Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 April 2026
221. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Transport if he will meet with the NTA to discuss future DART works over the May bank holiday weekends, considering that this is annually the weekend of the VHI Mini Marathon, an event that attracts up to 30,000 participants each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31201/26]
View answerAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport.
The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally and for the scheduling and timetabling of these services in conjunction with the relevant transport operators, there has been significant collaboration between the NTA and operators surrounding major events.
Iarnród Éireann choose Bank Holiday weekends to undertake projects of significant scale – the extra weekend day allows them to achieve more progress more efficiently, avoiding impacts across multiple weekends and weekday passengers.
The NTA receives a draft annual programme of proposed line closures towards the end of the preceding year, at which point there is some scope to consider feedback and, where feasible, adjustments to the scheduling of works. Once details are finalised and communicated publicly, however, there is limited scope to make changes at short notice.
Planned rail works are designed to ensure the continued safety and performance of the network, to prevent unplanned failures, and to enable upgrades that support increased capacity and service quality. As such, engineering works will continue to be a feature of the rail network into the future.
In light of the NTA's responsibility in this area, I have forwarded the Deputy's question to the NTA for further information. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.
