Statement

The Board is satisfied with the progress that the National Transport Authority (NTA) was able to achieve over the duration of its last Statement of Strategy for 2023 to 2025. The NTA has continued its important work to enhance and extend the provision of sustainable transport infrastructure throughout the State, with a particular focus on active travel. The NTA also made good progress at improving and expanding public transport services, including through the BusConnects and Connecting Ireland programmes.

In the last decade or so, Ireland has experienced strong economic growth, with forecasts predicting continued expansion in the coming years. The economy is expected to be driven by strong employment, healthy tax revenues, and relatively low inflation. While global economic headwinds are a concern, the overall outlook remains positive. In turn, the level of economic opportunity has led to strong population growth, also expected to continue in the coming years. The NTA intends to ensure that the expansion of public transport services exceeds the level of population growth, so as to also address needs that are currently unmet. Additionally, the aim is to continue enhancing the integration with and expanding the transport connections to Northern Ireland.

The updated National Development Plan (NDP) for 2026-2035 commits to a record €275.4 billion in public capital investment to secure Ireland’s future, unlock housing, upgrade water and energy infrastructure, deliver more roads, and provide better public transport. The NTA very much welcomes the level of ambition reflected in the updated NDP, which provides for an unprecedented level of investment in sustainable transport infrastructure and services over the coming decade. Indeed, the recently published Sectoral Investment Plan for Transport 2026-2030 contains an allocation of approx. €1.8 billion for active travel and greenways, plus approx. €12.1 billion for public transport, including a €2.0 billion allocation for MetroLink.

The NTA is leading transport planning in our cities, on a statutory basis in Dublin and in partnership with the local authorities in Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. During the timeframe of this corporate strategy, the transport strategies are to be updated for each of the five cities, combined with the preparation of an Integrated Implementation Plan to accompany the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) Transport Strategy.

The duration of this Statement of Strategy will be a period of significant focus on the delivery of major sustainable transport infrastructure projects, all across the State. In the same timeframe, many smaller, yet crucial projects will be progressed, including the National Train Control Centre (NTCC), the Cork Area Commuter Rail (CACR) programme and a comprehensive suite of enhancements around passenger information, just to mention a few. These infrastructure projects are designed to integrate with and complement each other, contributing to a national sustainable transport system, meeting the needs of people all around the country. Major projects to be significantly advanced include CycleConnects, Connecting Ireland, BusConnects (in Dublin and other cities), Luas, MetroLink, DART+ and Next Generation Ticketing (NGT).

The NTA welcomes the 2025 Programme for Government commitment to develop a sustainable funding model for Public Service Obligation (PSO) transport services or subsidised transport services, into the future. When developing the funding model, it will be important to be mindful that new requirements will emerge as various elements of the NTA’s capital investment programme are completed. The NTA believes that the transition to multi-year funding allocations would be very helpful in enabling the organisation to plan and implement service delivery more effectively, especially where there are significant service changes. Also, for medium and longterm strategic transport planning, clarity as regards the optimal balance between user fares and PSO funding would be very beneficial.

The NTA are committed to enhancing regional and rural transport, including through the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan, a programme designed to expand bus services, improve frequency, and ensure reliable connections between towns, villages, and rural communities. There will be further investment in Local Link services, expanding the Transport for Ireland (TFI) network. Additionally, there will be close collaboration with licensed, commercial bus and coach operators to further develop their services, which constitute an essential component of Ireland’s public transport ecosystem, especially in rural Ireland.

For the duration of this Statement of Strategy, the NTA will utilise its exchequer funding allocations to deploy the necessary resources, to achieve its strategic objectives and target outcomes.

In meeting its responsibilities under the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty outlined within Section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Act 2015, the NTA proactively works to promote equality, prevent discrimination and protect the human rights of its employees, customers, service users and everyone affected by the policies and plans of the NTA.

On behalf of the NTA, I would like to acknowledge the work of our many partners including Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), transport operators, Local Link delivery offices, Regional Assemblies and local authorities. The Board also recognises the important role played by the NTA’s management team and employees in delivering ongoing services and numerous projects.

Peter Strachan

Chairperson