Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his very detailed question regarding the funding the State makes available to cover a share of the travel expenses of those who work on behalf of the State. Perhaps this is a matter that will form part of the engagement in regard to public sector wages that is currently under way. The Government hopes we will get to a point at which those negotiations will lead to a conclusion that is both fair and affordable. It is a matter for which the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is responsible. I was involved in the setting of the mileage rate in 2017 and I remember some of the discussion around it. I take the point that, obviously, the cost of travel and commuting has fundamentally changed in the past few months, let alone since 2017. This may be a matter that can be dealt with in the discussions that are under way and which I hope will lead to a new agreement on public pay.

The Deputy will be aware of all the measures we have put in place to try to reduce the price of commuting. We know and accept that, for many, the price has still gone up by an awful lot. Clearly, the reductions we have put in place in regard to excise duty will help. The reductions in regard to gas and electricity do not relate directly to the price of fuel for cars but they are reductions from which all the people the Deputy referred to will benefit. I will consider the matter he has raised and I am sure the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, will be looking at it in the context, as I said, of the negotiations that are under way as we speak at the Workplace Relations Commission.

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