COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF LUCAN / PALMERSTOWN / NORTH CLONDALKIN AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, February 24, 2026

QUESTION NO.21

QUESTION: Councillor N. Fennell

To ask the manager to provide a breakdown of known locations for bus shelter enhancements / new bus shelters for the Lucan LEA and Palmerstown-Fonthill LEA for 2026, 2027 & 2028 as per the capital budget.

REPLY:

The bus shelter enhancements and new bus shelter installations in the Lucan LEA and Palmerstown–Fonthill LEA are delivered under the NTA-funded Bus Stop Enhancement Programme.

For the 2026 programme, the Council has already sent a list of proposed locations for the County to the NTA for consideration, with the intention that the NTA approved sites will be delivered in 2026. The final approval for any bus stop enhancement works and the provision of new bus shelters rests with the NTA.  When South Dublin County Council have the approved list that are going to be delivered, we will circulate this to the elected members.

The Bus Stop Enhancement Programme is funded on a yearly basis by the National Transport Authority.  SDCC have been assured that the NTA are committed to continue funding this project for the foreseeable future. However, the NTA work on yearly cycle for this type of funding. It is not the same as the Capital Programme which is on a three year cycle. 

The NTA have imposed strict controls on the funding and approval processes for this programme. The process is as follows: South Dublin County Council traffic team collate the preliminary Bus Stop improvement proposals which have been generated by public and raised by the elected members.  South Dublin County Council then carry out a screening of the proposed locations to check whether the suggestions are feasible to deliver.  The screening includes safety considerations, available space and land ownership considerations. SDCC also produce a preliminary cost estimate of the proposed Bus Stop improvements. SDCC forward our prioritised list to the NTA for the upcoming year in Q4 of the previous year.  For example, SDCC has submitted our proposals for 2026 in Q4 2025.  The NTA will consider this list early in 2026 and announce an agreed programme in Q1 2026. The same process will be followed for Bus Stop improvement proposals in 2027 and 2028.  

Suitable locations for future years are subject to Bus Stop usage, priority Bus Stop routes, site safety assessment, design checks, accessibility requirements, utilities review, and funding approval.  This is why a multi-annual announcement of Bus Stop enhancements is not possible.

SDCC are keeping a database of requested and assessed locations and this is updated as new submissions are received. The Elected Members may continue to forward suggested locations, which will be added for future consideration under upcoming programme rounds. 

When South Dublin County Council are notified by the NTA of the agreed yearly programme, we will inform the members at the earliest possible time.