Written Answers Nos. 200-219
200. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Transport to open the first completed section of the south Kerry greenway (In the vicinity of Kells Station) before the end of 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35193/25]
View answerAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and exchequer funding in relation to Greenways. There has a significant amount of investment for Greenway schemes in County Kerry with €8,250,000 allocated in 2025.
In line with Section 32 (2) of the Roads Act 1993, the planning, design, and construction of individual Greenways is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. Investment in Greenway and National Roads Active Travel projects is also subject to the requirements of the Infrastructure Guidelines and necessary statutory approvals.
Noting the above position, I have referred your question, on this occasion, to TII for a direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 working days.
201. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Transport for a detailed progress report on the south Kerry greenway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35194/25]
View answerAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and exchequer funding in relation to Greenways. There has a significant amount of investment for Greenway schemes in County Kerry with €8,250,000 allocated in 2025.
In line with Section 32 (2) of the Roads Act 1993, the planning, design, and construction of individual Greenways is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. Investment in Greenway and National Roads Active Travel projects is also subject to the requirements of the Infrastructure Guidelines and necessary statutory approvals.
Noting the above position, I have referred your question, on this occasion, to TII for a direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 working days.
202. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Transport to expedite the south Kerry greenway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35195/25]
View answerAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and exchequer funding in relation to Greenways. There has a significant amount of investment for Greenway schemes in County Kerry with €8,250,000 allocated in 2025.
In line with Section 32 (2) of the Roads Act 1993, the planning, design, and construction of individual Greenways is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. Investment in Greenway and National Roads Active Travel projects is also subject to the requirements of the Infrastructure Guidelines and necessary statutory approvals.
Noting the above position, I have referred your question, on this occasion, to TII for a direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 working days.
203. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Transport the number of learner drivers on the driving test waiting list in County Clare, for category C, category C1, and category BE tests; the number of testers qualified for those categories in County Clare; the number of each driver type tested in County Clare for those categories, by month for 2022, 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35215/25]
View answer204. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Transport the number of driving tests that have taken place in each test location in County Clare, by category, by day of the week, in tabular form, since The Driving Test Action Plan was announced by the RSA at the end of May; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35216/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 203 and 204 together.
I wish to advise the Deputy that, under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has statutory responsibility for the National Driver Testing Service. As such, the information requested is held by the Authority.
I have therefore referred the Deputy's question to the RSA for direct reply. I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a response has not been received within ten days.
205. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Transport the number of bus shelters that will be delivered in 2025, by local authority area, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35239/25]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, as Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure, including the provision of bus stops and shelters nationally.
There is a commitment under the Programme for Government to ensure that public transport operators provide safe and accessible access for all passengers and a commitment to work with local authorities and national bodies to improve public transport infrastructure.
Noting the NTA's responsibility in the matter, I have referred the Deputy's question to the NTA for a direct reply. Please contact my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 days.
206. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Transport if he will outline the engagements in his ministerial diary since taking office in January 2025. [35248/25]
View answerMy officials are in the process of compiling a publicly available diary list which is scheduled to be published on my Department's website in the coming months. Once this is published my private office will provide a link to the deputy.
207. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Transport to provide the number and location of helicopters currently used by the coastguard service; the range and on-scene time of each helicopter; and whether each helicopter is certified to carry stretchered patients. [35283/25]
View answer208. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Transport whether his Department has issued specific criteria around the range, on-scene time capability and stretcher certifications required for helicopters in the coastguard and air ambulance fleets; and if so, whether he would provide these criteria. [35284/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 207 and 208 together.
As Minister of State for International & Road Transport, Logistics, Rail & Ports, I have responsibility for the Irish Coast Guard and the SAR Aviation Contract.
Irish Coast Guard (IRCG) Search and Rescue (SAR) Aviation Services are provided under a contract which is currently transitioning to Bristow Ireland Limited (BIL). The IAA regulates Coast Guard aviation services.
The new aviation contract provides for the operation of four IRCG SAR Search and Rescue Helicopter Bases located at Sligo, Shannon, Waterford, and Dublin (Weston) and for the first time a Fixed Wing (FW) service also located at Shannon. The new SAR helicopter contract is delivered by a fleet of six AW 189 helicopters, five of which are newly constructed and are already in service in Ireland. The sixth helicopter is due to enter service in September 2025.
The AW189 is an internationally proven SAR helicopter that is also extensively used in the offshore Oil and gas business. The AW189 range meets and significantly exceeds the RFT specification, considering the maximum required range to the western extremity of our search and rescue region thus ensuring it meet Irelands national and international SAR obligations.
In April of this year the service operator was notified by IAA that the stretcher in use did not meet regulatory requirements for delivery of HEMS services. The IAA directive only applied to HEMS (helicopter emergency medical support) operations and had no impact on the use of stretchers for SAR operations. This directive had no impact on delivery of primary Coast Guard SAR services, which include all SAR activities, both inland and maritime, day and nighttime aeromedical support to offshore island communities and extraction of casualties from areas that are inaccessible by ambulance. The operator has since procured new HEMS stretchers thus addressing the regulatory issue.
The new contract will enhance the Coast Guard’s ability to deliver on its maritime and inland SAR services, its maritime environmental monitoring roles and the added value of support provided to other State entities including SAR support to An Garda Síochána, aeromedical support to HSE/NAS, day and nighttime aeromedical support to the offshore island communities and a capacity to provide aerial firefighting support to the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management.
Since the introduction of the service the Coast Guard has received positive feed back from key stakeholders including offshore island medical practitioners and mountain rescue teams. To date in addition to the introduction of the Fixed Wing service, the new operator has assumed responsibility for the Shannon and Dublin (Weston) bases with the remaining two bases set to transition over the next seven months.
209. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Transport if his Department will contribute to the local improvement scheme fund in recognition of the wider public usage of roads being funded under the scheme; when his Department was last approached by the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht with a view to securing a contribution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35303/25]
View answerThe Local Government Act 2001 provides the statutory basis for the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS), allowing funding to be provided to local authorities for the construction and improvement of non-public roads which meet certain criteria. It is important to highlight that the maintenance of non-public roads is the responsibility of the relevant landowners; local authorities only have statutory responsibility for the improvement and maintenance of public roads (in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993). Works on these public roads are funded from local authorities' own resources and are supplemented by State Road Grants.
My department has not provided dedicated funding towards the LIS programme since 2012. Between 2013 to 2017, local authorities were permitted discretion to use a proportion of their Discretionary Road Grant for the LIS programme if they chose to do so. In September 2017, the Minister for Rural and Community Development reintroduced a dedicated funding stream for the LIS. Considering the significant funding support being provided by the Department of Rural and Community Development and the need to direct limited resources into maintaining and renewing public roads, it was decided that Discretionary Grants would no longer support LIS programmes. This remains the position. Maintenance and improvement of public roads is essential to ensure a safe network with a high level of service and social/economic connectivity.
210. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Transport for an update on the implementation of contactless payment systems on public transport from the NTA, as committed to in the Programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35310/25]
View answerAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has responsibility for the development of public transport infrastructure, including ticketing and technology projects.
The NTA's Next Generation Ticketing project will provide for transformative upgrade to the ticketing system for public transport passengers in Ireland. The project will facilitate a variety of payment methods on public transport services, involving a new-generation 'Account Based Ticketing' scheme incorporating both mobile and card-based payments for passengers.Following a competitive procurement process, in April 2024 the NTA awarded an overall framework contract for the design, supply, installation and operation of the new multi-modal ticketing system to a Spanish information technology company, Indra Sistemas, who have designed, installed and operated similar systems internationally.
I understand that purpose of the "Major Release 1" of the project in the Greater Dublin Area, set to go live in summer 2027, is to introduce a small number of new bus, tram and train validators to test and prove the functionality of these validators before committing to a large-scale deployment across the entire network in the Greater Dublin Area. Assuming a successful Major Release 1, Major Release 2 aims to install the new validators across the Dublin city bus and Luas network.
A huge effort is being put in by NTA to ensure that this transformational and beneficial project for public transport passengers is delivered as effectively as possible.
Noting the NTA's responsibility in the matter, I have referred the Deputy's question to the NTA for a direct reply. Please contact my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 working days.
211. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Transport for an update on an application (details supplied) under the shared island fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35325/25]
View answerThe Government is fully committed to supporting a significant expansion and modernisation of the EV charging network over the coming years. Having an effective and reliable charging network is an essential part of enabling drivers to make the switch to electric vehicles.
The aim of the shared Shared Island funded Sports Club EV Charging Infrastructure Scheme is to install a network of publicly accessible chargers in communities throughout the country, through their local sports clubs. €15m has been allocated to the scheme.
The scheme was advertised both generally and through recognised National Governing Bodies for individual sports. Over 220 clubs across the island reached the eligibility criteria to continue to the next phase, including Westport United Soccer Club in Co. Mayo.
The next phase to procure Charge Point Operators to undertake the works required is ongoing. This is well advanced and announcements on this made will be made in the coming weeks. This will enable Sports Clubs to engage with selected CPOs to agree on works to be done and commence draw down of the funding.
212. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Transport the amount spent by each local authority under the bus stop enhancement programme during 2024 and to date in 2025; the reason noted for the underspent by each local authority, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35334/25]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, as Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure, including the provision of bus stops/shelters nationally.
There is a commitment under the Programme for Government such that public transport operators provide safe and accessible access for all passengers and a commitment to work with local authorities and national bodies to improve public transport infrastructure.
Noting the NTA's responsibility in the matter, I have referred the Deputy's question to the NTA for a direct reply. Please contact my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 days.
213. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Transport if he will consider extending the eligibility criteria for the young adult Leap card to include all individuals under the age of 30, given the ongoing cost of living pressures facing this age group; if he has assessed the affordability and impact of such a measure in advance of Budget 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35385/25]
View answerAs 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 responsibility for the regulation of fares charged to passengers in respect of public transport services provided under public service obligation (PSO) contracts.
The Department of Transport secured €658.442 million in Budget 2025 for funding for Public Service Obligation (PSO) and TFI Local Link services (an increase from €613.813 million in 2024). This 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. Budget 2025 also included the measure to extend free child fares on PSO services to children aged 5 to 8 years old.
Therefore, funding for public transport services is focussed on existing fare initiatives and service improvements such as BusConnects in the five cities, expanding town services in the larger towns, and rolling out Connecting Ireland in rural Ireland, in order to enhance factors such as frequency, accessibility and reliability in attracting and retaining users.
Furthermore, the NTA has recently introduced a new, distance-based, zonal fare structure in the Greater Dublin Area. This move, aims to makes fares equitable, more consistent, and easier to understand, with significant reductions for many commuting from outer areas, aligning prices more closely with distance travelled.
Under the Programme for Government, our commitments include the rollout of contactless payments, keeping fares affordable, and examining the further expansion of free public transport for children.
I can assure the Deputy that this Government is committed to delivering an accessible, reliable and affordable public transport system for all our citizens, including young people.
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.
214. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Transport if he will consider introducing an allowance or subsidy for disabled individuals to help cover the rising costs of taxi services, given that taxi fares have increased by 21% since September 2022, and recognizing the additional challenges faced by disabled individuals in accessing public transportation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35386/25]
View answerAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to 'open' public transport. This means that the funding allocated by the Oireachtas to my Department is for public transport services and infrastructure, rather than for personal mobility type payment, or subsidy, schemes.
I am very committed to continually making public transport more accessible for disabled people. For example, new public transport services under Bus Connects and the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan use accessible bus fleets. In addition, the allocation to retrofit older inaccessible public transport has increased by 67% this year compared to last year and the number of wheelchair accessible taxis has risen to 25% of the fleet, up from 4% in 2014.
We are also providing supports to enable disabled people to travel independently on public transport, including expansion of the successful Independent Transport Support scheme and the Just A Minute (JAM) card. The various public transport fare reduction initiatives introduced in recent years are also of benefit to disabled people, including those with hidden, or invisible, disabilities who might not qualify under the Free Travel Scheme.
However, in view of my open public transport remit outlined above, I have no plans to introduce the subsidy scheme for taxis referred to by the Deputy.
215. Deputy Natasha Newsome Drennan asked the Minister for Transport the current usage of public transport between Carlow Town and Dublin for 2023, 2024, and to date of 2025; in tabular form including route, time, percentage of capacity, if the route needs additional services added; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35394/25]
View answerAs 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 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.
216. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Transport the status of the installation of the next generation automatic vehicle location system on bus services nationally in Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35409/25]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, as Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure, including the development of related technology systems.
The NTA awarded a contract to implement and support a National Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) system for all Public Service Obligation (PSO) buses to Trapeze in December 2023. This upgrade will improve the quality of bus service operations and the timeliness and the quality of real time bus service information.
This will enable the NTA to consolidate several existing bus AVL systems into one central system to be used by all PSO bus operators in Ireland and has expansion capacity to meet the growing demand for public transport in Ireland. The migration to this upgraded system is expected to take place across the coming years.
Noting the NTA's responsibility in the matter, I have referred the Deputy's question to the NTA for a direct reply. Please contact my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 days.
217. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Transport the number of so-called ghost buses, mystery buses and disappearing buses reported on Dublin Bus routes from January 2025 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35410/25]
View answerAs 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, Dublin Bus.
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 Dublin Bus in conjunction with the NTA. I have, therefore, referred the Deputy's question to Dublin Bus and the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
218. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Transport the budget allocated to Dublin Bus for the introduction of new bus services and the enhancement of existing services across Dublin from January 2020 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35411/25]
View answerAs 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, Dublin Bus.
The Department of Transport secured €658.442 million of funding, in Budget 2025, for Public Service Obligation (PSO) and TFI Local Link services (an increase from €613.813 million in 2024).
This 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 was also secured to extend free child fares on PSO Services to include those aged 5 to 8-years old, and to support the roll-out new and enhanced bus and rail services under programmes such as BusConnects and Connecting Ireland.
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.
219. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Transport the number of lost trips per month from January 2025 to date on services operated by a company (details supplied) in Dublin west including the W4, L52, 236, 238 and 270 in comparison to the overall number of trips on the timetable for each route, and as a percentage of overall services per route. [35412/25]
View answerAs 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, Go Ahead.
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 NTA continues to engage with Go-Ahead to enhance service reliability and ensure continuous improvement.
I am aware that Go-Ahead experienced difficulties in maintaining service levels, particularly in the first quarter of this year, primarily due to a shortage of mechanics. In response, the company undertook a number of remedial actions, including flying in additional mechanics from its UK operations and securing further technical support from external sources.
I understand that the situation has since improved significantly, with fleet availability returning to normal within a relatively short period.
I can assure the Deputy that this Government is committed to delivering an accessible, reliable and affordable public transport system for all our citizens, including children.
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.
