Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am glad the Minister mentioned fare reductions because I fully support them. It is another reason we have seen quite a return to public transport. Admittedly, it was a cost-of-living issue that the Government addressed by bringing in the 50% reduction, as it is now, for people under 26, and 20% for everyone else.

In relation to the NTA's work on the fare strategy recently, it is really welcome to see that equalisation whereby people are paying roughly the same fare, regardless of where they are travelling in the country. There has been a long legacy of historical issues in respect of how fares were applied over the years. It is good to see this being done countrywide. It is a complex issue and one of the key parts is understanding and fairness. I want to ask the Minister about a particular aspect of the fare strategy that was introduced but before I do, I will outline what the NTA's objectives were on the fare strategy. One was to ensure that all public transport passengers pay a fare that reflects the distance travelled. Rail fares should increase in a relatively uniform manner in line with the distance travelled. The cost of travel should not vary unduly depending on the route taken. Moreover, the cost per kilometre travelled should not vary unduly. Those were some of the objectives of the NTA for fairness.

It was not in the opening statement but some of the other documentation supplied noted that one of the objectives of the Department is this notion of equality in public transport. The fare that somebody pays from Pearse Station to Maynooth, which is 17 miles by track, is €2. Someone travelling from Pearse Station to Greystones, which is also 17 miles of track, pays almost double that at €3.90. How does that stack up against the objectives of the NTA? How is that fair or equal or how are those people paying the same amount per kilometre of journey travelled?