An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-16
============================================================

Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

In fairness, we have been out talking about this and so has the Minister. Ireland has maintained an effective eight-year fare freeze alongside targeted measures like the young adult card, free travel for under nines and the 90-minute fare, which is support that compares favourably with international practice. We have to balance affordability with a financially sustainable transport system that is able to fund service improvements, network expansion and fleet investment. We have to do all of that. Most European countries rely on a mix taxpayer funding and passenger revenue. We have delivered one of the most significant fare reforms in decades through the 90-minute fare and youth discounts. Now, we have identified 140 new service initiatives and capacity enhancements in the 2027 budget submission that the NTA has submitted to the Department of Transport. This will be the biggest year on year service enhancement in many years. It is a balance between making sure that we have a sustainable transport system into the future and that we get more services on an annual basis.

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-16/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-16