National Transport Authority Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-14 ============================================================ Jerry Buttimer (FG), Cork South-Central I thank the Senator for raising this important Commencement matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport. I will make clear to the House that neither I, as Minister of State at the Department of Transport with special responsibility for rural transport, nor the Minister, is responsible or involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport services. The decision by Bus Éireann to withdraw some Expressway routes from 24 May this year is a commercial decision taken by the company. While the majority of public transport services in Ireland are delivered under the National Transport Authority's public service obligation, PSO, programme and supported by State funding to the tune of €940 million, which is a 43% increase, as the Senator will know, there is also an important component of the network made up of commercially operated services provided without State subvention. As she also knows, Bus Éireann operates both PSO services funded by the State subvention and Expressway intercity services, which operate on a commercial basis and do not receive any State subvention. I understand that the recent decision to withdraw from certain services was made following a comprehensive financial and operational review carried out by Bus Éireann regarding Expressway performance over recent years, which sought to ensure long-term sustainability and viability of the semi-State company as a whole. The decision to withdraw these services was due to significant losses that have become unsustainable for their commercial operations. Where a commercial operator ceases a service, the National Transport Authority has a clear statutory role to assess the impact on connectivity. This includes determining whether a replacement PSO service is required to meet identified social and economic needs. Under European Union law, a public service obligation is an arrangement by which the NTA procures the service of a bus operator through a tendering process. The winning bidder is then obliged to operate a specified bus service for a specified period of time in return for the payment of a subsidy by the NTA. As Members will know, the PSO is aimed at routes that are not commercially viable but where there is a socially desirable advantage to transport being available. We have seen the success of rural link and rural transport across the country as a testament to the commitment of Government to improving connnectivity. In the context of the question raised by the Senator, I understand that the NTA has completed its assessment of the affected routes, which are publicly available on its website. For example, it has determined that the withdrawal of Expressway route 4 would create a significant service gap and has recommended the introduction of a PSO service on the Carlow to Waterford corridor to maintain connectivity. It is also important to note that following such determinations the NTA must allow a period of time for the market to respond, including the potential for alternative commercial operators to step in. This ensures that any intervention is proportionate and does not displace viable private services. Once this position becomes clearer over the coming weeks, the NTA will respond as appropriate taking into account passenger needs, available resources and the overall funding envelope for PSO services. Similarly, with regard to other services referred to in the Senator’s question, the route is commercially operated and does not require any State intervention or subvention. While the NTA acts as the regulator for such services, any decision to amend the route is a commercial decision for the company, and as such the NTA's powers are primarily focused on licensing and assessing social need if and when changes occur to the route. I assure the Senator that I fully recognise that transport connectivity is very important for people who live, work and study in Ireland. As I know quite well, it is key to revitalising our villages, towns and urban centres. Indeed, I have been in Carlow with Deputy Catherine Callaghan and I am due to go back there next week or the week after. I use the bus myself. We have a very good bus service in my city, Cork. The importance of transport connectivity is why the NTA’s role in determining that if there is a loss of connectivity once a commercial route ceases to operate is critical. I assure the Senator that the Minister for Transport, Deputy O’Brien, the Minister of State in his Department, Deputy Canney, and I are very much aware of the importance of connectivity and I thank her for raising the matter. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-04-14/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:48+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-04-14