Thomas Gould
Question:143. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Transport the amount spent on BusConnects in Cork in each of the past five years, in tabular form. [54099/26]
View answerWednesday, 15 July 2026
Questions (143, 146)
Thomas Gould
Question:146. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Transport the cost of BusConnects in Cork to date. [54173/26]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 143 and 146 together.
As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure, including BusConnects Cork.
Noting the NTA's responsibility in the matter, I have referred the Deputy's question to the NTA for a more detailed reply. Please contact my private office, if you do not receive a reply within 10 days.
As the Deputy may be aware, I secured Cabinet approval for BusConnects Cork in October 2025 through which the Government issued Approval Gate 1 approval in line with the Infrastructure Guidelines. These schemes will provide for a total of 11 Sustainable Transport Corridors which will provide approximately 90km of bus lane and bus priority measures to improve bus system efficiency, as well as 95km of cycle lanes. The NTA are currently preparing the required documentation and expect to submit planning applications to An Coimisiún Pleanála later this year.
Following public consultation, the new BusConnects Cork network was published in June 2022, and it aims to provide an increase of over 50% in bus services across the city. Planning for the implementation of the new bus network has commenced and it is expected that the new network will be implemented on a phased basis in the coming years, subject to funding.
The referred reply was forwarded to the Deputy under Standing Orders.