Public Transport
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-18
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Louis O'Hara (SF), Galway East

I welcome the Minister's commitment on the 6.50 a.m. train. I ask that that be communicated to the NTA and Irish Rail as well, that clarity is provided to them on that. The responses I am getting have not reflected that until now but I welcome the Minister's comments on the matter today. If additional funding is forthcoming, of course that will be very welcome as well but my question is on when that will happen. In terms of Athenry, we have been waiting two years for that promised bus service. The NTA says that while it does not have any additional funding, it cannot implement that service. My big question, then, is: when that will happen? It is urgent for Athenry and, I am sure, for many other areas across the State where there are real constraints in terms of public transport capacity. I urge the Minister to ensure that this happens very quickly. The NTA wants to be able to provide more services. We all know that public transport has become increasingly popular but people want to be able to rely on it and they should be supported to do so. We need the commitment from the Government and, crucially, the funding to do that. I ask the Minister to provide clarity on when we can expect that.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-06-18/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:51+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-18