Public Transport and Fare Increases: Motion [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-29
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Máire Devine (SF), Dublin South-Central

Many people might say that people in my constituency of Dublin South-Central are really lucky when it comes to public transport. We live in the inner-city areas between the canals and so we must have perfect transport services. In fact, that is not true. I have been bombarded with emails from constituents who are livid over the fare increases, and rightly so. As well as the hundreds of emails from angry and upset residents, I have been approached by people on the Luas, at the bus stop and on the street to demand that the Government not proceed with these price hikes. They cite the dire cost-of-living crisis.
They rightly point out that transport services are not delivering for them and the fare increases will likely reduce their use of services. Let us take the Dublin Bus route 73 as an example. A constituent from Crumlin says, "As a daily commuter, I cannot rely on this service any more, its terrible reliability, ghost buses, and completely inaccurate real-time information." The new 80 route serving Chapelizod, was implemented a year ago, but the residents had to block the main road in the village to get attention for their concerns. Multiple bus stops have been removed from service without consultation with residents. We need solutions. Residents of Inchicore and the Liberties remain troubled by the persistent reports they will lose all routes down Thomas Street, where they shop weekly. Last week in Inchicore, a family of tourists was in disbelief at my staff pointing out to them that they had to go to the shop because they needed coins to pay for the bus. Dublin Bus does not accept anything else. Notes and debit cards are still not supported. Why should people pay more for a service that does not deliver or serve them? It is just not good enough.

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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