Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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128. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to address service reliability on bus routes in Kildare north, given repeated last-minute cancellations and ghost buses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63499/25]

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 want to reassure the Deputy that as part of my regular engagement, I met with the NTA last week to discuss a range of public transport matters, including the recent performance issues. I had also previously met with the NTA specifically on ghost buses, and they fully acknowledge that an inadequate level of service has been provided on certain routes in recent months, and they have been working closely with the operators to rectify the situation.

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.