Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am not sure that it is good value for money. I spelled out for the Deputy the costs, which are absolutely formidable. It would be very difficult to raise that sort of money. What we are talking about here are substantial sums which it is not guaranteed would deliver on the objective at this stage. The Deputy and his colleagues are approaching the issue in a reformist way, which is helpful, but we must look more closely at proposals like this before we take them on board. The Deputy has seen the Kids Go Free campaign, which reflects some of his thinking and is an effort to get young people into the habit of taking public transport. The scheme was very successful over the summer months. To go to the lengths the Deputy proposes, however, would be very expensive indeed. Nevertheless, to develop new habits in young children to get them used to public transport is something I applaud.

We all know that our country is facing challenges on climate commitments and on the congestion that this Government is determined to address. That is why we are expanding our public transport fleet so that there are more buses, more trains and longer trams to carry more passengers. We are developing long-term solutions through Metro and the DART expansion. We are enhancing cycle networks and making cities easier to navigate for pedestrians. We are supporting higher frequency bus services in rural areas. We are investing in well-planned, integrated infrastructure and service improvements in all the main cities. That is why we are investing €8.6 billion in sustainable travel under the national development plan. We know our public transport system and active travel networks need to be better. We know they need to better support sustainable mobility by linking more people to more places for more of their journeys. We know it and we are doing it. We are promoting a shift to public transport. We are enabling a shift to cleaner, greener alternatives. We would accept any solution.

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