Bus Services
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-15
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Darragh O'Brien (FF), Dublin Fingal East

Improving accessibility, reliability and affordability of public transport while ensuring the system remains well funded and responsive to passenger needs is a core priority under the programme for Government. While my Department sets the overall policy direction and funding framework for the delivery of public transport services, the NTA has the statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public transport services nationally. In this context, we secured an unprecedented allocation of €940 million for the PSO services in budget 2026. I mentioned this in my previous answer to the Deputy. That was a 43% uplift in one year alone. It has raised that base. As I mentioned earlier, we did not want to continue the practice of the previous five years of going back for continued supplementary budgets because you cannot plan properly. We need to get the PSO onto a sustainable footing. We have taken a real step forward in that regard. As the Deputy is aware, supplementary funding has become a recurring requirement and we wanted to move away from that. Accordingly, the 2026 allocation prioritised advancement of ongoing programmes and commitments in line with operational readiness and resource availability. This includes recently announced changes to the route alignments under phase 7 of BusConnects and the upcoming roll-out of new town services in, for example, Mullingar, County Westmeath, in quarter 1 of 2026.
I will continue, with colleagues, to engage with the NTA as it finalises its 2026 service plan, ensuring that planning and strategic decisions are informed by operational and resource considerations. Once we receive the draft plan, the Ministers of State and I will assess that. I expect there will be new services in 2026. We have to consolidate the new services brought in during the past couple of years. We have to manage the resources properly, which we will. I do not have the service plan yet, but I expect to get it imminently. We will take the feedback we get from all colleagues, Government and Opposition, with regard to services that are needed. People are using public transport at a level they never have before, which is great, and we want to continue to support that.

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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