Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Minister to provide a written reply to these interventions that will allow myself and my near colleague and dear friend, Deputy Devlin, the opportunity to make our contributions. To be specific, these are transport questions in regard to dealing with Covid-19. Understandably, many Members have spoken about air travel but we all know that it is community transmission which is of most concern.

The areas I want to touch on are the use of public transport, first and foremost, and the fact that, particularly on the Luas line and the DART, with which Deputy Devlin would also be familiar, there is still serious concern among front-line workers, who simply have to take that service, that the services are overcrowded and there is not enough security or inspection to ensure that social distancing and mask wearing is maintained. While I welcome the appointment of the 61 assurance controllers, this is something that is still lacking.

I know of a number of front-line workers in my constituency, particularly in the healthcare sector, who are so worried about transmission on public transport that they are not willing to get the Luas, the DART or the bus, and they are being forced into their cars. Taking a car into the city centre means they are then liable for massive parking charges, either in hospital car parks or car parks near hospitals. This is something I raised with the Minister and, more pertinently, with Dublin City Council a number of times because, from a personal point of view, back in May, I joined the long wait of expectant birth partners or fathers along Merrion Square, feeding euro after euro into parking machines. That was fine for a once-in-a-lifetime miracle appointment but, for those who have to go in every day on the front line to protect us, more needs to be done in regard to parking charges because they do not feel safe enough on public transport and that is driving them into their cars. Unfortunately, not everyone is in a position to walk, cycle or run into the city centre.

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