Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I understand and will certainly look at the need for consistency all around. The reason this has happened is that various stations have been moved from one zone to another and it is not purely, simply and clinically all a matter of distance. I will pass the message to NTA and see what sort of reply I get.

Last week, the National Transport Authority, NTA, published its fares determinations for the year ahead. These determinations are published annually by the NTA in line with its statutory powers under the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008. It is important to note that this process and the powers afforded to the NTA are statutory ones and, much as I might like to have it, I do not have any function as Minister with regard to the level of fares. The statutory role of the NTA allows it independently to examine the level, scope and nature of fares across our public transport system. Since it assumed its regulatory powers in this area, the NTA has sought to simplify what was an extremely complicated and cumbersome system. The system differed from operator to operator and suffered from a myriad of different and sometimes overlapping fare types and offers. It was a system which also gave rise to numerous inconsistencies and anomalies. It may be that Deputy Murphy has pointed out some which still exist. I reassure Members that these fare determinations are not developed on a whim, but are rather a consequence of a strategy by the NTA to simplify and regularise how we charge for public transport services.

Fares are set with the aim of maintaining customer support and passenger numbers while ensuring financial stability for the operators. In recent years, a key thrust of the policy has been to encourage people to switch to Leap cards rather than cash fares. Members will agree that the development of the Leap card has been a great success and I am sure they all welcome the significant discounts it provides on fares across all modes of public transport. This year's fare determination sees no increases for around 75% of all passengers using our bus and rail services, which is a benefit to the majority. As part of the long-term strategy I spoke about a minute ago, the NTA has been seeking since 2012 to overhaul rail fares across the greater Dublin area network and to introduce a more logical and fair distance-based model. This has involved examining approximately 1,200 origin and destination station pairs across the entire network. The examination concluded that fares between some station pairs were set particularly low for various historic, commercial and operational reasons and were not in line with the fares other passengers were paying for journeys of similar distance.

This year the final 261 station pairs were examined, with the vast majority seeing a decrease in their fares for next year as a result. The overhaul has also included the inclusion of Sallins and Kilcock stations within the short hop zone, which will result in significant savings for the many people who use the stations. I have no doubt that Deputy Murphy welcomes those changes and the savings they will deliver to constituents in Kildare North.

However, inevitably a small number, 36 to be exact, or around 3% of the total number of possible fares, will see a fare increase. This is as a result of the previously unfair level of fares when compared with other station fares across the whole network. In terms of Leixlip, this means that the trip to Pearse Station in Dublin has been moved from zone 3 to zone 4. A single adult Leap fair will now cost €2.93, as opposed to €2.46. I am aware that some local media have reported increases to Maynooth-city centre fares. However, that is incorrect and there is no change in the cost of a single fare between Maynooth and the city centre.

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