Public transport users can expect no change in bus, train or tram fares next year. A 20 per cent fare cut introduced in 2022 will remain in place for 2026.
While no details about fares were outlined in Budget 2026 on Tuesday, it is understood Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien intends to maintain the reduced fares as part of his department’s €4.7 billion allocation.
There may have been an expectation that funding for public transport would be siphoned off and directed to roads. However, public transport investment is retaining the lion’s share of the transport budget.
Current and capital spending on public transport – relating to funding for existing bus and rail services and construction of new schemes – has increased to €2.37 billion. This is up from €1.75 billion from Budget 2025. Total roads funding has gone from €1.5 billion to €1.7 billion for 2026, a 14 per cent increase.
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Funding for existing public transport has been increased to more than €940 million (an additional €282 million), part of which will go towards keeping the reduced fares across an expanding network.
Just over €1.4 billion will be spent on the construction of new public transport schemes, including the first two core bus corridors in Dublin as part of the BusConnects programme. Construction of the first of these schemes, the route from Liffey Valley to the city centre, is due to begin shortly, followed by the corridor from Ballymun and Finglas to the city centre.
Irish Rail’s Dart+ programme to electrify commuter rail lines to the city and increase train frequency will also be funded through the 2026 capital budget. The first phase of the Cork Area Commuter Rail project will also receive funding, as will the Belfast Enterprise fleet-replacement project.
MetroLink, the largely underground rail line from Swords to the city, which secured planning permission earlier this month, has been allocated €2 billion in initial funding from the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund. This funding, already outlined in the National Development Plan earlier this year, will be used to “progress” the project. However, it is not likely that MetroLink will reach construction stage in 2026.
The roads programme has secured a capital boost of €220 million on 2025 levels, with construction and improvements scheduled for a number of major roads, including the N5 in Roscommon, the N3 Virginia Bypass, the M28 in Cork, the Adare Bypass and a wide range of local and regional roads.
Active travel and greenway schemes are seeing the smallest level of increase in the transport budget next year, with the €360 million allocated in 2025 rising to €362.6 million in 2026, an increase of just 1 per cent.
This will be used to progress projects including the Grand Canal Greenway in Dublin and Kildare, and the South Kerry Greenway and South East Greenway.
