Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and take the opportunity to wish him well in his demanding portfolio.

The issue of fare increases is important and will have a substantial impact on large numbers of my constituents and others across Dublin who use DART and Dublin Bus services every day. At the end of October, an announcement was made that ticket prices for rail and bus services were set to increase and they have subsequently been increased. It is difficult for commuters to stomach the fact that ticket prices have continued to increase, despite the fact that there has been no improvement in service. My constituents are already paying substantial amounts, between €3.85 and €5.75 for a day return ticket, if they are not using a Leap card.

I am aware that Leap cards provide cheaper fares and that more people are availing of this service. However, those passengers who pay cash face substantial price hikes, increases of up to 13% in fares across rail and bus services. This amounts to a total increase of 40% since 2012 because of the reduced Government subvention from the Department. These price increases are not justified, particularly when the service is patchy. For example, on Monday and Tuesday of this week, two major signal failures occurred at peak commuting time, around 5.45 p.m., as a result of which thousands of passengers trying to commute home from the city centre were stranded after their day's work.

I raised the issue previously of the reduced number of DART carriages to four, particularly at peak times. This is unacceptable and the Minister should raise the issue urgently with Irish Rail management. Another issue is the lack of information when there is a difficulty with the service. Doors are left open on some trains and commuters are allowed to board. However, they are then told there is a delay in the service, but they are not given any further information or only hear muffled announcements on the train's communication system which is unfit for purpose. Commuters are unhappy with the level of service and I hope the Minister will take these issues on board.

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