Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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135. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he is aware of service challenges on Bus Éireann routes serving Ashbourne and Ratoath in County Meath; his plans to address these; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51160/25]

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 Bus Éireann.

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 Bus Éireann, in conjunction with the NTA. I have, therefore, referred the Deputy's question to Bus Éireann and the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.