Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

Free public transport should be free everywhere. On the idea that it would only apply to certain cities, as I have heard that people react like that, one would decide that public transport would be free. Either way, there has to be a considerable enhancement of public transport.

On the assertion that people have a choice of cycling, unfortunately, not everybody can cycle to work, for example, if someone lives 14 miles away and does not have the physical capacity or whatever. It is not a question of choice.

The carbon tax that I am hearing about would be on someone's ESB bill or on a bag of coal or logs. It will apply. It applies to everyone at present, both rural and urban. The choices one makes do not necessarily free a person from it.