Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 4 July 2024
195. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Transport the extent to which he has assisted or can assist the provision or improvement of rural transport nationwide; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29072/24]
View answerAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport.
The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally. The NTA also has national responsibility for integrated local and rural transport, including delivering the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan and New Town Services. The NTA works with the public transport operators, who deliver the services and who have responsibility for day-to-day operational matters.
From a policy and funding perspective I would like to reassure the Deputy that the Government 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, under Budget 2024, a funding package of c. €613.463m has been secured for Public Service Obligation (PSO) and Local Link services. This package includes funding for the continuation of the 20% fare reduction on PSO services, the extension of the Young Adult Card on both PSO and commercial bus services to include 24-and-25-year-olds, and the continuation of the 90-minute fare until the end of 2024. Funding has also been secured to support the continued roll-out of new and enhanced bus and rail services this year.
Funding for TFI Local Link services has increased from €12m in 2016 to €57m in 2024 to improve rural transport across the country. This has seen passenger numbers on TFI Local Link regular bus services increasing by 78% year-on-year to 3.2 million in 2023.
As I am sure the Deputy is aware, the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan has been a hugely successful programme since its implementation began in 2022, with 100 new or additional services introduced since commencement in mid-2022. Under Phase 1 in 2022, 38 new and enhanced services were implemented while in Phase II in 2023, 65 new and enhanced services were implemented. This means that over 190 towns and villages have been connected to the public transport network, and over 280,000 people have access to new and enhanced bus services.
