Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to squeeze in a few questions about the rail network. I missed the 10.50 a.m. train from Limerick to Dublin earlier. I was on time but the car park was chock-a-block. I know the Minister believes people using bikes. I do too. I brought the bike in the boot, I got the train and I cycled off, but you have to park the car somewhere. I come from rural County Clare to a train station. I cycle off at the other end. I make a conscious decision every Dáil sitting week to avoid a 180 km one-way journey in the car. So many people this morning at Limerick station missed trains because they drove laps of the car park and had to exit it. They then drove down into the city.

I am parked in a car park about 15 minutes' walk from the train station. I missed my train and got the second one. It is a simple thing. It is a brand new car park. It only opened about three weeks ago. It costs €3.50 for the entire day, which is incredible value. I have had chats with Jim Meade of Irish Rail - this needs to be segregated from general parking in the city. It should remain €3.50 if you are going to get a train and travel out of that station. It should be linked to your travel ticket. If you are not going to take a train, if your intention is to go shopping in Limerick for the day or to work in an office in the city, there should be a higher tariff. It might decouple the malpractice going on there at the moment. When I eventually got on the train I met a guy sitting across from me from Cork. He too had missed his train because of the same problem in Cork. It is a problem that the Minister needs to get to grips with. We all want a modal shift. We are all embracing it but little things like that irk people. It could be solved quite easily with some ticket changes.