A 24-hour Luas is not looking likely, as the National Transport Authority (NTA) has said it must close tramlines every night for maintenance. 

The NTA told TheJournal.ie that extending the service's hours "is not something that should be progressed at this point".

It says "essential maintenance" must take place overnight that can only be done when there are no trams in operation.

Taxi crisis

Christina Finn, Political Correspondent at the Journal, told Breakfast Briefing this morning that a late-night Luas would be useful, considering "the taxi crisis in the capital and a lot of people reporting difficulty in getting home".

There are "public safety issues being raised, particularly from women, who have had to perhaps walk home late at night".

Now, taxi drivers say they're "carrying the weight of big summer events that usually additional public transport has been put on for".

Eamon Ryan

In June, Transport Minister Eamon Ryan asked the NTA to evaluate the feasibility of a late-night Luas.

Currently the Luas service stops at 1am and begins again at 5am.

According to Finn, the NTA said that failure to allow enough hours to complete works "could result in a diminution of services for other times in the week, perhaps causing knock-on effects for mid-morning commutes".

New licensing laws

Finn said the NTA may "get back to the drawing board if there's enough pressure".

When the Dáil reconvenes in September, Justice Minister Helen McEntee is expected to push ahead with extending licensing laws.

"I definitely think there will be a lot more pressure given that bars and nightclubs are set to be opening into the wee hours of the morning, whether some people want to avail of that or not."

Taxi drivers, Finn said, are having to "carry all the responsibility of getting people home from the capital late at night".

Image: Peter McCabe/Zuma Press/PA Images