I agree with the Deputy that this is a critical route. I am happy to provide him with an update. It was a programme for Government commitment, as the Deputy knows, to re-establish the route. I thank the Deputy for his continued interest in this matter. We are committed to supporting vibrant, inclusive and sustainable communities throughout Ireland where people can live, work and connect. The Deputy has made that point validly with regard to the north west. Many stakeholders have recognised that the north west is an area that is relatively under-served by transport connectivity. We are improving that but it needs to be improved further. Government-funded PSO air services previously operated on this route for a ten-year period up until 2011. In this context, and in line with our objectives on building a shared island, the Government committed to engage with all relevant stakeholders to establish air connectivity between Dublin and Derry city airports. I met with officials in the City of Derry Airport and Derry Chamber as well as with the Deputy’s colleagues in Donegal County Council. Last year, we decided that, pending progress on the A5 motorway upgrade, preparatory work to reintroduce the PSO air service to establish air connectivity between Dublin and Derry airports in 2026 would be progressed. We are fully committed to the reintroduction of a PSO service on this route, which will be funded through the shared island fund. As announced in budget 2026, the Government has doubled the resources available under this fund out to 2035. My officials are progressing the preparatory work necessary to establish this service. That work is now well advanced. On 22 December 2025, we published a market-sounding survey. Views of stakeholders, including those who might avail of the service, were sought on the service. It is important we do that. This survey includes the specifications that would potentially best meet the requirements of the PSO air service, such as aircraft type, capacity and frequency of services. Engagement on this survey was positive. Over 700 responses were received, confirming the interest and recognised benefits of the PSO air service for stakeholders in Derry and the wider north-west region. All things being equal, it is expected that following a two-month tender procedure, a contract will be awarded for the commencement of services this October. This will align with the winter 2026 airline scheduling season. We are looking forward to it. It is on track.
Sentiment score: 0.32
I, too, share the Deputy’s disappointment with regard to the A5. We are still committed to delivering it whenever legal challenges and planning issues are dispensed with. In the meantime, this is critical. This route is viable and needed. We will support it with a public service obligation. The timelines I have provided are robust. I very much expect this service to be up and running in October. Both the awarding of the contract and a commencement of the service will happen in October, aligning with that winter 2026 schedule. Not only will this service provide connectivity between Dublin and Derry but it will provide onwards connectivity as well. Certainly, from a geographical perspective, it is critical for the north west. It will drive investment. I met with the chambers of commerce on both sides of the Border, as well as with Derry City and Strabane District Council. On the Letterkenny side, there are substantial land banks for further investment and employment growth. There would also be a good tourism offering for people there. I am looking forward to it. We are watching it. I am confident in the timelines I have provided. I thank the Deputy for his support for this project.
Sentiment score: 0.21
This is another project that shows the benefits of the shared island initiative. It is bringing people on the island of Ireland together and normalising future relations. It is a fantastic example of how local authorities and chambers of commerce work together. The Border does not exist, and that is critical. People are working together and bringing in investment. People work on both sides of the Border. The shared island fund is an important enabler. The Taoiseach is incredibly supportive of the project. We are happy to work with it. The fund has been a constructive partner, as have Donegal County Council, Derry and Strabane and the chambers of commerce. To be fair, politicians across the House, including Deputy Mac Lochlainn, have been very supportive of this. I look forward to it opening. Maybe we will take a flight up there together.
Sentiment score: 0.22
The NTA is critical in the context of the planning and provision of services and continues to keep public transport connectivity, including access to Dublin Airport, under ongoing and active review. As the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, mentioned in a previous response, there was a substantial increase, about 46%, in the public service obligation in the budget to enhance and improve our services. While there is no direct public transport from Dublin Mid-West to the airport, a range of convenient and flexible travel options are available. Many travel by rail into the city centre and out from there. Looking ahead, the NTA is continuing to invest in additional orbital bus services which will provide more options to reach Dublin Airport by public transport. For example, route W4 which currently operates between Tallaght and Blanchardstown will connect with the planned new route N8 at Blanchardstown which will serve Dublin Airport via the M50. A further welcome development is included in the Dublin Airport Authority's planning application currently under consideration to increase passenger numbers to 40 million per annum. As part of this proposal, the DAA has sought approval for a new ground transportation centre which will consolidate airport bus services in a single location and, where possible, segregate general but traffic from pedestrian movements. This would provide priority access to bus stop facilities and increase bus bay capacities, supporting the continued growth of public transport use to make journeys to the airport. In addition there is MetroLink, which will start construction by the end of next year. It is fully funded under the national development plan and will integrate directly with Iarnród Éireann services at Glasnevin, thereby significantly improving public transport access to Dublin Airport. Deputy Moynihan asked for an update on DART+ South West. We are committed to that and are doing it as a Government. It will be a critical enabler of improving public transport services in what is a major growth area. There has been significant housing development in the area and new families moving in. We have to ensure that the public transport offering is commensurate with population growth.
Sentiment score: 0.28
Deputy Moynihan asked a question about this on a previous occasion. The cessation of the Airport Hopper was a disappointment. It was a direct route for people. On foot of the questions asked a few weeks ago and Deputy Ward's question today, I will ask the NTA to move forward and see if something can be done within the public service obligation. There was a substantial increase in public service obligation funding. We have also seen a substantial increase in routes and additions to routes. Last year, 365 million public service obligation transport journeys took place across the network, a record number. Journeys are growing by about 6% or 7% per year. People respond when they have the choice and opportunity to use public transport. One can see from the questions Deputies Ward and Moynihan have asked that there is a gap regarding which needs to be filled in the interim. I am aware of the issue and will engage with the NTA to see whether we can bring forward the service and provide interim services solutions in advance of that. I will keep the Deputies informed.
Sentiment score: 0.13
That point has been well made by both Deputies. I will engage with the NTA and keep both Deputies fully informed. There could be an interim measure we can take. There is a longer term plan and continued investment in the public transport fleet, including DART+ South West, which everyone is supportive of and which we will bring forward. The Government has started work on that. I will keep Deputies Ward and Moynihan informed of progress.
Sentiment score: 0.22
I talk to myself every day. It is good having two Departments because you can ask permission from the other Minister. There are good synergies between both though, to be fair. It is a good question. As Minister for transport and for climate, energy and the environment, I am aware of the report in question. I thank Deputies Cronin and Daly for bringing it to my attention. I have also reached out to Professor Brian Caulfield to arrange a meeting to discuss his research. It is very timely. We are firmly committed to achieving a low-carbon economy by 2050. The transport sector will play a pivotal role in that. Fleet electrification is expected to continue to provide the greatest share of emissions abatement in the short to medium term for the transport sector. Rural motorists are often in an advantageous position to make the switch to an electric vehicle, due to the large number of dwellings in rural Ireland which are suitable for home EV charging. Home charging is the primary charging method that most Irish EV owners use as it is convenient and cheaper for the consumer, as well as assisting in the overall management of the grid. According to data provided by TII and the charging point operators, over 3,200 publicly accessible charge points are now available nationwide. We are finalising a data strategy in line with the programme for Government commitment, which will enhance the Department’s ability to monitor infrastructure roll-out, capacity and usage, so we can more accurately assess that data with the ultimate objective of delivering on EU requirements. We are going very well on the EV roll-out, and we have seen a really substantial jump in quarter 1 of this year. We have close to 240,000 EVs now on our roads and we are seeing that increase. I want to be able to deploy more EVs and ensure that people, particularly in rural areas, are assessing them. The data we have from last year shows that there is a good regional split. The need to focus on this has been raised by many Deputies and, indeed, Sinn Féin's transport spokesperson, and we will. I intend to meet Professor Caulfield in the coming weeks to discuss his research.
Sentiment score: 0.32
That is a very good question. That is why PR6, the capital investment programme into our grid infrastructure between now and 2030 is so critically important. We will be investing up to €18.9 billion in our grid. It is needed to improve grid resilience, grid capacity and distribution. That will be about adding more renewables to our grid too and storage to be able to deal with curtailment issues too but capacity issues in certain parts of the grid. The capital scheme encompasses about 520 projects right the way across the country. This will give that improvement our grid needs to be able to expand further, allow more people, businesses and homes to access the grid, and to facilitate further EV charging. That work has commenced across those projects and it will be the most critical grid upgrade that has been done since electrification in this country. Projects like the north-south interconnector are encompassing it. That is critically important for grid resilience across the island of Ireland.
Sentiment score: 0.25
That is a good idea. I am happy to do that. In relation to renewables and the acceleration of renewables, we need to continue to reduce our dependence on fossil and imported fossil. That is good for climate, our economy and people's pockets. The good news is that we have doubled our wind capacity in a ten-year period. We now have over 8 GW of renewable energy connected to our system. We have about 1.4 GW of solar on rooftops. Solar is growing at a significant rate. In March of this year, 50% of our electricity was generated by renewables. We need to accelerate that further. We are doing that. We are doing that through measures like the Planning and Development Act. Earlier this week I visited Bord na Móna's Derrinlough wind farm, which is one of the largest wind farms in the country. Bord na Móna is generating over 1 GW of renewable energy. It was a fossil-based peat company that has transitioned fully to green energy. In its pipeline of development and planning, it has over 5 GW of further renewable sources. On the offshore renewables, we need to get them into construction this decade. Regarding the horizon, the outlook is positive. I agree with the Deputy that we need to accelerate it. I will write to the transport committee post my meeting with Professor Caulfield.
Sentiment score: 0.22
I thank the Deputy. As Minister for Transport, I fully recognise the pressure that people and businesses are under due to rising fuel costs. Public transport has a particularly important role to play at times like this by providing a more affordable and sustainable alternative for many people. We are seeing public transport usage increase year-on-year. Last year, we saw a record 365 million public transport journeys. In that context, I am keeping under close review how the public transport system is equipped to respond to current pressures. My Department and the NTA remain in close contact with operators to monitor demand and operational impacts as the situation evolves. At the same time, it is important that any such measures are carefully considered and aligned with available resources, so that they are effective, sustainable and can deliver real benefits. The immediate priority has been to protect existing services and ensure continuity across the network within the resources allocated in the PSO programme. In the PSO, we secured an unprecedented allocation of €940 million. That was a 43% uplift on the previous budget. I want to get us to a sustainable footing in relation to the funding of public transport services. Where it previously had been, where additional routes were added and at the end of every year a supplementary budget was sought for transport, is not the way to plan things. It is not the way to plan things going forward. To further support the sector, we approved a range of measures to mitigate rising fuel costs, including the transport sector through the road transport support scheme. That will support bus and coach operators providing TFI Local Link services and school transport. If we look at our charging structure in Ireland for public transport, it compares very favourably with our European counterparts. We have broadened free services with children up to the age of nine getting free travel, the senior free travel and the companion pass, which is being rolled out. We keep the fare structure and the fares under constant monitoring. We review it on a regular basis.
Sentiment score: 0.23
Let us turn to some facts.
Sentiment score: 0.00
There are more people using public transport than ever. There were 365 million public transport journeys last year. That is a 6% increase. Our fare structure is affordable. We have many free fares across the system, which we will continue to maintain. On the other issue in relation to the electrification of our fleet, Limerick and Athlone are fully electrified. There were additional buses purchased in the previous Government term which are still being deployed at the rate of two a week. All the additional electric buses will be deployed across Dublin by this year and the remainder of them in quarter 1 of next year. There are two a week going into service now. I visited Broadstone to see that. It is not about grid capacity, although it was. There were issues with charging infrastructure. The Deputy is correct. I have addressed that. This is a matter that I inherited that we are dealing with. Bus Átha Cliath and its drivers have been really good in that regard. A lot of people are getting used to the use of those EV buses. We will continue to roll them out. There were issues. Those issues are being worked on and addressed. The remainder of those buses will be rolled out over the course of these few months. They are being rolled at a rate of two per week.
Sentiment score: 0.06
Excellent.
Sentiment score: 0.57
We actually are. We are expanding services across the country. The numbers bear that out. To answer the Deputy's question directly, to be fair to my predecessor, he had bought additional electric buses because the capital was there. They were purchased forward. They were not all going to go into use over the course of a month or two. It has gone on longer than it should. We are looking at about 10% of our fleet in Dublin being electrified. That is a good thing. Limerick and Athlone are fully electrified. We are investing €1 in every €4 in this NPD between now and 2030 in the transport sector. It is just short of €25 billion to deliver projects like MetroLink, BusConnects and the quality bus corridors, which we are starting. I mention Ballymun-Finglas to the city and the Liffey Valley to city. Both of those contracts are signed and both will be in construction this year. We are in the delivery phase. The Deputy is right that there are deficits. I am not painting the picture that everything is perfect - it is not. We have a growing population. We have growing housing and had good news on housing again this morning - a 33% increase in housing completions in quarter 1 of this year. That is the type of sustainable progress we will continue to make across housing, transport and education.
Sentiment score: 0.15