Brian Stanley
Question:121. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Transport when approval and funding will be provided for the local bus service in Portlaoise town. [52541/21]
View answerThursday, 4 November 2021
Questions (121)
Written answers
As 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, and for the allocation of associated funding to the relevant transport operators.
As part of Budget 2022, I secured c. €538m of funding for Public Service Obligation (PSO) and Local Link services provided by State operators and under contract by the NTA. This includes over €200m of COVID-19 emergency funding in 2022 to counter the continuing impacts of the pandemic on fare revenue across transport operators. Included in the overall funding, I secured almost €1m for new town services commencing with Carlow. The planning and implementation of new town services is a matter for the NTA.
In light of the NTA's responsibility in the matter raised by the Deputy, I have referred your question to the NTA for direct reply to you. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
A referred reply was forwarded to the Deputy under Standing Order 51
Question No. 122 answered with Question No. 108.