15 bus route needs improvement, Ó Múirí says

Fine Gael TD Naoise Ó Múirí has said that improvements are needed for the 15 bus route.

The route, which serves Northside communities such as Clongriffin and Fairview, has been a bugbear for Ó Múirí since his election to the Dáil in 2024.

This week, the Fine Gael TD said that there are still ongoing capacity issues on the bus route, and has questioned what his government colleagues are going to do to fix the issue.

Ó Múirí said, “it is meant to be a 24-hour service; it is meant to be going every five to 12 minutes at peak but the service is just not delivering.”

“Local residents will tell you that if you are getting on at Clarehall, you cannot get on. The bus is full at Clarehall at peak. Clarehall is stop three out of 17 on the northside stops, if you take Connolly Station as the last northside stop.”

Ó Múirí noted that the NTA’s own data for the service show that one in five buses are late and it does not seem to even gather the capacity issues.

“I do not know how it reports or deals with that. There does not seem to be a mechanism to deal with that. As Cathaoirleach of the climate committee, I advocate for people to get out of cars and get into the buses but the 15 ain’t working, and we need to get the NTA to step it up.”

Fine Gael TD Naoise Ó Muirí

Junior transport minister Sean Canney explained “it is a capacity issue,” adding that there have been problems in terms of driver recruitment, fleet availability and having mechanics to service the buses.

“These issues are being addressed, but maybe not as quickly as people would like,” he conceded.

Ó Múirí raised the issue in the Dáil in February, and at the time, the party line was that a planned revised schedule for the 15 route would be introduced in September.

In classic Dublin Bus fashion, even the revised timetable is late.

“Everything is being dragged out. We are talking about a fare increase in bus services raising about €70 million, of which only a quarter is really targeted at improving services like this,” the Fine Gael TD stated.

The Dublin Bay North TD said, “we really need to crack the 15 so it works for the Northside.

Minister Canney said that the revised timetable was now going to be rolled out on December 6, and stated he didn’t know why it had slipped from September into December.

“An additional 12 drivers and additional bus services coming on will make a difference, but we need to keep on top of it to ensure the service is fit for purpose and that we provide public transport for those who want to use it,” the Minister said.