A Kerry TD has criticised what he’s called an astonishing drop off in the rollout of rural buses.
The National Transport Authority confirmed to Kerry Sinn Féin Deputy Pa Daly that just four new or enhanced bus services have been rolled out across the country this year.
The NTA’s Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan aims to increase transport connectivity for people living in rural Ireland, and began rolling out improved services from January 2022.
In 2022, 38 new or enhanced bus services were rolled out, with a further 65 in 2023.
45 new or enhanced services were introduced in 2024, with 36 in 2025.
However, so far this year, just four new or enhanced bus services have been rolled out across the country.
That’s despite the NTA telling Deputy Daly that it’s identified 87 more services that it would like rolled out.
The NTA told the Sinn Féin TD that as of last October, the cost of implementing the rest of the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan was estimated to be around €20 million.
This will need to be adjusted, it said, to take account of inflation and delays to delivery of the plan.
Kerry TD Pa Daly is Sinn Féin’s Spokesperson on Climate, Environment, Energy and Transport.
Deputy Daly says that’s an astonishing drop-off by any standard, and he’s calling on the government to ensure the rollout of the services does not further decline.
