James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response. I anticipated some of the arguments he would advance and will try to address his concerns.

One of the concerns articulated by the Minister is that it may give rise to a double benefit and that people who are already using the taxsaver scheme may benefit again. However, it seems to be permissible and perhaps even encouraged for a cyclist to avail of a double benefit but somebody driving to a station cannot avail of it. I would not put it as a double benefit, rather, I would put it as an integrated ticket. Somebody buys an annual ticket that allows them to include their car parking space, which has recently been charged for in the past couple of years, along with their travel pass so it is really one ticket. I do not see it as two separate things. Doing it that way encourages consistency and usage of that ticket and makes it a more attractive option for people overall as a package.

Although I fully support cycling and have seen it done very well in cities like Copenhagen and Amsterdam and would like to see Dublin reach that stage, the reality is that my constituency is not a city constituency, as the Minister has acknowledged. It is a commuter belt constituency. The idea of a mother in Naas, which is between 4 km and 6 km from Sallins rail station, cycling to the station with three children who need to be drooped off at a crèche or a school along the way is not practical. While cycling should be encouraged, we must be cognisant of the real needs of people. These are people who are going to work - taxpayers commuting to work who are already coping with multiple demands. The mother I referred to needs to drive the 6 km to the station and possibly stop two or three times along the way if she has children.

In terms of managing the scheme, I understand the concern about the unregulated spaces and ad hocspaces. That is not suggested. In the same way as the taxsaver scheme currently operates, it is suggested that it involve approved parking providers, typically Irish Rail and Luas stations and other stations the Department may see fit to designate. The taxsaver scheme already operates this very well so I do not see why there should be a difficulty identifying that.

Concern was raised about how one would know whether somebody was abusing the scheme. The same could be said for a ticket. How do we know that a person is using the ticket? Typically in car parks, and I have direct practical experience because I do this every day, the vehicle registration number is recorded and if a different vehicle parks in that space, it is clamped so there is a pretty straightforward and immediate way to detect that.

I ask the Minister to keep an open mind on this. It is worthy, there are practical arguments for it and it is part of a packaged approach to public transport. It is an add-on, not a separate benefit, so I ask the Minister to consider it again this year. If not, I ask him to keep an open mind. It is worthy of further consideration.

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