Public Transport
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-04
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Emer Higgins (FG), Dublin Mid-West

I thank Deputy Ó Muirí very much for raising this Topical Issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport. To clarify, the Minister for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding of public transport, but he does not have responsibility for or involvement in the day-to-day operation of public transport services. That rests with the National Transport Authority. The NTA, which the Deputy referenced in his contribution, works with the public transport operators, who deliver the services and have responsibility for day-to-day operational matters. That being said, I would like to reassure the Deputy that the Government is strongly committed to providing all citizens with reliable and realistic sustainable mobility options, and public transport plays a key role in the delivery of this goal.
I appreciate that many customers in north Dublin, in the Deputy's constituency, have recently been experiencing some issues with regard to cancellations and reliability. As he predicted, the note I was handed today by the Minister speaks to traffic congestion, and a shortage of bus drivers and mechanics being part of the issue. From what I can see, it looks very much to be the case that traffic congestion is having a big impact on this bus route. Traffic conditions have been particularly challenging in recent months on that route. Traffic speeds have seen a decrease of 5%, while at the same time there has been a 5% increase in traffic volume. This has resulted in significantly higher lost kilometres for route 15 in quarter 4 than in quarters 1, 2 and 3 combined. That is heavily impacting both punctuality and reliability. They are the issues the Deputy has spoken about in regard to the constituents he mentioned who have missed work, school, appointments or other commitments. That is a direct result of the situation.
Dublin Bus introduced two additional morning peak capacity trips on 2 November to alleviate the issues facing the route. I compliment Deputy Ó Muirí and Councillor Supriya Singh, whom I know he has worked with on this to make sure that this happened. While the additional services have provided some relief, passenger loadings remain very heavy during the morning peak. A further capacity and demand review is now scheduled for later this year. At present, it is planned that a revised schedule for route 15 will be introduced in September, aimed at improving reliability and better matching capacity to demand. In the short term, an additional evening peak trip from the city centre to Clongriffin will be implemented from 8 February. I know this is something the Deputy has campaigned hard on and I thank him for doing that.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-04/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:35+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-04