Limerick BusConnects Timeline Delayed to 2030 Amid Rising Costs, Dáil Hears

The delivery timeline for the Limerick BusConnects project has been pushed out to 2030, representing a four-year delay to the initially projected completion date of 2027, according to details raised in the Dáil.

Speaking during a parliamentary debate, Deputy Maurice Quinlivan highlighted that the project has been affected by delays, postponements, and escalating costs. The estimated expenditure for the initiative has risen from an initial €1 billion to between €2.6 billion and €3.4 billion.

Local Service Deficits

The debate highlighted several areas in Limerick where transport infrastructure exists but lack active services:

• **Condell Road:** This densely populated area contains hundreds of recently built homes and features a bus lane, but currently has no local bus service.
• **Kilteragh estate (Dooradoyle):** Residents in this estate of hundreds of homes must travel 2 km to the nearest bus stop outside the Crescent Shopping Centre.
• **St. Mary's Park and Garryowen:** While a bus route exists, the service concludes daily at 6 p.m., leaving an area where approximately 57% of householders do not own cars without evening public transport.

Government Response

Minister of State Jerry Buttimer, responding on behalf of the Minister for Transport, stated that the Limerick-Shannon metropolitan area transport strategy has been established by the National Transport Authority (NTA) to guide sustainable growth up to 2040.

Minister of State Buttimer noted that the NTA carried out an extensive review of the Limerick bus network in 2023 alongside Limerick City and County Council, Clare County Council, and Bus Éireann, and committed to conveying the highlighted service deficits back to the Minister and the Department of Transport.