S.I. No. 206/2026 - Roads (M4 (Bus Priority Facility)) Regulations 2026

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 15th May, 2026.

I, DARRAGH O’BRIEN, Minister for Transport, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 7 and 43 of the Roads Act 1993 (No. 14 of 1993) and sections 3 and 35 of the Road Traffic Act 1994 (No. 7 of 1994), hereby make the following regulations:

Citation

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Roads (M4 (Bus Priority Facility)) Regulations 2026.

Interpretation

2. In these Regulations -

“1993 Act” means the Roads Act 1993 (No. 14 of 1993);

“1994 Act” means the Road Traffic Act 1994 (No. 7 of 1994);

“1994 Regulations” means the Roads Regulations 1994 ( S.I. No. 119 of 1994 );

“1997 Regulations” means the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997 ( S.I. No. 182 of 1997 );

“2025 Regulations” means the Road Traffic (Traffic Signs) Regulations 2025 ( S.I. No. 433 of 2025 );

“bus” has the meaning assigned to it in section 2 of the Public Transport Regulation Act 2009 (No. 37 of 2009);

“carriageway” has the meaning assigned to it in the 1997 Regulations;

“hard shoulder” means, in the case of each carriageway, the portion of paved surface to the left of the carriageway in the direction of traffic flow on such carriageway; and,

“specified M4 section” means that section of the national road which is a motorway with the designation M4 indicated by a red line on the map contained in Schedule 1 to these regulations.

bus priority facility

3. (1) The hard shoulder on the specified M4 section shall be a bus priority facility.

(2) The bus priority facility on the specified M4 section shall be in operation when traffic sign number RVMS 104 (bus priority facility sign) is displayed in accordance with regulation 10A of the 2025 Regulations.

4. (1) Notwithstanding article 7(2) of the 1994 Regulations and article 33 of the 1997 Regulations, when the bus priority facility on the specified M4 section is in operation, the hard shoulder on the specified M4 section may be driven on by buses.

(2) When the bus priority facility on the specified M4 section is in operation, any vehicle of a type that is not identified in paragraph (1) may only use the hard shoulder on the specified M4 section to the extent permitted by article 33 of the 1997 Regulations.

(3) When the bus priority facility on the specified M4 section is not in operation, vehicles may only use the hard shoulder on the specified M4 section to the extent permitted by article 33 of the 1997 Regulations.

5. A vehicle driving on a bus priority facility in accordance with regulation 4(1) shall not exceed such speed as may from time to time be specified in special speed limit bye-laws made by the National Roads Authority in accordance with section 9A of the Road Traffic Act 2004 (No. 44 of 2004).

6. Nothing in these regulations will have the effect of the hard shoulder being regarded as part of the carriageway of the specified M4 section for the purposes of article 33 of the 1997 Regulations.

SCHEDULE 1

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

13 May, 2026.

DARRAGH O’BRIEN,

Minister for Transport.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These Regulations provide the legal basis for the temporary or conditional use of the hard shoulder on a specified section of the M4 motorway as a bus priority facility. The Regulations are made under powers conferred by the Roads Act 1993 the Road Traffic Act 1994 with cross-references to existing Roads and Traffic Regulations to ensure consistency with the current legislative framework.