Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

There are three ways to fund public transport and I accept that there is a statutory function for the DTA. One way is to increase fares. The other element is to reduce costs and the third is subvention. A decision has been made in the absence of adequate subvention, but it is a short-term strategy. Getting people onto public transport will save money in the long term by virtue of the kind of obligations for which we will have to shell out hard cash in terms of our climate obligations.

I welcome the changes to the Sallins and Kilcock fares. It was a disgrace that they were not included in the suburban area, given that they are suburban stations. I have made the argument for a long time that they were located outside of the suburban service when in fact they were suburban services. I do not want to pick on Bray, but one can choose a location and make a direct comparison. I would not increase fares. We need a reliable service, which is the first thing people want. We also have to have an affordable service. A direct comparison based on distance shows that the comparison is not fair, and it is a valid point to make.

The change that will come into effect regarding Kilcock cannot happen until mid-2017 because of technology in stations. The situation will, unfortunately, continue for another six months or so. The Maynooth train line was upgraded and capacity was doubled through funding from EU Structural Funds. The upgrade was sought, as part of the Luas package, because of the degree of congestion at the time, which made Dublin an unattractive place. We now have a good line, but we are making it unattractive for people to use it. It is a retrograde step.

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