Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

Yes. We are about to discuss transport proposals but one glaring omission from the Government's recent publication is the concept of free public transport. Many cities worldwide are moving to free public transport and Luxembourg is the first country to do so in its entirety. This is vital if we are to tackle climate change and meet the demand for less carbon emissions. It would also free up the roads from congestion, which is a major issue in many cities, particularly in the Dublin suburbs where I come from. Yesterday, it took me about an hour and 15 minutes to get home to Blanchardstown and other people have a longer daily commute. The Government's proposal largely contains punitive measures such as higher car parking charges for vehicles with higher emissions, but not everyone has the money or the wherewithal to switch to lower vehicular use and we do not have the public transport to allow people to get out of their cars. That is the reality. As I have noted previously, there are 110,000 people in Blanchardstown but there is no Luas or metro connection to the area, which is bus dependent. A rail line serves some of the area but it is inaccessible for most people and the industrial areas.

We probably need more than one session on this matter if the committee is serious about contributing to tackling the global emergency that has now been recognised by young people and in the recent election. We should consider this and there are cities we can look at and expert witnesses we could invite. Tallinn in Estonia, Dunkirk in France, Luxembourg and many cities in Poland all have free public transport. I ask members to support that idea and to put together proposals.