Transport Policy
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-03
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Séamus McGrath (FF), Cork South-Central

I do not have to tell the Minister of State that Cork is the second city. It is the fastest growing city in Ireland and that is likely to continue for the coming decade. The population of Cork is expected to increase by between 50% and 60% by 2040, bringing the overall population of the county to 770,000 people, which is very significant.
I repeat what I said earlier. The projects in Cork should not be managed by people in Dublin. They should be managed by people based in Cork so that they can have active engagement with all relevant bodies, individuals, communities and stakeholders in Cork. That is critically important. The NTA office which is being worked on at present is welcome, of course, but that office needs to be radically reconfigured. It needs to be empowered. It needs to be a decision-making office and it currently is not envisaged as one. It needs to have representation from a cross-section of transportation agencies, TII, the NTA, Irish Rail, Bus Éireann, the local authorities, and so on. That is the only way we will be able to progress key projects in Cork and delivery. People want delivery. The Minister of State knows that as well as I do.
We have seen success with commuter rail. That is an example of success. I give credit to Irish Rail for the progress it has made on that. There is more to come and it is welcome, but a key element of that is managed from Cork, which is the difference. The airport is critical. It is our key transportation hub in Cork, along with the seaport. There is much frustration about the inadequate transportation service to the airport. There is no early morning bus service bringing workers and passengers to the airport. The statistics for those who travel to the airport by public transport show a shockingly low number, because the service simply does not exist. It is an example of a failure of joined-up thinking by agencies of the State and their failure to work together. Cork deserves better. It deserves an office based in the city with the relevant expertise and decision-making powers so that we can progress with meaningful intent on the key projects. That is what I am calling for.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-03/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:02+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-03