Fare Hikes Hand Cost Of Crisis To Workers While Government Sits On Billions

The government is set to hike public transport fares in a bid to hand over the cost of the fuel crisis to commuters.

A 90-minute Leap Card journey in Dublin will rise from €2 to €2.30. Town fares will increase 10% to €1.65, while intercity rail fares will rise by as much as 20% – with open return tickets discontinued entirely.

It comes amidst reports of government concerns over balancing the budget. 

Last month, the government shelved plans to reverse tax cuts won by fuel protestors in April. This has reportedly created a gap of €100m a month – a shortfall one government source said “has to come from somewhere”.

With today’s announcement, the government has decided that it will come directly from the pockets of commuters already stretched by rent and the cost of living.

Commuter coalitions representing Galway, Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Drogheda have described the increase as “absolutely unacceptable” in a joint statement, arguing that fare revenue is now effectively subsidising cuts to excise duty on petrol and diesel.

“As you cram onto a crowded train or get passed by a full bus in the rain this winter, remember that the government is glad to raise your fares,” the statement read.

The groups said the move amounts to a cost of “over €2 million a day”, while funding for bus priority schemes and rail electrification has instead gone towards new road construction.

Meanwhile, the Department of Finance has revised its 2026 surplus projection upward to €9.2 billion in April, nearly double the €5.1 billion forecast just four months earlier, and is projecting a further €9 billion surplus in 2027. 

Against these figures, the €100m a month cited as a pressure on departmental budgets amounts to roughly 1% of this year's surplus alone.

The revised fares take effect in January, with the NTA confirming it will review fares annually from 2027 onwards.