Bus Services
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-15
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Jerry Buttimer (FG), Cork South-Central

The real facts are that the plan is imminent. To put this in context, the budget was in December. The Department gave the NTA its allocation. To be fair to it, it is working through the process. This is the first week of January. The Deputy used the word "trust". Look at the Government's commitment in terms of its investment in rural transport. Some €84 million has been invested and there has been a 36% increase in the budget for this area this year. As a Government, we are committed to rural transport and want to see enhanced connectivity for people. The Local Link service has seen a 43% increase since 2025. Some €658.4 million has been invested. The Deputy speaks about trust. Trust the Government to invest in Local Link services and rural transport. We are doing that. I understand the frustration and annoyance of people. As a Government, we are working to enhance and improve the offering to people. That is what we have been doing for the past five years. It is a success story. The results can be seen in the increase in the number of people using these services and the demand for them. We will work with the NTA to ensure these services are provided. As I said a second ago, the work is complete. The NTA is going through the budgetary process, which is deliberate. The NTA is before the Committee of Public Accounts today. The service plan is imminent and we will publish it in due course.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-15/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:30+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-15