Bus and train services off Christmas Day

The Christmas Day shutdown means there will be no bus or rail services tomorrow.

But a skeleton taxi service will be available, and a limited number of shops will stay open for emergency purchases.

While pubs, restaurants and supermarkets will be closed, some small retail outlets will remain open on Christmas Day, including several Spar outlets, according to a spokesman for the company.

He added "99 per cent" of Spar outlets would be open on St Stephen's Day. A spokeswoman for Centra said opening of the convenience stores was at discretion of shopkeepers, adding most would be closed tomorrow but open on St Stephen's Day. Chemists in general will be closed until Monday.

There will be no train services on Iarnród Éireann or Northern Ireland Railways on Christmas Day or St. Stephen's Day. Special timetables will be operating until January 3rd, full details of which are now available from all Irish Rail stations and offices.

All DART and commuter services will operate normally up to 9 p.m. tonight. The DART will resume operations on Monday with a Sunday service.

There will be no Luas service on Christmas Day. The last trams leave Dublin city at 8 p.m. tonight.Between St Stephen's Day and December 28th, Luas will operate every 10 minutes between 7 a.m. and 11.30 p.m. There will be no late night service.

Luas will also run shuttle buses from its Sandyford depot to the Leopardstown races between December 26th and 29th.

Bus Éireann will not operate on Christmas Day while on St Stephen's Day there will be a limited service on principal Expressway routes, Cork suburban routes and the Limerick/Shannon/Ennis routes.

Cork city services and the Cork Airport service will operate as on Sundays. There will be no city services in Galway, Limerick and Waterford, and no town services in Dundalk, Drogheda, Athlone, Sligo and Navan. Eurolines cross-channel services will not operate.

On Monday, Bus Éireann services will operate as on Sundays with some alterations.

Dublin Bus will not operate on Christmas Day but a normal Sunday service will operate on on St Stephen's Day. Nitelink services will also operate.

Sunday and Nitelink services will also operate on Monday.

Mr Vincent Kearns, of the Irish Taxi Drivers' Union said a small number of drivers would be working tomorrow, principally to serve hospital contracts.

The Irish Family Planning Association warned yesterday that reduced availability of GP and family planning services over Christmas would make it more difficult to get emergency contraception.Its clinic at The Square, Tallaght, will reopen on Monday.