A new bus plan could change traffic, parking and the look of nearby Dundrum. Here’s what is proposed, what local people have said, and why a community meeting matters.
Background
The National Transport Authority (NTA) has two public transport programmes:
- Active Travel Investment Programme
- Bus Connects
Active Travel Investment Programme
This programme gives money to local councils, such as Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.
The money is used for:
- Walking routes
- Wheeling routes
- Cycling routes
The aim is to encourage people to use healthier and more sustainable ways to travel instead of cars.
Bus Connects
Bus Connects started in 2021.
It is a plan to change the bus network across the Greater Dublin Area.
Under the plan, the local 11 and 44 bus services on the Clonskeagh Road and Dundrum Road are due to be replaced at some stage by the 86 and 87/88 services.
The Dundrum Bus Layover
The Dundrum Bus Layover is a key part of the Bus Connects plan for this area. The Dundrum Bus Layover is to be the hub for bus services in the Clonskeagh-Dundrum area.
The current bus layover is on Main Street, Dundrum. It is beside the Eir telephone exchange and the Dundrum LUAS stop.
The NTA and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council asked AECOM, consulting engineers, to redesign the Dundrum Bus Layover.
AECOM’s proposals
AECOM proposed:
- Changing the current bus layover beneath the Dargan LUAS Bridge into a new public space. The design of this space is not yet known.
- Two bus layover spaces are sited on Upper Churchtown Road, northbound, beside the Ferndale Apartments.
- Four bus layover spaces are sited on Upper Churchtown Road, eastbound, on the downhill section before Dargan LUAS Bridge.
- One layover stop on the Dundrum Bypass, beside Dundrum Shopping Centre, replacing a bus stop.
- A new bus gate to allow buses to cross the Dundrum Bypass from Main Street to Sweetmount Avenue.
Public consultation
The Council held a non-statutory public consultation in November 2025.
There were 492 submissions.
The main concerns were:
- Traffic congestion.
- The effect on junction capacity.
- Whether the proposed layover sites are suitable.
- The effect on local heritage and character.
- The loss of public space outside the Library.
AECOM published its Post-Public Consultation Report in April 2026. This is available currently on the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council’s website.
The report said that only the public space outside the Library needed more design work. All other observations in the 492 submissions were ignored.
Community meeting
The Rector of Taney, Reverend Nigel Pierpoint, has arranged a public meeting.
It will be held in Taney Parish Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, 30 September.
Reverend Pierpoint will explain his views on the possible effect of the Dundrum Bus Layover on:
- St Nahi’s Church
- Parishioners
- Local residents
St Nahi’s Church
St Nahi’s Church on Upper Churchtown Road is a historic building.
The church was built in 1760 on the site of a 6th-century monastery founded by St Nahi.
The name Taney comes from Tigh Naithi, meaning “Nahi’s house”.
The last community meeting
The last large community meeting in Taney Parish Hall was held in August 2025.
It was about Manna’s proposed drone delivery base in Dundrum.
The meeting was well attended.
That meeting was followed later by the Council’s refusal to grant planning permission for the proposed Manna drone delivery base.