National Transport Authority
Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-14
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Jerry Buttimer (FG), Cork South-Central

I reiterate that the Government is firmly committed to ensuring that people in Carlow, Kilkenny and elsewhere across Ireland, including those living in rural and regional communities, will have access to reliable, accessible and sustainable public transport options. I refer the Senator to Rural Link and the changes announced last week concerning hackney licences.
Connectivity is fundamental to supporting economic activity, social inclusion, access to education, healthcare and people's overall quality of life. I fully understand the frustration over the withdrawal of certain commercial activities by the operator we have referred to this afternoon. That is a matter for the company itself. There are robust mechanisms in place, through the NTA, to assess and respond to the gaps that may arise. This is how Local Link arose. The PSO framework ensures that where there is a clear social need and services are not commercially viable, the NTA intervenes in a targeted, proportional manner to maintain essential connectivity.
The significant allocation of €940 million for PSO services in this year's budget represents a 43% increase on the previous year and demonstrates the scale of our ambition for connectivity, rural transport and what we have been talking about this afternoon. I thank the Senator for the remarks. I will relay them to the staff in the Department and the NTA.

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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