Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Car parking at Ballybrophy and Portlaoise needs to be expanded as current facilities are not adequate. There is land adjacent to both stations that can be utilised, with the land at Portlaoise located right beside the station. The county council is interested in doing this and has been trying to do something about it. I urge the Department and Iarnród Éireann to liaise with the county council to try to get that in place.

In regard to charging points, Ballybrophy does not have one and it needs to have one or two, and we need an extra one or two in both Portlaoise and Portarlington. We need to find a system to stop people from blocking the charging points all day long, in other words, parking, plugging in, going to work and using the charging point and the space for the whole day.

The other point on parking is that it is very difficult for people who arrive after 7 a.m., which is a major problem. At Portlaoise all spaces are gone by 6.45 a.m. and it is impossible after 7 a.m., while it is difficult at Ballybrophy. This needs to be addressed. We have to start getting people to use the trains and we have to make it easier for them. It is a very costly service. It is €100 a week to use the train but it is also €4.50 a day to park. When it is all added up, it is costly. We need to make it easier and we need to keep the prices down.

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