2026-07-15

The bus service in Cork has been in crisis for a number of years. Buses do not turn up. Buses are late. There are ghost buses. There are buses that have "out of service" displayed on them as they drive past dozens of people waiting at bus stops for them. There is an app that does not work. People are looking at the app which says there is a bus due shortly and after a while the bus disappears from the app. It is unbelievable that the crisis in the bus service in Cork is this bad and has been this bad for so long. I have been contacted by drivers who tell me the condition of the buses in Cork is so bad. There are numerous issues and there is a shortage of buses in Cork. One of the reasons there is a shortage of buses in Cork is that there was supposed to be a temporary depot in Tivoli. That is a year late. It is going to cost €18 million for a temporary depot and Cork will not get any buses until that is up and running. I have looked for commitments for the last two years to get that open and here we are looking at delay after delay. This means there is gridlock in Cork at the moment. There is absolute gridlock in the city centre with people trying to get from one side of the city to the other. At Monday night's council meeting there was a discussion about a new traffic system in Cork to encourage people to walk, cycle and use the buses. How can people use the buses when we are short buses and they are not turning up? With this new system, because the bus service that was supposed to be in place is not in place, the gridlock is now worse. It is unbelievable in this day and age that a city like Cork has been reduced to this because of a shortage of buses. In the middle of the crisis last week there was a big announcement to introduce 90-minute fares for Cork city. You might say to yourself that this is a bit of positive news. However, hidden inside that announcement was another announcement saying fares for adults would increase by 26%. Fares are to increase by up to 26%. For an adult in Cork who commutes, that is the equivalent of an extra €240 a year. The Government gave Cork 90-minute fares and at the same time gave us a 26% increase. How in the name of God with the cost-of-living crisis we have at the moment is that acceptable? I do not think it is. It happened in Dublin. I think most of them had no increase and some of the services had an extra five cent or a very small number. This 26% increase has to be changed. The 90-minute fares have to stand but they have to stand at the original price. The thing about Cork is that most people do not use multiple trips. If someone pays a fare in the morning, they are going one way. They are going to work, school, college or the hospital. For the vast majority of passengers, the 90-minute fare is actually no saving but, rather, an extra cost. The question I ask myself is whether these fare increases are to subsidise the poor decision-making of the NTA and the Government and to supplement Bus Éireann for the extra costs? I want to make it clear that this is not the drivers' fault. In fact, I do not believe it is Bus Éireann's fault, and it is not the passengers' fault. This is a result of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael's decision to privatise the bus services and it is wrong. Bus services need to be public services.

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.

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.

I am glad the Deputy presented different figures from those provided in the information from the NTA. I have taken note of that because the Deputy has presented different figures for the flat fee and the 26% increase. However, I have to be factual and say to him that there are State agencies in this country that have absolute responsibility. The NTA has responsibility for the regulation of fares. It is important to outline that in order to counteract some of what the Deputy is saying. That said, I have taken note of what he said. It is important to note that the NTA continues to engage with Bus Éireann to finalise the depot layout required to accommodate 52 charge points at Capwell. I take the Deputy’s point on the introduction of new buses in certain cities, but not in Cork, as well as his point about the conditions. The Deputy raised that very clearly here today and I have taken note of it. The infrastructure at the depot is due to be completed by quarter 4 of 2027 to support the electric bus roll-out for future network redesign launch dates. The performance of all public transport operators is monitored by the NTA as part of the contractual arrangements in place between it and the operators. I understand the Minister for Transport and his officials continue to engage with the NTA on an ongoing basis in relation to maintaining high operational standards on all forms of public transport. That should also mean high standards and the good condition of buses that passengers have to use. The individual operators are responsible for the management and operation of services on a day-to-day basis. In this case, Bus Éireann operates both PSO services funded by the State subvention and Expressway inter-city services, which operate on a commercial basis and do not receive any State subvention. I can assure the Deputy the Department of Transport is committed to providing investment in our public transport network, which is clear to be seen across the country. The Minister is supportive of the Government’s goals in relation to delivering an accessible, affordable and, most importantly, reliable public transport network throughout the country, including in Cork city. As I said earlier, I have taken notes of the issues that the Deputy has raised.