Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-17
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Helen McEntee (FG), Meath East

As the Deputy said, the National Transport Authority made the decision to publish the new fares on 3 September of this year, with the revised fares taking effect from January 2027. This was a really important step in standardising the national fares structure. It is in line with a strategy that was published back in 2023. Since 2022, we have seen inflation of almost 21%, which has of course driven up the cost of operating our public transport. The public transport network is not immune to this inflation, in the same way that people getting into their car and driving to work are not.
At the same time, in that period, we have seen costs drop, specifically by 20% in the cost-of-living fares reduction, the young adult card discount of 50% and the extension of free travel to children under nine, so we have seen reductions in costs for all people outlined there. It is about getting the balance right and being able to invest in the network to expand it so that more people can access it while also taking into account the fact inflation is impacting that sector. At all times, and to reassure the Deputy because we are all impacted by this and have significant public transport in our constituencies, we want to make sure it is affordable for people. All of this has to be kept under review and we have to make sure we are doing everything possible to ensure any of the changes and the €1.4 billion I mentioned are passed on to our public and private transport operators.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-17/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-17