Bus Services
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-09
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Niall Collins (FF), Limerick County

I thank Deputy O’Connor for raising the proposed routes for east Cork. The Minister for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport but neither he nor his officials are involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services. I am sure the Deputy knows that. The statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally rests with the National Transport Authority. The NTA works with the public transport operators which deliver the services and have responsibility for day-to-day operational matters. That said, I reassure the Deputy the Government is strongly committed to providing all citizens, including people in east Cork, with reliable and realistic sustainable mobility options. Public transport plays a key role in the delivery of this goal.
To support this objective, in budget 2026, the Department of Transport secured €940 million in funding for public service obligation and TFI Local Link services. That was an increase from €658 million in 2025. This funding will go towards funding and subsidising existing public transport services while maintaining targeted fares including initiatives such as the free travel for all children up to the age of nine and the young adult card for those aged 19-25 as part of the NTA's national fares strategy.
The Department continues to engage with the NTA to ensure existing levels of service, resilience and driver shortages are considered to ensure that planning and strategic decisions are informed by operational and resource considerations. Some €31 million of this funding has been secured for continued investment in our rural transport service provision in 2026, a 38% increase on last year's funding. This funding ensures continued delivery of vital transport services across rural Ireland, building on the significant increase in funding in recent years. In County Cork in particular, funding increased by 47% between 2024 and 2025, boosting passenger numbers by 95%.
The hugely successful Connecting Ireland rural mobility plan is a major public transport initiative developed by the NTA to increase connectivity outside our major cities and towns. Some 185 new and enhanced services have been implemented since 2022, linking more than 240 towns and villages to the public transport network. These services now provide new transport connections to 41 higher education facilities and 61 healthcare facilities and offer 71 connections to rail services, allowing passengers to connect to the wider TFI network. Approximately 600,000 people now have access to these new or enhanced bus services. Increased services have led to exponential growth in passenger numbers, with more than 8 million passenger journeys recorded across Connecting Ireland services in 2025. The expansion of rural bus services has brought life back into our villages, towns and urban centres, offering an accessible and sustainable alternative to travel by private car.
The NTA has stated that a number of new routes and route enhancements under the Connecting Ireland initiative are yet to be implemented in County Cork. The timetable for implementation of all new and enhanced services is subject to funding, operational readiness and capacity. The public transport sector is currently experiencing a significant workforce shortage, particularly among drivers and mechanics. Therefore, the focus for 2026 is on ensuring services already in place can operate reliably and sustainably. The NTA is managing the 2026 allocation by prioritising delivery of existing programmes. Decisions on future new or enhanced services are a matter for the NTA, which must consider the existing levels of service and funding availability and reach agreement on priorities with the national co-ordination unit. I assure the Deputy that the Government recognises that transport connectivity is hugely important for people who live and work in rural Ireland.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-09/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:07+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-09