO) buses to Trapeze in December 2023. This upgrade will improve the quality of bus service operations and the timeliness and the quality of real time bus service information.

This will enable the NTA to consolidate several existing bus AVL systems into one central system to be used by all PSO bus operators in Ireland and has expansion capacity to meet the growing demand for public transport in Ireland. The migration to this upgraded system is expected to take place across the coming years.

Noting the NTA's responsibility in the matter, I have referred the Deputy's question to the NTA for a direct reply. Please contact my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 days.

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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217. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of so-called ghost buses, mystery buses and disappearing buses reported on Dublin Bus routes from January 2025 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35410/25]

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, in this case, Dublin Bus.

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.

The query raised by the Deputy is an operational matter for Dublin Bus in conjunction with the NTA. I have, therefore, referred the Deputy's question to Dublin Bus and the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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218. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the budget allocated to Dublin Bus for the introduction of new bus services and the enhancement of existing services across Dublin from January 2020 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35411/25]

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, in this case, Dublin Bus.

The Department of Transport secured €658.442 million of funding, in Budget 2025, for Public Service Obligation (PSO) and TFI Local Link services (an increase from €613.813 million in 2024).

This includes funding for the continuation of the 20% fare reduction on PSO services, the Young Adult Card on both PSO and commercial bus services, and the 90-minute fare until the end of 2025. Funding was also secured to extend free child fares on PSO Services to include those aged 5 to 8-years old, and to support the roll-out new and enhanced bus and rail services under programmes such as BusConnects and Connecting Ireland.

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

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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219. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of lost trips per month from January 2025 to date on services operated by a company (details supplied) in Dublin west including the W4, L52, 236, 238 and 270 in comparison to the overall number of trips on the timetable for each route, and as a percentage of overall services per route. [35412/25]

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, in this case, Go Ahead.

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. The NTA continues to engage with Go-Ahead to enhance service reliability and ensure continuous improvement.

I am aware that Go-Ahead experienced difficulties in maintaining service levels, particularly in the first quarter of this year, primarily due to a shortage of mechanics. In response, the company undertook a number of remedial actions, including flying in additional mechanics from its UK operations and securing further technical support from external sources.

I understand that the situation has since improved significantly, with fleet availability returning to normal within a relatively short period.

I can assure the Deputy that this Government is committed to delivering an accessible, reliable and affordable public transport system for all our citizens, including children.

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

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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220. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of lost trips per month from January 2025 to present on services on Dublin Bus services operating in Dublin west in comparison to the overall number of trips on the timetable for each route, and as a percentage of overall services per route; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35413/25]

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, in this case Dublin Bus.

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 and Dublin Bus’s responsibility in this area, I have forwarded the Deputy's question to them both for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.