WHERE'S MY MONEY? · SECTOR 06 OF 08
Transport spending in Ireland
Roads, rail and public transport. Compare the 2026 estimate with the published Budget 2027 allocation, and see what this sector covers.
Expenditure estimates — not confirmed final outturn. Source checked 2026-11-13.
01 / FIGURES IN CONTEXT
Transport: spending over time
Transport expenditure helps fund public transport services, major infrastructure, roads and active travel. New construction, ongoing maintenance and subsidised services are different spending types.
Spending estimate by year (billion euro)
| Year | Amount | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | €4.1bn | Provisional 2025 outturn |
| 2026 | €4.8bn | 2026 estimate |
| 2027 | €5.6bn | 2027 Budget estimate |
Changes between estimates may reflect inflation, new allocations and/or transfers of departmental functions. They should not be presented automatically as a like-for-like increase in services.
02 / FOLLOW THE CATEGORY
What does this sector include?
The cost of a motorway or rail scheme cannot be attributed to one year's sector budget without verified year-by-year allocations. Infrastructure creates services over many years, not just in the construction year.
National road network
National road expenditure can combine construction and upkeep, which should be tracked independently.
Regional and local roads
Regional and local roads have different responsible bodies and maintenance needs from major national routes.
Public transport services
Public transport operating supports are different from buying or building new transport infrastructure.
Rail and light rail
Rail and light-rail programmes include long-lived assets with multi-year delivery and operating costs.
Active travel and greenways
Active travel investment may fund walking, cycling and greenway infrastructure.
Transport safety and accessibility
Safety and accessibility programmes can be delivered through agencies with their own reporting arrangements.
Why this distinction matters
A project announcement is not the same as expenditure actually incurred. For major transport schemes, follow estimates, approvals, contracts and delivery updates separately.
Amounts for individual programmes would need to reconcile to the department and sector totals before appearing in these charts. We do not divide the sector figure evenly among the topics above.
03 / IDENTIFIED PROGRAMME ALLOCATIONS
Explore 8 published funding amounts in transport.
These are official 2026 estimates, allocations and selected measures. Some are parts of others, or cover a different reporting boundary. Do not add the bars together or subtract them from the sector total.
Bar lengths indicate the relative size of the amounts in this selected set only. They do not represent a complete or mutually exclusive spending breakdown. Each linked programme page identifies the source, status and any overlap.
Browse all 49 verified allocations →DEPARTMENTAL ACCOUNTING · 2026
What were the 2026 net supply grants?
For this sector, the following Dáil Vote authorisations are listed separately from the gross €4.8bn sector estimate. Net grants are not extra money to add to the figure above, and a Vote may span several public services.
Exact net voted supply grants from 25 March 2026 are a different accounting basis from gross spending and are not a reconciled sector subhead split.
03 / YOUR PERSONAL CONTEXT
A proportional tax receipt, not a traced payment.
If you paid a particular amount in PAYE, USC and employee PRSI, what would transport represent if that money were distributed using the national 2026 spending mix?
This multiplies the figure you enter by 3.6%. Public finances pool revenues; this is not a payment receipt or the monetary value of services you personally receive.
Calculate my full Irish tax receipt →04 / COMMON QUESTIONS
Understanding transport spending.
Is transport spending only road construction?
No. The sector also covers public transport, rail investment, active travel and other responsibilities.
Does higher transport funding mean fares will fall?
No. Fares, subsidies and infrastructure budgets are different choices.
How can a project cost be tracked?
Compare the same project's authorised scope, dated cost estimates, contracts and reported delivery progress.
Related Compound resources
05 / CONTINUE EXPLORING
Explore the rest of the public budget.
Every sector links back to the complete directory and to related categories, so you can follow the spending picture without leaving Compound.
Sources and limitations
All figures on this page come from the published government 2026 Transport sector estimate and Budget 2027 expenditure summary. Official methodology describes voted and non-voted totals, provisional outturns and historical classification changes.
Figures are rounded to €0.1bn. Departmental accounting categories are not always the same as everyday descriptions of a service. No supplier or programme allocation is inferred from this headline figure.