James Geoghegan
Ceist:119. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Transport to review the roll out of new bus routes (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70599/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 10 December 2025
Ceisteanna (119)
Freagraí scríofa
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.
BusConnects is a transformative programme of investment in the bus system, providing better bus services across our cities. It is the largest investment in the bus system in the history of the state and is managed by the NTA. The aim of the network is to improve the existing Transport for Ireland system through enhanced services with high frequency spines and new local, Orbital and Radial routes.
It is acknowledged that reliability has been a key concern during the initial rollout of Phase 7, with challenges primarily linked to traffic congestion on new city-centre alignments and driver availability. When implementing new phases of the BusConnects network, the NTA continuously monitors services, identifies any issues that arise, and puts in fixes where appropriate. In that context, and as the Deputy may be aware, the NTA have recently announced changes to certain route alignments for Phase 7, including routes 80, 23, and 24, following feedback from passengers and local representatives. These amendments reflect the NTA’s commitment to improving services in direct response to that input.
Notwithstanding this, I would like to reassure the Deputy that Government remains 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 2026, the Department of Transport secured €940 million of funding for Public Service Obligation (PSO) and TFI Local Link services (a significant 43% uplift, an increase from €658.4 million in 2025).
My Department will continue to work with the NTA to ensure the redesigned network delivers on its objectives and its performance is closely monitored.
In light of the NTA’s responsibility in this area, I have also 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.
A referred reply was forwarded to the Deputy under Standing Orders.