Legislation needed for BusConnects Cork to apply for planning permission

BusConnects Cork has come up against another barrier, as the long-anticipated programme now needs new legislation before planning permission can be applied for, almost three years after the projected rollout of the project.

The National Transport Authority (NTA) confirmed to Green Party councillor Oliver Moran that it requires a piece of legislation to be passed in order to “fully empower” the NTA to make the BusConnects strategic transport corridor applications to An Coimisiún Pleanála.

These powers are to be provided through the enactment of the Dublin Transport Authority (Amendment) Bill, which is included in the Government’s spring 2026 legislation programme.

A phased implementation of the new bus network was expected to begin in 2023 and continue through 2024. It is the latest in a long series of delays for the BusConnects Cork programme, which was included in the Government’s Project Ireland 2040 strategy.

Published in 2018, it set out that the Cork project would be completed by 2027.

Once the bill is enacted, which the NTA hopes will be over the coming months, it can submit the first of three packages of the strategic transport corridor (the north city corridors) at the end of Q2.

The remaining two packages covering the south city corridors are then expected to be submitted in Q4 of this year.

Priority

Mr Moran’s party colleague, TD Roderic O’Gorman, was told by transport minister Darragh O’Brien that the bill was on the priority drafting list in the Government’s autumn legislation programme, and has been included as a priority bill for publication in the spring session.

“Drafting with the Office of the Parliament Counsel is well advanced,” Mr Moran said. “It is anticipated that the bill will go to Government shortly for publication.”

Mr Moran also told The Echo that he did not think this bill was necessary.

“We already have a roads authority in the city capable of bringing BusConnects forward to planning — it’s Cork City Council,” he said.

“It’s one more example of this Government talking big on streamlining infrastructure projects.

“In fact, they themselves are the delay. In this case, completely artificially.

“Everyone in the city is crying out for BusConnects to start. So let’s just do it if they’re willing to get out of the way.”

The Echo recently revealed that, so far, the project has cost the taxpayer €75m. More than half of that, €44.6m, has been spent on infrastructure, with a further €10m spent on network design and bus stops, and €2m on programme support costs.

A further €18.6m has been shelled out on the development of bus depots, the bulk of this on the new temporary bus depot in Tivoli. The depot is needed to enable the necessary electrification of the bus fleet.

The depot is set to be substantially complete in February and operational in April this year, almost a year later than the initial forecast that it would be up and running in the first half of 2025.