Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I organised a meeting between the NTA and the five Deputies from Wicklow a few months ago, at which it mentioned battery-operated trains to Wicklow town. I ask that a focus be put on providing that service, including further south to Arklow. It is critical that we give people public transport and rail options. People who are living in south Wicklow have to travel an hour or two hours to work and get stuck on the N11. I am aware that work is happening on the N11 but as the Minister said, we have to have a multi-modal response. The best bang for our buck would be using the infrastructure we have in place, such as the rail line. A battery-operated train service to Wicklow town and Arklow would give people the options they need. We need people to move away from their cars. We passed the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021 last night. It is critical that we give people options and invest in enabling them to take public transport in an efficient way.

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