CIÉ passenger numbers climbed to pre-Covid high during 2024

Public-transport company’s revenue increased to more than €1.8bn with more than 300m passenger journeys, Cabinet told

The revenue of Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail) increased to €667 million with 50.7 passenger numbers in 2024. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien
The revenue of Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail) increased to €667 million with 50.7 passenger numbers in 2024. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien

The number of passengers using CIÉ companies exceeded pre-pandemic levels in 2024, signalling a strong recovery in public transport use, the Cabinet has been told.

Darragh O’Brien, Minister for Transport, told the weekly Cabinet meeting that CIÉ (Córas Iompair Éireann) revenue increased to €1.84 billion in 2024, an increase of €162 million compared with 2023.

The number of journeys completed also reached record levels, with almost 322 passenger journeys recorded.

The revenue of Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail) also increased to €667 million with 50.7 passenger numbers.

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Bus Éireann matched it in revenue, bringing in a total of €671 million through 111 million journeys.

There were 159 million passenger journeys on Dublin Bus in 2024, yielding revenue of €360 million in revenue.

It came as the body which gives advice to Government on State agencies said governance should be aligned across all existing CIÉ companies.

NewEra carried out a review for Government of CIÉ governance, which began in 2022.

Various governance options were examined around varying levels of CIÉ control versus autonomy for Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann, and Iarnród Éireann.

The option of aligning governance across all to existing CIE standards was the preferred option, Mr O’Brien told Cabinet colleagues.

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Harry McGee

Harry McGee

Harry McGee is a Political Correspondent with The Irish Times