Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to delay proceedings by getting into a philosophical discussion. We cannot have it every way. We must be prepared to subsidise a public transport system in order to achieve other things that are far more important in terms of quality of life. I refer, for example, to relieving the burden of heavy borrowings on young people, ensuring higher wages, etc. There is an idea that such provision would be costly in public transport terms. In my book, however, provided the overall picture is rosy, I would be prepared to put up with subsidising a decent public transport system to have the other benefits. This issue cannot be viewed in isolation; we have to consider the broader picture of people's quality of life, regardless of whether they are young or old. Subsidising public transport is an acceptable practice provided it is within reason, but I would not shelve any good ideas because of the cost involved in terms of public transport.