Public Transport and Fare Increases: Motion [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-29
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Albert Dolan (FF), Galway East

I want to use this debate to make a very simple point, which is that if the NTA and the Department of Transport are going to ask people to pay more for public transport, then people are entitled to ask what they are getting for it. For the people I represent, that has to mean two things: capacity and connectivity.
There are three practical examples in Galway East where we need to see delivery. The first is on the train from Athenry to Galway city. A parent contacted me just last week. His daughter is a college student in Galway. She fainted on the early train to Galway city from Athenry because it was so crammed. There were only two carriages and it was absolutely wedged. This is a daily occurrence for commuters in Galway. It needs to be tackled. I know there are capacity constraints across the country for rail, but the new carriages cannot come quickly enough for the people who are commuting daily. The trains are only going to get stuffier and hotter over the winter months.
The next practical step that could be taken relates to towns like Athenry, a town with over 5,000 people. For almost two years now, there has been no bus from Athenry to Galway city. We always had a bus in Athenry. Immediately after the private operator pulled the service a PSO was put in place, but we have still not seen a bus put on the route from Athenry to Galway. It is something that I and my constituency colleagues have been calling for. We know that Athenry needs to have a bus going to Galway city, which would take pressure off the train as well.
The last point is that there was a long-mooted Local Link service to be run from Athenry to Tuam. An Athenry to Tuam service serving Monivea and many other villages along the road would be an incredible addition for connectivity between the towns of Athenry and Tuam. These are the priorities that matter to people. That is what matters. It matters that if they need to get somewhere, they have the connectivity and if they choose to use the service, they have the capacity. That is the whole point I wanted to make today.

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