Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Problems are faced by renters in every part of the country. However, I want to ask the Minister about investing in public transport to encourage more people to use it as part of our response to climate change. Is the Minister aware that Irish Rail is advancing proposals that will remove direct train services from part of the DART network? If this plan goes ahead, direct rail services to Dublin city centre will be taken away from a significant number of commuters on Dublin's northside. Journey times will also be increased for these commuters. This makes no sense at all at a time when we should be improving public transport to encourage more use to help meet our climate change targets. Is the Minister aware of these plans? Does he support them? What is his view on them? Will he, as Minister for Transport, source funding to improve rail infrastructure and capacity so direct services are not removed from commuters and so journey times are not increased?

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