617. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Transport the number of applications received under the road transporters support scheme; the number of applications received from coach and bus operators and from haulage operators respectively; the total value of payments made to date; the value of payments made to coach and bus operators and to haulage operators respectively; the number and value of payments made to LPSV operators; the number and value of applications currently awaiting payment. [63990/26]

4,406 applications for support under the Road Transporters Support Scheme, in respect of 31,509 vehicles, were received. 2,264 (51%) applications were made by licensed road haulage operators, 456 (10%) applications were made by licensed road passenger operators and 1,686 (38%) applications were made by own-account operators.

As of 4 September 2026, 3,404 applications have been assessed and approved for payment. These applications may contain both eligible and ineligible vehicles, and some applications may contain no vehicles that meet the eligibility criteria, and therefore will not receive payment.

It will not be possible to provide a definitive figure for the number of applications ultimately refused payment on the basis that vehicles did not meet the eligibly criteria until the assessment of all applications have been completed and the appeals process has concluded.

A further 120 requests to submit a late application were received from potential applicants who could demonstrate that circumstances outside of their reasonable control prevented them from applying for support during the original application window. My Department will engage with those applicants in the coming days.

Once all applications received by my Department have been fully processed, any applicant whose assessment includes one or more vehicles deemed ineligible will be contacted directly and provided with details of the appeals process. Details of that process will also be made publicly available on the Department’s website.

The priority for my Department is to ensure that applications are assessed fairly, consistently and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Scheme, and that those who are eligible, receive the support to which this Government has allocated for them.