Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

My question relates to the programme for Government and public transport, which we all agree is significantly important in keeping cars off the roads. It was useful to meet representatives from Irish Rail yesterday in order to examine the company's plans for services after 2027. I want to deal with the here and now, however. Public transport should be affordable, accessible and have appropriate capacity. Thousands of commuters take the train at Newbridge, which is in my constituency, every day. However, the price of the fare from Newbridge is twice what it is from Sallins because of the short-hop zone arrangements. This results in many people driving to Sallins to take the train from that station. There is also a capacity issue and it is not safe. Last Monday, the head of the National Transport Authority informed a meeting in Kildare that while it realised the price arrangement is unfair, it would not reduce them because it does not want to encourage people to use the trains because of capacity issues. We need new carriages on these train serves.

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