Public Transport
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-18
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Jerry Buttimer (FG), Cork South-Central

The points the Deputy has raised are fundamental to our philosophy in terms of where we want to go with public transport. I was reflecting on that the other day when I was at Cork Airport, where there is an issue with the bus service. The Deputy is right that we need to think differently. The existing transport provision timetable has changed. The Minister is very much committed to bringing new electric and battery-electric trains on stream. Testing of that fleet is under way and we will see an enhanced offering.
The Deputy's fundamental point is about our relationship, as a country, with public transport. There are exciting things happening in Cork with the Luas and commuter rail service. We have seen that if we plan and take on board some of what the Deputy has articulated, we can get it right. The Minister, the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and I are very much committed to what he is advocating this morning. It is about getting people out of their car and onto a bus or train. As the Minister noted, we are seeing record numbers using public transport.

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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