Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus will travel overseas this autumn to recruit drivers as they struggle to meet staffing demands ahead of the BusConnects programme launch early next year.
Chief executive Stephen Kent told the Oireachtas Transport Committee that recruitment has become a critical priority, with Cork facing the most immediate challenge. The city is currently short 17 drivers, and the company needs significantly more to deliver BusConnects services in 2026.
Bus Éireann will seek drivers with D licences—required for public service vehicles—during their first international recruitment drive this autumn. The company hired 500 staff last year and has held over 50 open days across Ireland this year.
Dublin Bus CEO Billy Hann said his company faces similar pressures, having recruited over 1,000 drivers since January 2022 at a rate of approximately 400 annually. Dublin Bus will travel to South Africa this month to recruit drivers, though they may need to hire those with only standard B licences, which requires longer and more expensive training.
Kent warned that Ireland needs at least 2,000 additional drivers over the coming years to meet planned service increases through the National Transport Authority and the Department of Education’s School Transport Scheme, which now serves 178,000 pupils daily across 10,600 routes—a 50% increase since 2018.