Bus Services
Dail Éireann — 2025-12-11
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Jerry Buttimer (FG), Cork South-Central

I thank Deputy Cummins for raising this very important matter. I hear her frustration. I am not particularly familiar with the area. The Minister for Transport, Deputy O'Brien, sends his apologies but he could not be here today. As the Deputy knows, the Minister is responsible for policy and overall funding but is not involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services, for which the NTA is responsible. I heard the Deputy's articulation of engagement with the NTA, which has statutory responsibility for the provision of public passenger transport services nationally, as well as in Dublin. The NTA works with the public transport operators to deliver services and has day-to-day responsibility for same.
That being said, I assure the Deputy that the Government is strongly committed to providing all citizens with reliable, realistic and sustainable mobility options, and public transport plays a key role in the delivery of this goal. I agree with Deputy Cummins that residents and communities should not have to be protesting because it does sap energy. In order to support the Government's objective, the Department secured €940 million of funding for public service obligation, PSO, and TFI Local Link services in the recent budget, a 43% increase on last year's budget of €658.4 million.
Regarding Chapelizod and the issues of concern raised by the Deputy on behalf of residents regarding the performance of route 80 introduced under phase 7 of the BusConnects network redesign, I am informed that BusConnects, which I see in my own city of Cork as well as in Dublin, will be transformative. It is a significant level of investment in the bus system, with the aim of providing better bus services across our cities. It is the largest investment in the bus system in the history of the State.
On 28 November, following customer feedback and engagement with public representatives, the NTA announced a two-stage plan to revise route 80. I have heard everything Deputy Cummins said this afternoon and am aware that my reply may not give her and the residents the solace they seek. I am informed that from early 2026, route 80 will operate from Liffey Valley to Chapelizod on a revised alignment along the quays, crossing the Liffey at O'Connell Bridge rather than Bridge Street, and running through College Green to South Great George’s Street. This temporary measure will improve access to the city centre ahead of the planned pedestrianisation of College Green. Later, in quarter 2 of 2026, route 80 will link with route 130, continuing along the north quays and O’Connell Bridge to Eden Quay and northward through the city centre to Clontarf. This alignment will maintain a ten-minute peak frequency and provide new connectivity to the Luas green line at O’Connell Street and the DART at Connolly Station, offering passengers more options for onward travel. I am aware that the Luas green line is not operational today which is causing bother for commuters and I apologise to them. The NTA acknowledges that for a variety of reasons, including city centre congestion, route 80 did not meet expectations following its introduction. When rolling out phases of the BusConnects network, the NTA commits to monitoring new services, identifying issues, and implementing fixes where appropriate. These changes reflect that commitment.
In planning the redesigned network, the NTA considered Dublin City Council’s plans to transform College Green and Dame Street into a pedestrian-friendly plaza, which will restrict east-west bus movements through College Green. This was why route 80 was originally routed via Bridge Street. However, customer feedback indicated that continuing along the quays to O’Connell Bridge would provide greater benefits, including improved bus priority measures and enhanced connectivity to O’Connell Street and onward transport services. The NTA has reviewed this feedback and agrees that the changes make sense. While the NTA considered terminating route 80 at Merrion Square, replicating the former route 26, it concluded that linking routes 80 and 130 offers greater benefits, including improved interchange to bus, Luas, and rail services, and better access to the docklands and Connolly Station. Those travelling to Merrion Square will continue to have multiple onward connection options.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-12-11/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-11