Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is hard to fathom, when diesel and petrol prices are higher than they have been for years, when we have seen a 30% increase in costs in the last three years and when, since January, there has been a 13 cent per litre increase in the price of petrol and a 9 cent per litre increase in the price of diesel, that the Minister chose to increase that further on 1 April and to increase it again two more times this year. You could not find a better example of being out of touch. A Government awake to the real difficulties that workers and families are experiencing with the ongoing cost of living would not purposely increase these costs. In rural areas such as mine in Roscommon and Galway, and in many towns as well, people have to have a car. They cannot get anywhere without one.

Already, people typically pay high insurance and that is especially the case among young drivers. One young driver who contacted me recently will wait eight months for a driving test and has been quoted almost €3,500 insurance for the first year. That is before motor tax, and it is questionable what people get for motor tax given the state of many of our rural roads. That is before we talk about the rising running costs.

We then have the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, encouraging us all to use public transport despite public transport in Roscommon and Galway being scrapped left, right and centre. Aircoach has recently pulled its service on the Galway to Dublin route, which served a number of towns in south Roscommon and east Galway and also served Portiuncula hospital in Ballinasloe. That decision followed Bus Éireann's earlier decision to pull its service on the same route. We have Local Link, which is a good but extremely limited service. In a number of villages in Roscommon, particularly in the south of the county, and east Galway people are looking for an expanded Local Link service but the organisation tells us it has no funding. People cannot access public transport and have no choice but to have a car, yet costs are increasing all the time, not only costs like insurance and motor costs but also those that the Government sets and which it is increasing on purpose. It is not good enough. It is not fair on rural communities. It is particularly unfair on young people starting out who are getting a driving licence for the first time and really struggling with these costs. The Minister is purposely making it more and more difficult, particularly for people in rural communities. I ask him to consider this motion and withdraw his amendment.

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