Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 17 February 2022
174. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Transport the breakdown of the €54 million in funding announced for the 20% reduction in fares on public service obligation routes; the way that this figure was calculated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8856/22]
View answer175. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Transport if any of the €205 million in emergency public transport public service obligation is being used to part fund the reduction in public transport fares by 20%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8857/22]
View answer176. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Transport the meaning of on average in relation to the reduction in fares by 20% on average for public service obligation routes until the end of 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8858/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 174 to 176, inclusive, together.
As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport, nor decisions on fares. It is the National Transport Authority (NTA) that has responsibility for the regulation of fares charged to passengers in respect of public transport services, provided under public service obligation (PSO) contracts.
The Government is strongly committed to helping combat the rising cost-of-living being experienced throughout the country. In this context, a suite of new measures is being introduced by Government to help with this issue, including a 20% average fare reduction on PSO services until the end of 2022. These discounted fares will benefit the hundreds of thousands of people across the country who use public transport every day. A further €54m in Exchequer funding has been secured to allow for the introduction of these discounted fares, this is in addition to the REV22 allocations.
The NTA will work with the public transport operators in the coming weeks to commence rolling out these fare reductions across the public transport network in April/May. In light of the NTA's responsibility in this area, I have forwarded the Deputy's specific questions in relation to the breakdown of the funding allocated for the scheme and explanation of the 20% average fare reduction on PSO routes, to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.
