Bus passes: New application fee for over-60s travel cards

Announcing the new application fee, Mr O’Dowd said his department had to take “difficult decisions” after receiving its budget allocation.

“Years of underfunding and austerity by the British government mean these are challenging times for all departments, and Infrastructure is no different,” he added.

He said he was “committed to prioritising essential front-line services” and he cited the continuation of concessionary travel passes first on his list of protected spends

In addition to maintaining concessionary fares for people over 60, Mr O’Dowd said he was ringfencing funding for a number of infrastructure projects.

These include £4.7m for improvements to the Coleraine-Derry rail; investment in the A1, A4, and A5 roads; the Cookstown bypass and Newry’s Southern Relief Road.

The Department of Infrastructure said it had been allocated a resource budget allocation for 2024-25 of just under £560m, with a capital allocation of £820m.

From that budget, Translink will get £245.8m which includes £80m ring-fenced for the Belfast Transport Hub.

The bus and rail centre, which will be known as Belfast Grand Central Station, is due to open later this year.

Northern Ireland Water is to receive £137.7m in resource funding and £323.6m capital funding.

Commenting on those allocations, Mr O’Dowd said: “None of us are getting the funding we would have liked”.

But he added that “we must all prioritise essential services along with health and safety, while maximising service delivery within the resources available”.