Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Labour Party, I welcome the motion. The conversation on free and accessible transport is the only one we should be having on transport in this country. This motion is another opportunity for us to discuss the issue in some detail and, hopefully, move the conversation forward.

In the most recent budget, the Labour Party proposed a €9 climate card, which would be a monthly charge for unlimited travel modelled on a pilot scheme used successfully in Germany through the summer of 2022. Unfortunately, we did not see any great furthering of progressive green transport policies in the budget we have just had, satisfied as the Government was with its initial moves on fare reduction and the provision of active travel measures which, in fairness, we can see in some areas of the country. There was no great step forward in the provision of more affordability or free transport in the budget.

One of the reasons the Labour Party did not propose a free transport scheme in this budget is that there are still concerns about how poor our transport network is. The motion speaks to that in great detail, particularly in rural areas. Free transport was introduced in Tallinn in Estonia in 2013 as a cost-of-living measure but the infrastructure was not in place and it has not led to a reduction in car usage or an improvement in transport infrastructure. That case should serve as a warning to us until we get our transport network correct and to where we need it to be. We need to ensure we have a funding model in place that will provide that. It is a balancing act of continuing to reduce fares, making them more affordable, encouraging people to use public transport where they have it and where they can, but also of ensuring that there is an ambitious plan to improve our network across rail, bus and other active travel measures.

I welcome the submission last week to An Bord Pleanála of the planning application and railway order for MetroLink. This morning, while coming into town on the bus, I saw on Twitter that a councillor for the Louth region had sent a photo of the type we all see of the Google traffic heat maps of the city. The M1, from just north of Balbriggan right down to Whitehall, was an angry dark red colour. That is not just this morning but every morning. The councillor in question said that incentives should be increased for people to use the northern commuter rail line. That line, however, is at capacity use and we will not get the increased carriages we need for the service for some years. The answer to ease the congestion on the M1 corridor is the delivery of MetroLink. People on the north side of Dublin know how important that is. This is not just a Fingal or Swords issue but it is the entire central spine of north County Dublin.

While improved links to the airport would benefit the entire city and people coming into the country, we on our side of the city want to see fast and efficient progression of this railway order and planning permission. Any frivolous objections from people in areas that are not on the line or are not impacted by the M1 corridor and the traffic nightmare on it every single day of the week should be given short shrift because the north side of Dublin needs this. The south side of Dublin has Luas lines, a DART link and bus services, and will get BusConnects. The north side of Dublin needs the MetroLink and that should be made crystal clear to those in government.

We expected a change in the short hop zones in the budget. Unfortunately, the kite was flown in advance of the budget but the measure did not make it into it. Along the N7, for example, we have areas such as Newbridge where the rail fare is €12 to get into the city, whereas from Naas it is €4. My colleague, Senator Mark Wall, has been raising this issue for a number of years. We have people getting into their cars in places like Monasterevin and Newbridge who should be getting the train but do not do so because it is unaffordable. A modification of the short hop zone would help.

These are things that can be done. There are still anomalies in the 90-minute fare. We need to see stations such as Skerries and Balbriggan on the northern commuter rail line brought into that. They are well within the 90-minute commute time but because they are marked on how long it takes for a bus to get from Balbriggan to Skerries, they are outside that scheme. Again, these are other measures and low-hanging fruit that could be delivered now to get people to use the public transport services that are in place.

Accessibility is a major issue that should go hand in hand with the delivery of clean transport. While we are seeing movement towards electric and hybrid fleets in our bus services, we are not moving at the same pace on increasing disabled accessibility. A Dublin Bus can only accommodate one wheelchair user at a time. That is just not good enough. I have been dealing with a number of activists and representatives of the Irish Wheelchair Association. Users of some of the more modern wheelchairs, which are very large in size, find it difficult to board a bus, even if there is no other wheelchair user already using the service. While we need to move towards clean fleets, we also need to move towards more accessible fleets. The ongoing problem of broken lifts in our railway stations is another disgrace and one which continually inhibits wheelchair users and people with mobility issues from using a service they may have in their locality. Again, we did not see anything in the budget on that.

I will conclude on the issue of Go-Ahead Ireland services. This is an absolute disgrace. We have been raising for months the fact that people are being left at bus stops every morning in Donabate, Portrane, Portmarnock and Sutton, and other services in Kildare and north Wicklow were mentioned earlier. The routes may be different but the story is the same. We have people missing hospital appointments, arriving late for work or having to get a taxi. Instead of being able to avail of the discounted fares the Government has brought in, they are having to pay higher fares for taxis just to get into work and avoid being penalised by their employers for being absent or late. This is a public transport service that is failing the public. When the contract for Go-Ahead Ireland services comes to an end, these services need to revert to Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann, the previous holders of those contracts and the proper public transport providers.

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