Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an gceist. Tá brón orm go raibh mé déanach. Shíl mé go raibh na ceisteanna ag tosnú ag 10.30 a.m. I welcome the Deputy's question on the bus stop enhancement programme. It is a relatively new programme. Choosing sustainable transport is not just a matter of where a bus or rail line goes on a map; it is about creating an interconnected network. For that, people need places to stop, start and make a change in their transport journey that is safe, comfortable and accessible. The NTA undertakes upgrades to bus stops and shelters across a number of schemes, including BusConnects, which is not included in the figures I will give the Deputy, Connecting Ireland, the active travel investment programme and, as the Deputy mentioned, the bus stop enhancement programme. That programme is a multi-annual initiative, which only commenced in 2024 and will run to 2029. Through the programme, funded by my Department, €500,000 is provided per local authority, not nationally, to enhance bus stop facilities at locations within the local authority administrative areas. Along with such funding, the NTA provides local authorities with bus shelters through its contractor, while also making the contractor available for the installation and subsequent maintenance of the bus shelters. Local authorities are required to undertake preparatory work ahead of the installation of shelters. It is intended to streamline the delivery. As the numbers show, the programme is ramping up. It is important that, for the first time, local authorities, through the NTA, have identified all the existing stops. We ask the local authorities to submit their plans. This covers not just the bus stops or shelters, as the Deputy knows, but also hard-core surfaces or the extension of footpaths to make them safer. The Deputy's question is valid. There is significant funding going into this programme and I want to see that ramped up. There is a very good pipeline. I will add more in my supplementary reply.

Sentiment score: 0.11

It is €500,000 per local authority. I have projected and we reckon the drawdown next year will be about €15.5 million, because we can see the pipeline that is coming through. In fairness, the Deputy has recognised this is a new programme. So far, under the bus stop enhancement programme, 100 bus stop locations and installations were done in 2025. There were ten new bus shelters, which is not a lot, throughout the State. There was an issue with the provider - I checked this out - because there is a new supplier of bus shelters. A significant number that have been ordered are in transit right now. I do not want to talk only about the enhancement programme. In 2025, BusConnects Dublin had 750 new stops installed. Portlaoise town services had 73 stops. In the Deputy's area of Cork and Kerry, the Clonmel contract - separate from BusConnects Cork - had 192 stops. Route 109 had 30 stops. Bus Éireann business-as-usual upgrades, which are to existing stops, numbered 343.

Sentiment score: -0.08

The Deputy's question is valid and the points he made are valid. In fairness, he acknowledged that it is a new scheme. I have given the Deputy details of some of the works that are ongoing. Work on another scheme in Mullingar commenced this week. It will include a further 60 bus stops, the majority of which were completed in 2025, but the remainder will be done there now. I agree with the Deputy's point with regard to the planning aspects, which can be cumbersome. I met the NTA about this yesterday in the Department. I am looking at how we can accelerate it. One of the issues has been the change in supplier. That has happened and a new supplier is in place for bus shelters. I was informed yesterday there are some 200 bus shelters have been produced and are on their way here. It is not an exact figure but they give the Deputy an indication. Those shelters will be installed and we will see a big ramping up. I am more than happy to look at the planning aspects of the issue. I have seen in my area of Fingal that it can be cumbersome. To be fair to the NTA, this is the first time we have had a particular focus on this area. On working with the local authorities, the Deputy cited three specific areas in his county. It is up to the local authorities as well to make sure they continue to interact with the NTA to prioritise bus stops. We are working with the local authorities on this.

Sentiment score: 0.09

I assure Deputy Ahern that the Department of Transport, the NTA and the public transport operators are working very closely to ensure optimised deployment of resources across the network to best meet passenger demand and reduce their journey times, where possible. The F1 route the Deputy refers to was introduced just last October. We have seen some issues with some routes, such as the Chapelizod route, and those issues need to be addressed. I would prefer if there were no issues at the start of the deployment of a route. That formed part of the BusConnects F-spine, which is the route the Deputy refers to. It operates every 15 minutes for most of the day between Tallaght and Ballymun, with additional peak-time journeys on the northern section to meet higher demand. That is the response I have. The reason is that there is a higher demand on that part of the route. Together, routes F1 and F3 provide a combined high-frequency service of around five minutes between Kimmage and the city centre, before continuing towards Glasnevin and other northside locations. Beyond Kimmage, the routes diverge to maintain good bus network coverage across the surrounding areas south of Kimmage. To be fair to the Deputy, I acknowledge that the recent network changes have had varying impacts on journey times for passengers and customers. I have said this to the NTA directly. When rolling out phases of the BusConnects network the NTA has committed to monitoring those new services, identifying issues and implementing fixes when and if they are needed. While some increases in journey times are expected as part of the balancing involved and the redesign of the network, both my Department and the NTA acknowledge that certain journey times on this route should be improved. That is being monitored right now. The Deputy's input is valued in that because it is the lived experience of constituents in the Deputy's area who are using this route. That will feed in and it is being reviewed and monitored. The F-spine is a good thing. There is really good frequency there but we need to make sure the focus is on reliability.

Sentiment score: 0.18

I do not disagree. The frequency is there and is improving but the Deputy is right that the journey times on some of the services are longer because the route is more interconnected to take in more people. Having said that, we are working with Dublin City Council and other stakeholders to deliver additional bus priority measures within the city. A lot of it as we get into the city. On 18 March, the Ministers of State, Deputies Buttimer and Canney, and I will meet stakeholders to discuss congestion and see if there are more immediate short-term measures we can take. Some of that will be bus priority measures and some of it will be bus gates and those types of measures. In the medium term, passengers on the F1 route will also benefit from faster journey times due to the delivery of the planned core bus corridor between Kimmage and the city centre. That project received planning permission in May last year and it will be critical. We have started the first two quality bus corridors, namely, Liffey Valley to the city centre and Ballymun-Finglas to the city centre. Both of those contracts have been signed and the first one is under construction. That will be transformational. The quality bus corridor for the Deputy's constituents on the F1 route will make a big difference too. We are looking at interim measures.

Sentiment score: 0.05

We will. When questions like this are tabled and they fall within the remit of the NTA, I meet the NTA. It is useful that these matters are raised when we meet. To be fair, the F1, F2 and F3 routes were only rolled out in October last year. I appreciate people's patience with this. I am committed to looking at what interim measures we can take. The frequency on the F1 route is every 15 minutes at most times between Tallaght and Ballymun, and the F2 and F3 routes give a joint service around every five minutes. That is a big improvement. We always need to improve things and look at the experience on the ground. What leads me to be confident about this is that people are responding. Last year, 363.5 million public transport passenger journeys were made, which was a record number. The Government will continue to invest in this area. We have to improve reliability and journey times, which will not be easy in all cases, particularly with regard to journey times in the city. I will have a meeting with stakeholders on 18 March, specifically looking at congestion within the city core and on the M50. I have a meeting with stakeholders on 18 March, specifically looking at congestion within the city core and on the M50.

Sentiment score: 0.23

We are fully committed to supporting the transition to zero-emission vehicles. We regularly review the EV incentives and grants to ensure they are delivering value for money and supporting the delivery of the ambitious targets we set. Last year, the target was 195,000 EVs on our roads by the end of 2025. We actually exceeded that. The final figure was 212,500 EVs. The supports are certainly assisting. Over €120 million has been allocated this year to support the continued transition to EVs, which includes grants for the EVs themselves and EV charging. The road tax for EVs is also lower. Changes have been made on the benefit-in-kind side as well to further incentivise EVs. The purchase costs of EVs have come down significantly in recent years. Rural motorists are often in the most advantageous position to make the switch to an electric vehicle, due to the large number of dwellings in rural Ireland that are suitable for home EV charging, which we also support. Home charging means lower running costs and many EVs are now capable of doing over 400 km on a single charge, which will meet most people's daily driving needs. Having an effective and reliable charging network is an essential part of enabling drivers to make the switch to EVs, which they are doing. The public charging network has grown in recent years, and the continued expansion and modernisation of the EV charging network will ensure drivers can use EVs with confidence. We published the national EV charging strategy. I got approval for that on Tuesday this week at Cabinet. TII is leading on the delivery of that infrastructure along motorways and national primary and secondary routes. I have launched grant aid programmes for the delivery of significant high-powered charging infrastructure on these roads over the next year to provide all EV drivers with reliable access to charging points across the country.

Sentiment score: 0.32

I am not 100% sure what figures Deputy Daly has there and I do not want to just dispute them for the sake of it. I can go back to 2024, but they are not the numbers I have. What is very interesting is that in the first month of this year we are looking at really significant increases in EV registration. If I take the Deputy's own county of Kerry, in January 2025, there were 86 EV registrations. In January of this year there were 142. That is a 65% increase. If I take Galway, in January 2025 there were 164 EV registrations. This January, there were 247, which is a 50% increase. The growth in EVs is based on actual registration of EVs, which is much more significant now in the regions and in rural areas than it is in cities. I will give the Deputy an example. In Dublin, there were 2,277 registrations in January 2025. This January, there were 2,720, which was a good increase, just short of 20%. In Kerry the increase was 65%, in Kildare the increase was 45%, in Kilkenny it was 80%, in Laois it was 60%, in Leitrim it was 70%, in Limerick it was 60% and it was 100% in Longford. I am just giving Deputy Daly the real figures.

Sentiment score: 0.17

We want to make sure that the grants are deployed in an equitable manner, in particular for low and middle income families. I alluded to that at the committee yesterday. Deputy Daly will see where we have made changes on other SEAI grants, such as for home retrofit. My whole focus was on low and middle income families and to break the grants up. We keep these grants under review. They are a good incentive for people. The figures do not bear out what Deputy Daly is saying, notwithstanding the fact that we will always keep schemes under review to try to incentivise more people to use them. I could go through every county in Ireland. There are really significant increases in EV registrations from last January to this one. I am not going to bore him with the details, but I will supply him with them. Mayo is up by 67%. Monaghan is up by 65%. Roscommon is up by nearly 200%. I am not making it up.

Sentiment score: 0.13

This is 2025 to 2026. There are 212,500 EVs on our roads. It is going in the right direction, and the target was exceeded. As I said in the committee yesterday, I always keep these under review. We look at what we have done on the residential side. The impact that has had already is really good. We will keep this under review, but this is absolutely going in the right direction right now.

Sentiment score: 0.07