Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 December 2023
190. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Transport further to Parliamentary Question No. 175 of 28 November 2023, when funding will be committed for the provision of additional drivers in 2024 (details supplied). [55848/23]
View answerThe 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, in Budget 2023, the Department of Transport secured €563.55 million of funding for Public Service Obligation (PSO) and TFI Local Link services (an increase from €538m in 2022).
More recently, under Budget 2024, a funding package of c. €613.463m has been secured for PSO and Local Link services. 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 2024. Funding has also been secured to support new and enhanced bus and rail services next year.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Government is committed to improving public transport – both bus and rail – and is backing up that commitment with significant investments across the network. This includes the continued roll-out of the BusConnects programme in 2024.
The latest phase of the BusConnects Network Redesign in Dublin, Phase 5b, commenced on the 26th of November and involved the introduction of new Southern Orbital, Radial and Local routes. The S2, 74 and L25 routes are operated by Dublin Bus and S4, S6, S8, W2 and L55 routes are operated by Go-Ahead Ireland.
