Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)

I am a huge supporter of public transport. I was very encouraged by the decrease in fares further up the northern line because the fares were too high. The NTA sold that on the basis that it would be simpler and more consistent on a distance-based system. Someone travelling from Skerries to Balbriggan is paying the same as someone travelling from Balbriggan to Pearse station in Dublin. However, even worse, someone travelling from Dublin to Drogheda pays the exact same fare as someone who travels from Balbriggan to Drogheda, despite Balbriggan being 33 km closer to Drogheda. There are inconsistencies in fares. I appreciate what the NTA is trying to do; I just do not believe it has worked on a fair basis. I would really appreciate a rebalancing of fares, certainly for children because there was a huge increase in children's fares. It is very welcome that the NTA is looking at that and I appreciate the Minister's support on it.

I raise another issue with fares although I am not sure which area it falls into. I know there is funding for it. The contactless-based system has been mooted for a long time. We have seen this rolled out in other European cities many years ago, in some cases going back to 2012. We are still saying this will happen in 2028. I am not sure what the reason for the delay is. Why is it not simple for us to roll this out? Tourists who come here cannot believe that we do not have a tap-on, tap-off system. I cannot get a handle on why there is such a delay and why we cannot mimic what has been rolled out in many other European cities.