Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Meade. If the Chairman will allow me a final question, I want to bring up car parking. Even at a low level and before we use a sledgehammer to crack a nut it would be really worthwhile if Irish Rail could have someone with a clipboard at the car parks for a few days to do a little survey on where people are coming and going from. The railway car parks across the country have a daily flat rate of €3.50 to park for 24 hours, which is very attractive and useful if you are taking the train to get to point B. The problem is that in some stations in cities and larger towns, people are using the car parks and then walking down the main street to go to work for the day. I get the train from Limerick and I have got crafty and know where to go and what time to get a parking space and so on, because you learn as you go. I have often met people puffing and panting because they have sprinted for the train. We often see elderly people who have had to park 500 m down the street and run to catch the train, or who have missed it and are getting the next one. There needs to be some linkage between the purchasing of a ticket and parking at a train station. I would not change the pricing because it makes it attractive. If someone is paying for a train ticket €3.50 is reasonable and fair, but these should not be catch-all car parks for people going to work, school or the shops. There are other car park facilities in towns and cities people could use. An audit of where people are coming from would be a good starting point.