I thank the Deputy for raising this important topic, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. From the outset, I would like to clarify that the Minister for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding in respect of public transport but neither the Minister nor his officials is involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services. The statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally rests with the NTA. The NTA works in conjunction with the public transport operators that deliver the services and have responsibility for day-to-day operational matters, in this case Go-Ahead Ireland. That said, I reassure the Deputy that the Department is strongly committed to providing all citizens with reliable and realistic sustainable mobility options, and public transport plays a key role in the delivery of this goal. To support this objective, in budget 2025 the Department of Transport secured €658 million of funding for public service obligation, PSO, and Transport for Ireland, TFI, Local Link services, which was an increase from €618 million in 2024. That 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 has also been secured to extend free child fares on PSO services to include those aged between five and eight years and to support the roll-out of new and enhanced bus and rail services under programmes such as BusConnects and Connecting Ireland. As the Deputy will be aware, the Government recently commitment to improving public transport under the new programme for Government, Securing Ireland's Future, and is backing up that commitment with significant investments across the bus and rail network. I understand that the Department of Transport is engaging with the NTA regarding the issues concerning particular bus services operated by Go-Ahead Ireland across some of the greater Dublin area routes. The Department has been advised that Go-Ahead Ireland is currently experiencing fleet reliability issues across its network of services due to a shortfall of the availability of mechanics to carry out essential maintenance works. This is unfortunately having a knock-on effect on the delivery of services, resulting in reduced availability of vehicles and a disruption to service levels. These fleet reliability issues are primarily affecting routes S4, from Liffey Valley to UCD, and S6, The Square Tallaght to Blackrock, as well as some of the routes in the Bray and Greystones area, which were launched on 26 January as part of the roll-out of the latest phase of BusConnects Dublin. I acknowledge the concerns that the Deputy has raised about these services and fully appreciate how frustrating it is for users. The Minister for Transport understands the importance of maintaining connectivity for all users and I assure the Deputy that I have been advised that the NTA is closely monitoring the situation with regard to service delivery on these routes and is receiving daily reports from Go-Ahead Ireland on service availability by route and progress with resolving these issues. I have been advised that the operator has indicated to the NTA that there have been significant improvements in dealing with these issues, and that the services will continue to improve over the coming days. I have been further advised that the NTA has requested that a remedial plan be supplied from Go-Ahead Ireland, outlining details of when services are expected to return to a full timetable on each of the affected routes.

Sentiment score: 0.37

I assure the Deputy that I fully recognise that transport connectivity is hugely important for people who live, work and study in Ireland and it is key to revitalising our villages, towns and urban centres. We need to expand the public transport network and increase service levels as outlined in policies like Connecting Ireland and BusConnects. We aim to achieve more balanced regional development and greater connectivity for all public transport. BusConnects has already achieved significant success in transforming Dublin’s public transport network. In the latest progress report, published in July 2024, comparisons were made between network redesign phases 1 to 5a before launch, from quarter 4 of 2019, and after launch, from quarter 4 of 2023. The programme has led to a substantial increase in service levels, and customer satisfaction research carried out earlier this year shows that phases 1 to 4 of the network redesign project are positively rated by users. The research shows that 80% of users are satisfied with the service and 49% reported that the service is now better. It is important from my point of view that anybody who uses public transport has a good experience so that they will continue to use it. When issues arise, they have to be treated seriously. That is why I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. The NTA and the Department of Transport will continue collaborating with operators and customers to enhance the punctuality and reliability of services throughout the network redesign. As I mentioned earlier, I have been advised that the NTA is working closely with Go-Ahead Ireland to identify steps that can be taken to improve service delivery on the impacted routes, and that some improvements have already taken place. Further, through initiatives like the capacity improvement programme and the implementation of ticketing technologies, we are taking steps to enhance capacity and improve the overall travel experience for passengers. On behalf of the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, I thank Deputy Murphy for raising this important issue.

Sentiment score: 0.50