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Meath on the Move is a Sinn Féin campaign for a public transport system in Co. Meath that works.

19/10/2026

UPDATE ON NAVAN RAIL CONSULTATION - 19th Oct 2026:

Dear Deputy O’Rourke,

The first round of non-statutory public consultation on the Emerging Preferred Route for the Navan Rail Line project took place from 20 May to 17 July 2026. A total of 1,520 submissions were received during the consultation period. Engagement activities included four in-person public information events and one online consultation event, as well as numerous meetings with impacted stakeholders and landowners and on-site inspections of the proposed route.

Since the consultation closed, Iarnród Éireann and the Design Team have been reviewing and assessing the feedback received from members of the public, stakeholders and landowners. This feedback, together with further technical assessments and analysis, shall inform the identification of a Preferred Route for the project. The finalisation of this work is currently nearing completion.

The next stage of the project will be the launch, next month, of a further round of non-statutory public consultation on the Preferred Route. As part of this consultation, the reports arising from the first round of consultation on the Emerging Preferred Route will be published. These will include a consultation report summarising the feedback received, together with a report detailing the technical assessments and analysis undertaken since the close of the consultation and how these informed the development of the Preferred Route proposal.

This next consultation phase will provide stakeholders, landowners and the wider public with an opportunity to review the Preferred Route proposal and provide feedback before the project progresses to preliminary design and preparation of the Railway Order application, which is currently expected to commence in 2027. Feedback received during this consultation will help inform the ongoing design development and Railway Order application process.

Regards,
IÉ Oireachtas Liaison

16/10/2026

Some changes to the 105X service from 2nd Nov. Hopefully these will be an improvement. More direct, and a separate link to M3 Parkway. Time will tell. Similar positive changes for other routes would be welcome. We’ll keep pushing…

https://www.buseireann.ie/routes-and-timetables/105x

30/09/2026

Bus services are failing commuters on a daily basis. The Minister is the one charged with responsibility and authority. It’s time he started acting like it.

29/09/2026

Government must stop the public transportation fare hikes and put workers and families first. They must deliver public transport services that work.

Sinn Féin will bring our plan to the Dáil today that would:

● Stop the Fare Hikes
● Free Public Transport for U18s
● Better, more reliable bus and rail services
● Investment in Rural Transport and Accelerating Connecting Ireland Rural Bus Scheme
● Improve disability access

22/09/2026

MEATH BUS SERVICES: The chain of accountability is broken. Bus Éireann, the National Transport Authority and the Department are accountable to the Minister and the Government but neither the Minister nor the Government seem at all interested. Where is the Minister - Darragh O’Brien? Where are our Meath Government TDs - Helen McEntee and Thomas Byrne in Meath East? This service is beyond disgraceful at this stage. Surely in 2026 we can do better?!! I spoke about this on LMFM this week. You can listen back here. Also, check out www.haveyouseenthe103.ie

19/09/2026

“Significant issues” is an understatement….

Response from the National Transport Authority (NTA) regarding the 103 bus service. Along with Cllrs Helen Meyer and Fionnan Blake, I will continue to highlight this. It’s 2026 and we’re one of the wealthiest countries in the world. It’s simply disgraceful from Bus Éireann, NTA, Department, Ministers, Government…

Dear Deputy,

I refer to your correspondence, the contents of which have been noted. We apologise for the delay in responding.

Bus Éireann are contracted to operate bus services including route 103 on behalf of the National Transport Authority (NTA), and it is their responsibility under the contract to provide a reliable service.

Bus Éireann is currently experiencing significant issues with service delivery in the Dublin commuter area, with the large majority of dropped services due to the numbers of bus vehicles off-road for fleet maintenance. This is an issue at Broadstone depot, and Route 103 is particularly impacted.

The NTA is meeting weekly with Bus Éireann at senior management level in relation to current service delivery issues, and measures to resolve them. We are closely monitoring their progress in delivering the improvements needed. There are some signs of improvements in performance in recent weeks.

The NTA can confirm that where a bus service does not operate due to circumstances within the bus operator’s control, a deduction is made from payments due to the operator, equivalent to the cost saved by not operating the cancelled services. The contract with the NTA also provides for appropriate performance related deductions to be made whenever key punctuality targets are not achieved over specified reporting periods.

I trust that the above is of assistance and thank you for raising this matter with us.

Yours sincerely,

Head of Public Transport Contracts

04/09/2026

On Monday, I will join an LMFM panel discussion about public transport services in Meath. Every day we have cancellations, delays, breakdowns and the worst communication. This is at a time when the county is growing and the potential to encourage people to use and support public transport is immense - but it will never happen with a broken system. If you want to share your experience of public transport services in Meath please do so in the comments below and I will try to include as much as I can on Monday. Go raibh maith agat, Darren

02/09/2026

Today (2nd Sept), I have written to the Minister for Transport, Darragh O’Brien TD, to demand that he personally intervene to address the ongoing and systemic failures with the 103 bus service Ratoath/Ashbourne-Dublin. It is gone beyond a crisis and it is beyond frustrating dealing with Bus Éireann and the National Transport Authority. The Minister must personally intervene. There must be accountability. Is mise, Darren O’Rourke TD

05/08/2026

Government mismanagement is at the heart of failing public bus services (urban, rural and school transport). Government have plans but they fail to deliver them. In the meantime, millions of euros are wasted while people are left waiting. Darren O'Rourke TD spoke on LMFM about this. Have a listen back here.

04/08/2026

Funding for public bus transport is failing to 1) maintain existing services, 2) improve existing services and 3) build new services. At the same time, taxpayers money is being wasted on failed transport IT systems. This has to change. Proper investment in public bus services is essential in Budget 2027. See Darren O'Rourke's public statement below in light of recent responses to Sinn Féin:

Worrying slowdown in public transport investment must be reversed - Darren O'Rourke TD

Sinn Féin TD for Meath East, Darren O'Rourke, has called on the government to ensure that investment in public bus services does not further decline and, instead, is prioritised as part of Budget 2027.

Teachta O'Rourke made the comments in light of regular and ongoing service failures in Co. Meath and following a response Sinn Féin received from the National Transport Authority (NTA) regarding delays with the 'Connecting Ireland' plan for new bus services.

He said;

"The Government underfunded the NTA, ignored clear warnings and is now presiding over a slowdown in the most important bus transport programmes in the State.

"New figures released to Sinn Féin expose a worrying slowdown in the rollout of the 'Connecting Ireland' programme for new bus services. After 65 new or enhanced services were delivered in 2023 and 45 in 2024, that fell to 36 in 2025 and just four projects so far in 2026. That is an astonishing drop off by any standard and comes on top of a significant deterioration in existing services in Meath and elsewhere.

"Meanwhile, plans for a further 87 new services are gathering dust on the drawing board, with the NTA now explicitly warning that future delivery is subject to funding availability and that the remaining programme will cost at least €20 million a year before accounting for inflation and delays.

"After Budget 2026, it was already clear that the Government had failed to provide the NTA with the funding needed to deliver existing services, never mind expanding services at the promised pace. Despite repeated warnings from officials, the Minister continued to act like new routes could be delivered while refusing to provide the resources required. Communities are now paying the price for that failure.

"The Government cannot claim to be shocked by this slowdown. The warning signs were there for months. Rather than being honest with the public about funding shortfalls, Ministers continued making promises they knew could not be met. People were told that better public transport was on the way, but many are still waiting while vital projects are delayed.

"What makes this even more frustrating is that, at the same time, taxpayers are seeing enormous sums wasted elsewhere in the transport system. The recent €50 million Irish Rail write-down shows how badly public money can be mismanaged. While communities are being told there is not enough money to connect towns and villages, millions are being written off on failed projects. That is the clearest possible example of misplaced priorities.

"This is not good enough. Public transport is not a luxury. It is essential for fairness, social inclusion and economic opportunity. That is why I am calling on the government to ensure that Connecting Ireland and existing public transport services are prioritised as part of Budget 2027."

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Meath

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Website

http://www.sinnfein.ie/

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