Public Transport and Fare Increases: Motion [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-29
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Pa Daly (SF), Kerry

I move:
That Dáil Éireann:
recognises that:
— public transport is an essential public service and should be affordable and accessible to all;
— investment in public transport is critical to fairness, social inclusion, balanced regional development and reducing emissions; and
— the best way to increase public transport use is to make services more affordable, reliable, accessible and more widely available;
notes that:
— households, workers, students, pensioners and families continue to face significant cost of living pressures, with rising costs across housing, energy, childcare and everyday essentials;
— the Government has chosen to increase the cost of public transport for those who rely on it, and at a time when fuel costs are spiralling out of control;
— the National Transport Authority (NTA) has acknowledged that increasing fares will result in fewer people using public transport;
— affordable public transport helps to reduce household costs, tackle transport poverty and help workers and families cope with the rising cost of living; and
— commuters are being asked to pay higher fares while continuing to endure unreliable and overcrowded services, including so-called "ghost buses" that simply fail to turn up, leaving workers, students and families stranded and out of pocket;
further notes that:
— the Government has prioritised pay rises for public transport chief executive officers in conjunction with fare increases for commuters;
— this Government have failed to provide adequate funding to the NTA to both expand services, and maintain affordable fares;
— despite repeated promises, the rollout of improved public transport services has slowed significantly, with concerns raised regarding delays to the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan and promised rural transport improvements;
— communities across rural Ireland continue to experience poor connectivity, inadequate services and a lack of viable alternatives to private car ownership;
— this failure comes amidst repeated examples of waste, mismanagement and spiralling costs within the transport system, including the write-off of approximately €50 million arising from a failed public transport Information Technology project;
— affordable, reliable and accessible public transport delivers significant social, economic and environmental benefits by reducing congestion, lowering emissions, supporting regional development and connecting people with employment, education, healthcare and social opportunities; and
— free public transport for children and young people would ease financial pressures on families, increase mobility, improve access to opportunities and encourage lifelong use of public transport; and
calls on the Government to:
— immediately cancel all planned public transport fare increases;
— introduce free public transport for all children and young people under 18 years of age;
— provide adequate funding to the NTA to ensure affordable fares and expanded services are delivered together;
— deliver better, more reliable and more frequent bus and rail services;
— accelerate investment in rural public transport and fast-track the expansion of the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan; and
— improve accessibility across the public transport network so that it works for disabled passengers, older people, families, rural communities and all users.
Families and workers across the State are being hit by surging costs from every side. From the soaring cost of energy to higher grocery bills and childcare, households have no reprieve. They are living from week to week and they need a break. However, instead of making life easier, the Government is piling on yet another cost at a time when household budgets are being stretched to breaking point. This is utterly wrong. The Government must reverse the planned fare hikes. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael must deliver on something that successive governments have been short on for decades, which is the political will and ambition to deliver an affordable, accessible transport system fit for purpose in a 21st century Ireland. Due to a lack of investment, workers, students, pensioners and families are already struggling with the soaring cost of living but the Government has decided the solution is to make public transport even more expensive. People are already paying for overcrowded services, delays, cancellations and routes that were never delivered. It is outrageous that the Government expects ordinary people to pay more while CEOs have their salaries topped up, millions of euro are wasted on failed projects, and costly overruns are tolerated without consequence.
The Minister will say there were no fare hikes since 2016 but there were plenty between 2008 and 2016. Also, unspent money that comes in from the carbon tax could be used to facilitate no fare increases. The Government's priorities are completely wrong. The Taoiseach says he wants a budget for people who get up early but instead of helping those same people the Government is hitting them with higher fares.
Let us be clear: this is not just about reversing these fare hikes. We should be asking a bigger question of what type of public transport we actually want. Sinn Féin believes that public transport should be affordable, reliable and accessible. It should facilitate people accessing work, education, healthcare and social opportunities, and it will reduce emissions, tackle isolation and strengthen communities. That is why we are calling not only for the fare hikes to be scrapped but for free public transport for all under 18s. No child should miss out on education, sport, opportunities or community activities because the family cannot afford their fares. Free travel for children and young people would put money back into families' pockets, tackle child poverty and, crucially, encourage sustainable travel from a young age. We are also demanding more reliable bus and rain services. If people are paying into the system, they want a service on which they can rely.
Finally, disabled passengers should not have to fight barriers every day simply to use a bus or train station. Public transport must work for everyone, regardless of disability, age or where they live. Accessibility is not an optional extra; it is a basic right.

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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/2026-09-29/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-29