LAST UPDATE | 1 Oct 2025

BUS ÉIREANN AND Dublin Bus will go abroad this autumn in an attempt to recruit drivers to meet the needs of the Bus Connects programme early next year. 

Representatives from the state-owned transport organisation appeared before the Oireachtas Transport Committee this morning alongside Dublin Bus, Go-Ahead Ireland and the National Transport Authority (NTA). 

Chief executive officer Stephen Kent told TDs and senators that recruitment has become a critical priority for Bus Éireann.

He said that the company is currently running a nationwide campaign to prepare for the introduction of new initiatives for the NTA and the Department of Education, which will “significantly expand services over the next three years”.

Bus Éireann hired 500 new staff last year and have held over 50 open days across the country so far this year, with more expected. 

Kent told the committee that the company’s most immediate short-term recruitment challenge is in Cork, and while they are currently short 17 drivers and have some in training, “we will need to do even more to meet the needs of Bus Connects early next year”.

“In this respect, in addition to the advertising of open days, and our collaboration with the Departments Taskforce, we will be going overseas this autumn to begin our first tranche of recruitment of drivers who hold D licences,” he said.

The driver shortage in Cork has been ongoing since last year. TDs raised the matter with then-transport minister Eamon Ryan in January, while Taoiseach Micheál Martin committed in February to supporting the NTA in hiring additional drivers to deliver the BusConnects project in Cork. 

Dublin Bus CEO Billy Hann told the committee that it is also a challenge for them to recruit drivers and mechanics. Since January 2022, they have recruited over 1,000 drivers and are hiring at a rate of around 400 a year. 

He said they will be travelling to South Africa to try and recruit drivers there this month. They said they would prefer to have drivers with D licenses – which apply to public service vehicles – but said they had to begin taking on drivers with only standard B licences. 

Hann said this takes longer in terms of training and is more expensive, “but we had to do that to get the numbers in”. 

School transport

Kent told politicians that he believes Ireland needs at least 2,000 drivers over the next few years to meet planned increases in services through the NTA and through the Department of Education for the School Transport Scheme. 

Bus Éireann have operated the scheme for over 57 years, which now operates across 10,600 routes and includes over 178,000 pupils each school day. 

Kent said that the number of school transport tickets issued has risen by 5% against this time last year. “For context, working with the Department, our team are now providing services for 50% more children than in 2018.”

He said that while many families consider the scheme their most valued public service, growth is not free “and we urgently need to support the trajectory and ambition of this growth with investment in new fleet, additional resources and new technology”.

Under the terms of the School Transport Schemes, children are eligible for transport at primary level if they are attending their nearest national school and live more than 3.2km away.

At post-primary level, they are eligible if they are attending their nearest post-primary school/education centre and live more than 4.8 km away.

Parents have reported being unable to secure bus places for their children, with Labour now calling for an “urgent overhaul” of the scheme. 

Meanwhile, representatives from the NTA told the committee that public transport use is continuing to grow at “exceptional levels”, with 344 million passengers carried last year compared to 295 million in 2019.

They said that while this is welcome, this level of growth “does bring its own challenges in being agile enough to respond to increased capacity needs in a near-full employment environment where specific resource types are in short supply”. 

When challenged on this by Independent Michael Collins, Kent said 99.9% of pupils who have applied for tickets have been allocated them, and he asked for the details of families who haven’t had a response on their applications and committed to getting one for them. 

He added that Bus Éireann operate the scheme on behalf of the Department of Education “and we have to apply the rules and criteria, and all of that is very specifically guarded by the Department of Transport and approved by this Oireachtas”. 

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“When you’re asking me about whether we can accommodate children, yes, if those
children are eligible, if we can find the transport solution,” he said. 

“We’re doing everything we can possibly do to provide a transport solution. We don’t want to leave any family down.”

Anti-social behaviour

The Dublin Bus CEO also told the committee that anti-social behaviour has risen across the city and “subsequently the transport network”. 

Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien confirmed in July that he is working with Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan to introduce legislation to create a uniformed, security transport unit.

Billy Hann said the transport security officers will have powers of arrest and detention, while it is being looked at if new legislation can also give them power of pursuit.

He told the Transport Committee that it has consistently supported the creation of a dedicated public transport police.

“Its inclusion in the Programme for Government means this is no longer a debate about
concepts. But now it is a question of priorities and urgency. What is required now is a
clear implementation plan,” he said. 

However, he stressed that this will not be “a silver bullet” and that further examination must be given to how to increase the support given by gardaí, improve technological solutions, expand community support forums and educate children.

There must also be real consequences for people who threaten or commit violence
against frontline workers, Hann said. 

“Without accountability, deterrence is weakened and the safety of drivers and customers alike is undermined.

“We have all seen the threats made against the Tánaiste and other public figures. The principle is the same: threats and violence cannot be normalised or ignored.”