Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I call on the Minister of State to scrap the plan to increase the cost of petrol and diesel in August and again in October. It is inconceivable that the Government would increase costs for people twice this year at a time when they are still experiencing the cost-of-living crisis. Many of my constituents do not have an opportunity to use public transport to get to work for many reasons. Others cannot do so because services do not exist or they do not have confidence in them. Many workers and families do not have a choice but to go to work or to bring their children to school in a car.

The 2020 census figures show that almost 57% of commuters in Blanchardstown rely on private vehicles to get to work each day. Let me give the Minister of State some examples. I recently raised at committee the issue of ghost buses in Ongar, Littlepace and Tyrellstown. These are buses that are instructed to deliberately miss bus stops in those areas to allow them to catch up on their timetable and reach their destination on time. Other buses just fail to show at any time. How many times can a worker blame the bus service for being late for work?

Dublin West has a population of 120,000 people, yet we do not have a bus service to the airport. That is despite the fact that Senator Currie eagerly claimed credit for the arrival of such a service this year. We now know that said service will not commence until at least 2025. Can one imagine that a town the size of Blanchardstown does not have a bus service to the airport. A journey that should only take 30 minutes takes many people more than two hours on public transport. There is no reason they would need a vehicle to get to the airport.

The Government talks about encouraging children and families to walk to school, yet due to the lack of school places in Dublin West, many are forced to pass their local schools and drive miles to the next available school every single day. It is absolute madness. The Taoiseach, Deputy Harris, has to stop this increase. The Government should not heap more pressure on hard-up families, workers and small businesses.

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