Transport for Ireland has introduced contactless payments for TFI Local Link services in Meath, Louth and Fingal. This project follows the “successful pilot programme” in Cavan and Monaghan in 2023 and the same for Tipperary in December of last year.
The TFI have set a goal to have all TFI Local Link services available via contactless payments by the end of 2026.
While the transition towards contactless payments on public transport is a welcome introduction to a more modernised system, one must ask when all public transport will support the option.
The National Transport Authority have projected that 2028 is the goal date to have contactless payments an option for Dubliners particularly, with a heavy focus on the LUAS and Dublin City bus services, eventually reaching the DART and Irish Rail in the Greater Dublin Area.
The NTA have labelled this initiative as “Next Generation Ticketing” or NGT, implying that they are ahead of the curve over competition to reach this “next generation”. The only problem is that it’s not the next generation when compared with European systems.
Ireland has run on the Leap Card system for so long that many don’t recall a time before the Leap Card was implemented. Introduced in late 2011, the Leap Card was viewed as a “hassle-free” way to get around Dublin because it didn’t require exact change, it was cheaper and it shortened queuing as people could instead just tap their cards on the scanners and “Hop On, Hop Off”.
At the time, the Leap Card was a great revolution for Irish public transport. As the NTA proudly proclaims, over 9 million Leap Cards have been issued since its inception, leading to €2.7 billion in fare payments. Comparatively speaking, however, we were already so far behind our European allies.
The most like-for-like comparison for the Leap Card is the London Oyster Card. Both serve identical purposes in an identical manner. They are prepaid plastic cards which allow the user to utilise public transport without stress of change, queues and such. The Oyster Card was introduced in June 2003, compared to the Leap Card’s December 2011.
The Oyster Card is hardly a unique example, either. The Parisian Navigo was implemented in 2001, MOBIB in Brussels beat us by 3 years in 2008 and there are many other examples where Dublin was left to wait.
The contactless payment system has been precisely the same story. Brussels implemented the system in 2020. Rome before it in 2019. By the time Ireland has established a contactless payment system for public transport, we will be a near decade behind the EU counterparts. London implemented the system long before us in 2014, putting us at a 14-year lag by the time the new project is in play.
The NTA referred to the Leap Card system as a “legacy system” now. That is true today in 2026, but it was also true shortly after it was released in 2011. The “Next Generation Ticketing” is hardly next generation in any form other than name. If a child was born the day London introduced the system, they would be preparing for the Junior Certificate by the time Ireland fully followed suit.
Fine Gael TD Barry Ward has been very vocal in his discontent with this implementation. He wrote an article to the Fine Gael blog in March 2026 referring the roll out to be at a “snail’s pace”, and that the absence of the system in 2026 is, “unacceptable and embarrassing.”
He made a large-scale comparison between Ireland and European countries. He outlined how in London, the roll out took two years. Amsterdam introduced contactless payments in 2022 and by 2023, it was in place all across The Netherlands. He concluded his sentiment stating that, “The NTA needs to get its act together on this.”
It’s hard to disagree with TD Ward on this issue, especially considering how hostile the country’s capital has become against drivers. The recent transport plans for Dublin have included restricting access to some of the city’s most vital roadways including along the quays and College Green with the explicit goal of “reducing car dominance.” These access points have instead become available for public transport and taxis only, which hypothetically incentivises those who work in the city centre to take a public transport form of commute every day.
While this policy is an irritant for local Dubliners, it has made transport near-impossible for those who don’t live in Dublin and instead leave in its border counties. With very little improvement to our public transport system, the policy looks to incentivise commuters to rely on public transport by making all other options unavailable, rather than making the bus or train more attractive. Furthermore, all that is said above is under the pretext that the NTA delivers on their goals for contactless payments by 2028. On the backdrop of several other state-sponsored projects being set back, the NGT has already followed suit. In 2022, former CEO of Dublin Bus Ray Coyne stated that we could see the system in place by the end of 2023. We are now 3 years beyond that goal and the NTA is asking for patience for yet another year.
