Louth TD raises 100X Dundalk to Dublin bus cancellations in Dáil

Issues with short-notice cancellations of the 100X Dundalk to Dublin bus service were highlighted to the Minister for Transport in Leinster House today by Sinn Féin TD Ruairí Ó Murchú.

The Dundalk TD has already raised the problems with the bus service, which saw some early morning 100X services from Dundalk cancelled at short notice between May 17 and 20.

He raised the problems with the service at a Topical Issue debate with Transport Minister Eamon Ryan and said it was one issue that had “inundated” his office.

Deputy Ó Murchú said: “This is a big deal for people. The initial issue was with the last-minute cancellations and on one day, the 630am and the 830am services were cancelled and a notification was put on the Bus Éireann website after 7am to this effect and that doesn’t work for anyone.”

He said there was a particular problem with the double decker buses on the route, where five out of eight of them were in the garage at one time and Bus Éireann had to get the route covered by private contractors to cover the shortfall. He added that some of the buses are over 12 years old and some have over a million miles on the clock, therefore they are breaking down more often.

Deputy Ó Murchú said the service is very well used, particularly in Dundalk and Drogheda, and particularly because it is a way of getting to the airport. He said there are huge benefits to using it, including environmental and avoiding car parking charges at the airport, but it has to be reliable. He said there were also problems with people getting onto the bus at the airport.

In response, Minister Ryan said neither he nor the department of transport is responsible for the day to day operations of bus services, which are under the remit of the NTA.

He said 99.8% of the 100X services run to schedule, but he acknowledged that there were particular problems between May 17 and 20 and there had been a “higher than usual number of breakdowns”.

Minister Ryan said Bus Éireann, along with many other companies, are experiencing difficulties in recruiting mechanics and drivers, with 12 mechanics needed for Bus Éireann around the State, including five at the Broadstone depot.

There is a significant recruitment campaign ongoing for these posts. In addition, there has been a 20% increase in the number of bus passengers in the State since 2019.

Deputy Ó Murchú said it was “frightening” what he had been told about the state of some of the buses with some of them “on their last legs”and said people will “just get back in their cars if the service is not reliable”.