We are here.

Did Kerry win the all-Ireland this year? Is the Deputy still cranky over that?

I thank Deputy Farrelly for the question. The application of the €18 million expenditure levy is currently forming part of the 2027 Estimates negotiations process under way with our colleagues in the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation. It is fair to say that it will be challenging to absorb this levy into our current expenditure budget for 2027. The Deputy has been a long-time advocate of increasing services of his area of Kildare. As he knows, the PSO expendi…

I am not going to have that particular row with the Deputy on the floor of House, but I want to make it quite to clear to him that the budgetary negotiations are ongoing. They have not concluded. The budget is on 6 October. We are very much committed to enhancing services, and an unprecedented €940 million allocation for PSO services in the budget of 2026, which was a 43% uplift, is by anyone's standard "ambition". That is called wanting to see an expansion of the services. It is a challenging period in public tran…

I am smiling because, as the Deputy knows quite well, the budget is on 6 October. Our Department's negotiations with the Department of public expenditure have not concluded. For me, the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, our priority is very much about service expansion and the delivery of accessible and reliable services to give travelling members of the public certainty. I want to make the point to the Deputy that we need to have a conversation about how, in the broader thrust of …

I thank Deputy Ahern for his question. As the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and I have said, the recently announced change in fares were the first revision in eight years. The change is aimed at supporting not just the continued expansion but also the improvement of public transport, while maintaining affordability. Any overall increase in revenue generated will go straight back into investment in public transport services, delivering better connectivity, capacity and reliability for passengers and commuters. T…

The Deputy and I speak the same language. It has been a success story and to keep it that way, there has to be an honest conversation around fare structures. To be fair, we must consider the volume of people using public transport. I know that some Deputies will dismiss the €940 million but that is a significant investment by Government in public transport. I would make the point that we have maintained a fare freeze for eight years, along with targeted affordability measures of which we are all aware. Those measur…

The significant point is that our PSO programme funds public transport services, both bus and rail, and as we know, it is composed of Exchequer funding and fares. The Deputy is right and the priority for us, working with the NTA, is to deliver on BusConnects so that it takes people out of their cars and onto the bus network. I have seen it in my own city of Cork. In the past couple of weeks, with colleges and schools back open, there has been an increased volume of traffic on our roads. That emphasises the importan…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter, for her work on the survey she mentioned and for engaging with such large numbers of people. As she said, this is an important service. The changes proposed for the 70 bus route are part of the wider BusConnects Dublin network redesign. One of the core principles of that work is to provide a more frequent, reliable and better-connected public transport network across the greater Dublin area. The redesign seeks to provide improved service levels and reduced waiti…

I thank the Deputy and appreciate where she is coming from. I hear the frustration. I appreciate the views of neighbours. As a public representative like the Deputy, I fully understand that sometimes what is proposed does not align with reality. It is important that I, having taken the question this morning, articulate and communicate the Deputy's views and those of residents back to the NTA. I am not obfuscating responsibility but, as the Deputy knows, the NTA is charged with the project. As a Minister and Ministe…

All of us, no matter where we are from, want Bus Connects to succeed. At its core, it is about bringing new service and providing better all-day frequency and more reliability. Every day, we get complaints about the quality of a bus service, whether in Cork city or Dublin. We are not immune. As a Minister and Ministers of State, we are determined to ensure that we can deliver that. It disappoints me, as a Minister of State and a public representative, that the NTA would not meet residents. Ultimately, the NTA is th…

Amen.

I thank Deputy Gould for raising this very important matter. As he knows - we are both from Cork city - detailed planning for the implementation of the BusConnects Cork network is under way. I am told by the National Transport Authority, NTA, and Cork City Council that does involve redesign, which is continuing to happen, with the new network to be rolled out on a phased basis. It is fair to say that we both wish it could happen faster. However, the major public transport investment will increase bus services acros…

I thoroughly support Deputy Gould. I share the same ambition he has and it frustrates all of us that we have issues with the bus service, not just in Cork but across the country. To be fair to the NTA - and I am critical of the NTA, as he knows - we have seen investment by Government through the NTA in the BusConnects Cork network and we will have delivery on the ground. It needs to be expedited but, in fairness, as the Deputy is a long-time member of both Cork City Council and the Oireachtas, he knows to get to th…

I will pose the question to Deputy Gould: is he for or against BusConnects?

No, hold on-----

Yes. The important point is that we have to deliver. The Deputy talks about burning money. Some €940 million of a public service obligation, PSO, contribution to public transport is a significant amount of money. The Deputy is around a long time and is a clever man. The money we are spending on BusConnects is about delivery and putting the infrastructure and the planning in place so we will have BusConnects. I am absolutely confident that BusConnects will succeed. The Deputy will come into this House and will be la…

I thank the Deputy for her ongoing support for public transport in Louth and other places in rural Ireland. This question deserves attention in terms of the progress we have made in rural transport. As the Deputy knows, it is one of the key points of our programme for Government. The Minister, the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and I are very much committed to balanced regional investment being designated as a core principle in the national development plan, NDP, sectoral investment plan for transport. Predicate…

I hear what the Deputy is saying in the context of County Louth. The key point for us as a Department and for me as the Minister of State with responsibility for rural transport is to look, along with TFI and Local Link, at the enhancement of the No. 161 from Dundalk to Carlingford to Newry. We are also looking at the piece around the No. 162 Dundalk to Monaghan bus service and the review of existing services in County Louth, including the No. 177 between Ardee and Dunleer. I will certainly take the Deputy's views …

I was in Carlingford over the summer, which is a beautiful spot. Regarding the Deputy's point about passenger numbers, the numbers using the regular rural service have increased by 72%.