Public Transport and Fare Increases: Motion [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-29
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Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh (SF), Kildare South

The recent decision to hike fares by 15% is baffling. For some of my constituents in Kildare those increases will be closer to 20%. This will mean a €290 annual increase for Newbridge commuters and a €545 annual increase for Athy commuters. These are huge increases at a time when families are already struggling with rising energy, grocery, education and insurance costs. This decision is completely out of touch with reality. Access to public transport is essential for workers, students, older people and those attending hospital appointments or social events. Travelling by bus or train should not be a luxury but these fare increases are pricing people out of public transport.
Customers of Irish Rail and Bus Éireann certainly do not feel like they are experiencing luxury when travelling aboard these services. Day in and day out I hear from commuters in Newbridge, Kildare town, Athy and Monasterevin about overcrowded trains, with dozens of passengers regularly forced to stand in carriages. We need more capacity i gCill Dara. We need earlier morning services and later evening services for those returning from work, events and concerts. I know students in Carlow College who regularly have to leave their classes early in order to catch the train back to Kildare. We need accessible and reliable services and a booking system that works. We need Kildare to be fully recognised as a commuter zone. We need better connectivity for our rural areas in both north and south Kildare. Kildare is one of the fastest growing counties in the State but there are no significant service improvements planned. Kildare passengers will see no tangible benefit from these fare hikes. They are simply being asked to pay more for the same unsatisfactory service. It is maddening.
South Kildare campaigners and the fair fares campaign fought so hard to have our towns included in the short-hop zone and this decision essentially undoes all of that progress. The decision will force more people onto the already congested N7, increasing traffic, commuting times and emissions. The irony is that these developments came during mobility week. The Government speaks about the importance of sustainable transport and reducing car dependency but in reality, this Government and our transport providers are actively discouraging public transport use in the middle of a climate emergency. The Minister needs to wake up and get serious about delivering affordable, reliable and sustainable public transport for all. This retrograde decision must be reversed.

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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