Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)

The Deputy has spoken to me before about this issue. I really appreciate his bringing it to light.

From the outset, I would like to clarify that the Minister for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. However, neither the Minister nor his officials are involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services. The statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally rests with the National Transport Authority. The NTA works with the public transport operators, which deliver the services and have responsibility for day-to-day operational matters.

The NTA also has statutory responsibility for the regulation of fares charged to passengers in respect of public transport services provided under public service obligation, PSO, contracts.

In this context, the NTA published the national fares strategy in 2023. This aims to create a more equitable, consistent and easy-to-understand fare system based on distance travelled. In line with this strategy, the NTA published fare determinations in January 2024 covering the Dublin city zone, 25 km from the city centre, and the Dublin commuter zone, 50 km from the city centre. This determination is being implemented in two phases. The second phase of this determination was introduced on 28 April 2025 with new multimodal fare caps and revised commuter rail fares.

Phase 2b, pertaining to adjustments to commuter bus fares, commenced on 16 June 2025. I understand these are the fares to which the Deputy referred. This builds on the previous rail fare changes introduced in April. The new zones and fare structures, which have been widely publicised, aim to deliver more consistent and equitable fares and reduce disparities, particularly in the outer commuter towns surrounding Dublin. These are distance-based fares.

The existing fare structures were not always equitable, consistent or easy for passengers to understand, and the new distance-based approach aims to address this by providing a fairer and clearer fare system. In Cavan, fares have seen an increase in the single adult category from €9.45 to €11.40. It is important to note that these fare changes will see increases for some passengers and decreases for others in order to allow for a more equitable fares structure, and it is the NTA’s intention to roll out further changes in future determinations during 2025.

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