EchoLive.ie, 9 Jul
An accessibility upgrade, which includes some station enhancements, is
planned under the public-transport retrofit accessibility programme.
Cork bus station branded ‘a disgrace’ but upgrade due 2026
Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central Thomas Gould said the bus station
was 'a disgrace to Bus Éireann and to the people of Cork, and it is a
disgrace to this Government that it would allow people to go in there'.
Picture: Denis Minihane.
Amy Campbell
The condition of Cork City’s Parnell Place bus station has been
criticised in the Dáil, but the minister for transport confirmed that
upgrade works are to begin in 2026.
Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central Thomas Gould asked Eamon Ryan for
an update on funding to maintain the bus station and plans to renovate
it.
“When tourists come to the city, this is their first stop,” Mr Gould
said.
“When they see the condition of it, it does not promote the country, or
Cork, as a tourist destination.”
An accessibility upgrade, which includes some station enhancements, is
planned under the public-transport retrofit accessibility programme.
The project includes improved layout, signage, lighting, bathrooms,
internal ramps and steps, as well as work at entrance doors, with the
need for a changing facility also identified.
He added: “The project is estimated to cost €5.3m, and subject to
available funding, is scheduled for construction in 2026.”
Mr Gould said: “The minister has outlined more than €5m for works that
will be started if funding is got in 2026.
"The bus station is a disgrace to Bus Éireann and to the people of
Cork, and it is a disgrace to this Government that it would allow
people to go in there.
"To give the minister an idea, a lady who contacted me uses the bus
service and has to travel long distances to visit family. She has to
wear incontinence pads, because she cannot trust that the toilets will
be operational because they close in the evening time. When they are
open during the daytime, some days they are in a condition where they
cannot be used.”
The minister said that he did not disagree with Mr Gould, saying:
“Parnell Place bus station clearly does not meet” the expected
standards, which is why reconfiguration works are due to start the year
after next.
“I would prefer them to start next year,” he said. “That state of
Parnell Place bus station is because of decades of underinvestment and
that is changing.
“I am very confident the money will be provided, and that would be in
the budget cycle of the next Government. I absolutely agree: We need to
upgrade Parnell Place bus station. The plans are there, the funding
will be there, and it should be done.”
Mr Gould criticised the timeline: “We need funding now. We need a
proper bus station now. We need proper bus, toilet and changing
facilities,” and queried whether Parnell Place is even the right
location for the bus station.
“Whatever about tourists, what about our own people, young people and
older people, who are going in there now?
“Right now, it is not good enough,” he added.
Bus Éireann was contacted for comment.
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