According to the Irish Examiner, this is despite more than €35 million already having been spent nationally on the project.
Transport minister Darragh O'Brien said the responsibility for the project remains with the National Transport Authority.
He did however reveal a timeline for the phased introduction of the "Next Generation Ticketing System".
The new ticketing platform is set to be completed by Summer 2027, with another phase then seeing new ticket equipment across Dublin Bus and Luas services, followed by Irish Rail stations in the Greater Dublin Area.
These phases are not due to go live until summer 2028 and only after can the technology begin to be introduced on commuter and regional services outside the Greater Dublin Area, including Cork, according to the Irish Examiner.
The new project will allow commuters to pay for their journeys with their debit and credit cards, and Apple and Google Pay.
The contactless payment system will allow passengers to pay single fares using bank cards and will be accessible across 15 Local Link offices by the end of this year.
This news has been long awaited as Irish commuters have been calling out for this new system for years.
Back in January, Joe Neville of Fine Gael asked at the Public Accounts Committee asked "Why at this stage can we not use a bank card like people do on the London Underground" and questioned if the technology was there to roll it out.
Fianna Fáil TD Paul McAuliffe stated that "surely an app could be built within six or eight months.
The National Transport Authority required that the technology needed was complex and that in addition to placing contactless machines at stops, station gates, and buses, they also needed to ensure the back-office technology was worked efficiently.
