Bus Services
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-15
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Thomas Gould (SF), Cork North-Central

The Minister of State referred to the new 90-minute fares and the fact that people can tap on and tap off. I want to let her know that the fare is €1.90 but next week, it will be €2.40. That is a 26% increase in the fare. How can that be justified? The people of Cork are being forced to pay 26% extra for a service they cannot even depend on, a service that might not turn up or might be delayed. People are depending on the bus service in Cork but it is not reliable. Can the Minister of State imagine this? Drivers are telling me that brake warning light signals are coming on. They are driving buses that are old and decrepit in this day and age. Dublin, Limerick and Galway got new buses. Why did Cork not get new buses? At the same time, we are being asked to pay 26% extra.
The Government always blames everyone else. It blames the local authorities for the housing crisis. It blames Irish Water for the infrastructure. It blames the HSE for the health crisis. Now, it is blaming Bus Éireann for the bus crisis. The Government has to take responsibility. It is unbelievable that people cannot get to work, school or college on time and be able to depend on the bus service.
The Minister of State mentioned BusConnects. We supported BusConnects. We engaged with it, we put in submissions and we met those involved. Right now, BusConnects is dead in the water. As long as that is not up and running, we are in big trouble in Cork in terms of buses. Taylor Swift has a song, “Anti-hero”, which has the line, “It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me”. I think those in the Government need to say that to themselves.

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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