Bus Services
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-15
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Niamh Smyth (FF), Cavan-Monaghan

I thank Deputy Gould for his passionate presentation this morning about bus services in Cork. I am really disappointed to hear the technology is failing passengers and bus drivers, with apps not working. We are in a day of digitalisation and digital transformation and I am in disbelief about that. I will certainly see if there is anything from my end that we can do on that. The Deputy raised the condition of the buses along with a shortage of buses. That is very disappointing to hear too and is something I will raise with the Minister.
The Minister for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. However, he is not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport, which cover a lot of the issues Deputy Gould has raised about digital transformation, conditions of buses and shortages of buses. I want to make that distinction.
The National Transport Authority, NTA, has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally and for the scheduling and timetabling of these services in conjunction with the relevant transport operators. It is clear this is an NTA responsibility. The NTA also has responsibility for the regulation of fares charged to passengers, which the Deputy alluded to, in respect of public transport services provided under public service obligation contracts, including Cork bus services.
As Deputy Gould is aware, the NTA recently announced that from Monday 20 July passengers using Bus Éireann’s Cork TFI city bus services will benefit from faster boarding times and a simplified 90-minute fare.
This means that, for the first time, passengers would be able to catch any bus in the city and transfer between buses in Cork city as often as they need within 90 minutes. To support the introduction of TFI 90, adult Leap card fares in Cork city will move to a single flat fare of €1.70. This replaces the current adult Leap fares of €1.35 to €1.55, creating a simpler fare structure while enabling unlimited transfers within 90 minutes. It means passengers can move between buses without being penalised for doing so. The main ethos of this is to keep fares reduced and as low as possible.
The introduction of new onboard ticket validators also means that passengers can simply tap their Leap card and go, reducing boarding times and keeping services moving. This improves the overall reliability and punctuality of Cork city bus services. That said, it is disappointing to hear the Deputy’s presentation this morning, which speaks against all of the information the NTA is giving the Minister. As a result, passengers should enjoy greater flexibility, and they will also benefit from fare capping, which has not been previously available to passengers in Cork. This initiative is future-proofing the multimodular public transport offerings planned for the city of Cork over the next few years.
The Tivoli temporary bus depot, to which the Deputy referred, is being delivered by Bus Éireann using funding administered by the NTA. The Tivoli bus depot is a critical enabler of the BusConnects Cork programme as it allows for the expansion of the urban bus fleet servicing the Cork metropolitan area in the short term. The Minister has been advised that substantial completion of the Tivoli temporary depot has been achieved and that fit-out works are ongoing and due to be completed shortly. This will facilitate the additional bus fleet needed for Cork, including Cork city. Regarding the upgrading of fleet, the electric bus charging infrastructure framework has been completed, and contract signing is expected shortly. Once finalised, the framework will support the delivery of charging infrastructure at Capwell depot.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-15/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:08+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-15