Lord Mayor says transport hikes could be 'straw that breaks the camel's back'

In a rare display of cross party unity, Dublin City Council has unanimously condemned the transport fare hikes

Add to preferred sources News Stephen Holland Local Democracy Reporter 17:44, 09 Sep 2026 Updated 17:53, 09 Sep 2026 View Image Lord Mayor Councillor Daryl Barron

Even government party councillors believe the decision to increase transport fares in the midst of a cost of living crisis is “tone deaf”.

Three separate emergency motions were tabled at Monday’s full Dublin City Council meeting called for the National Transport Authority to reserve their decision to raise public transport fare costs . There was unanimous agreement, even from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael councillors, that the decision flies in the face of the council’s Development Plan and is counteractive to their goal of reducing congestion and climate emissions.

Lord Mayor of Dublin and Fianna Fáil Councillor Daryl Barron agreed to write to the Minister for Transport Darragh O'Brien and the NTA asking them to reconsider the decision. He called the new measures, which would see prices rise by as much as 30%, “tone deaf”.

“It could be the straw that breaks the camel's back,” the Lord Mayor said. “I will stand up for this city and stand up for its citizens.”

It was clear in the council chamber that central government do not have the support of the capital city’s local authority, as not a single representative spoke a positive word about the increases. Cllr Colm O’Rourke from the Fine Gael group stated that they were “very much opposed to any increases”.

For years, councillors have been “pleading” with people to trade private cars for public transport and support their active travel ambitions . Cllr O’Rourke stressed that means “we can’t tell Dubliners to leave their car at home to be mugged at the bus stop”.

From Fianna Fáil, Cllr Rory Hogan called the increases “a step too far, particularly at this point in time”. He said he does not believe the hike should go ahead, but did defend government investment in public transport, citing an 80% increase from €525 million in 2022 to €940m this year.

“The real progress made should not be lost in the debate,” he said, citing investment of €24.3 billion in transport infrastructure and services between 2026 and 2030 under the revised National Development Plan.

While some opposition parties welcomed the government party councillors' rejection of the fare increases, others described their stance as hypocritical. Independent Cllr Cieran Perry said the increased fares showcase "dysfunctional government policy” and said it’s “not a coincide” Minister O’Brien previously oversaw housing in a state of crisis.

He said that government party councillors are trying “to play both sides of the card here” and that they should be demanding their colleagues not to move forward with the increase. While Taoiseach Micheál Martin said of the increases they are “not in a position to fund everything forever,” Cllr Perry believes this fundamentally misunderstands what a public service is.

“It doesn’t have to be profitable. Not everything is about making a profit. Public service is for the public benefit and that is what we are subsidising public transport for,” he said,

Sinn Féin Group Leader Daithí Doolan also highlighted government councillors rejecting the increase. “Maybe they got their finger on the pulse over the weekend and realised this was a hugely unpopular decision,” he said.

A lack of accountability toward progressive non-government parties is a key reason that this increase has been put forward according to Labour Cllr Darragh Moriarty. He said that although many may criticise parties like Labour and the Greens for taking things “lying down,” he believes if the Greens were still part of the coalition “this simply wouldn’t have happened”.

Cllr Moriarty called out government politicians for “gleefully talking about getting rid of the Greens” and said the result was a lack of people to “check on those in power”. He likened the increase to “spitting in the face of people” and said students, the elderly, and those with disabilities will be hardest hit by such measures.

On behalf of the Green Party, Cllr Ray Cunningham highlighted the measures they oversaw while in government, such as reduced fares and the expansion of public transport and local links. He said that without politicians leading the way who actually prioritise public transport services, issues like delays to BusConnects and Dart South West are inevitable.

Social Democrats Cllr Paddy Monahan said is is “great” see Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael councillors denounce the fair increases, but stressed “make no mistake, the government is responsible for the decision”.

At a time when prioritising public transport could not be more urgent, Cllr Monahan bemoaned the decision to “shake down public transport users while subsidising yet more cars on our clogged roads”.

"If you want to see where all of this is leading, have a look at the scenes outside a typical Dublin primary school at home time. I really question it: cars on footpaths, double-parked - it’s impossible to differentiate between idling cars and cars that just can’t move,” he said.

“Allowing daily choking gridlock outside our places of education, we’re telling the next generation this is normal, this is how things are done. The government needs to reverse course on this."

Dublin City Council unanimously agreed to oppose the transport fare increases and the Lord Mayor confirmed he will write to the NTA and the Minister requesting they be reserved. Chief Executive Richard Shakespeare was not present for this debate, as a board member of the NTA he revealed a potential conflict of interest and left the room.

This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme

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