Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The response of the Minister of State to the grouped questions is very welcome. The key question for us in the context of a cost-of-living crisis is to ask whether the fare reductions that have already been introduced are sustainable. I welcome the Minister of State's comments that she would very much like to see them being extended into 2023 but that is, I suppose, a budgetary decision that we will make in October. The statistics that the Minister of State has been supplied with by the providers across the country, and most acutely for me, by Dublin Bus, Luas and Iarnród Éireann, are very critical. Citing figures like the 84% and above rates of usage compared with pre-Covid-19 levels is encouraging.

In the context of full employment which we have almost reached, I would have thought that we might have been a little bit higher than that. Sustaining these fare reductions is not just good for public transport users but it is also good for the environment in respect of the unnecessary vehicular journeys that are taken when public transport is available. I will come back with further questions later.

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