TD blasts slow progress as used buses ‘cascaded’ to Cork from Limerick
15:15, 04 Jun 2026Updated 15:17, 04 Jun 2026
Bus Éireann buses in Cork city centre (stock)(Image: Thomas Lawrance/CorkBeo)
Cork city buses are breaking down at an alarming rate – as one city TD says we’re having to make do with vehicles that have already been thrashed around the roads of Dublin and Limerick.
The Dáil was told this week that a fleet of shiny electric buses is waiting to go – but delays to the opening of the new Tivoli depot mean that they’re currently gathering dust while the public in Cork crowd onto tired old vehicles.
Sinn Féin TD Thomas Gould blasted progress on bus services in the Dáil: “What we know is that some of the delays in Cork’s bus service are caused by buses breaking down. Is it any wonder when we’re relying on hand-me-down buses? We were told that Tivoli would be open by the start of this year. It’s now June and we still don’t have an opening date.
“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are running the bus service into the ground. We have electric buses in storage and second hand buses breaking down on our streets. It is death by a thousand cuts for Bus Éireann who are trying to run services in chaos.”
He added: “The government haven’t bought a new diesel only bus since 2019. That would be fine if there was somewhere to charge electric buses. There isn’t. So instead, drivers are left driving buses in poor condition and passengers are left waiting for buses that have broken down on the side of the road.”
The National Transport Authority responded by confirming that used buses have been “cascaded” – or trickled down – from Limerick to Cork. The Deputy Chief Executive of the NTA added that the organisation is “not aware of of any secondhand buses transferred to Cork in 2025 and to-date in 2026.”
However, they explained that “a total of 19 plug-in hybrid double-deck buses were cascaded from Limerick to Cork during this time period,” with a further 42 “planned to be cascaded” to Cork by the end of 2027.
The NTA added that “the opening of the Tivoli temporary busy depot and forthcoming electrification of Capwell bus depot will thereafter enable new battery-electric buses to be allocated to Cork.”
Dermot O’Leary, general secretary of the National Bus and Rail Union, told CorkBeo: “I am surprised in the first instance by the reference to the non-buying of diesel buses by Deputy Gould, given that the Department of Transport/NTA Climate Action plan since 2019 dictates that all buses purchased for city bus services in the country are either hybrid or fully electric.
“I am given to understand that the entire city fleet in Limerick is now fully electric with all hybrid and remaining diesel buses that were part of Limerick’s fleet having been transferred to Cork.
“Galway is the next city to go fully electric once all planning issues regarding the installation of a substation are resolved, the entire Galway city fleet is hybrid and these vehicles will also transfer as electrification is rolled out in Galway.
“Following Galway, Capwell in Cork will be the next city service to go fully electric. With insufficient space available in Capwell for a substation and charging infrastructure it was necessary to relocate a significant portion of Cork’s operations to a second depot in the city, I understand there was difficulties sourcing this second depot for some time, with the new Tivoli Depot due online soon.
Mr O’Leary added: “I am also informed that all hybrid vehicles are relatively new having been registered in 2021”.
CorkBeo has reached out to Bus Éireann for comment.
Sign up here for our daily newsletter and get breaking news and top stories from Cork Beo direct to your inbox