Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Minister for Transport, I thank all the Deputies for their contributions to the debate.

In both the motion and the contributions from individual Deputies, we can see the range of challenges and opportunities and the progress which has been made to date. I believe that we are all in agreement about wanting a public transport system that serves all members of society, regardless of where they live.

As outlined earlier by my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, the Government is dedicated to developing an integrated, accessible and sustainable network of public transport offering across Ireland in both urban and rural areas.

The House will be aware that the Government has an ambitious vision to transform transport services and infrastructure nationwide. I will briefly give some examples of the transformative developments that are on the way. Under Project Ireland 2040, spatial planning and capital investment are being linked together in a meaningful way, while significant investment being made in new public and sustainable transport initiatives, as well as major new road projects. Furthermore, capacity on the Kildare, Maynooth and northern rail lines is being increased by more than 30% compared to today. In fact, the new railcars to achieve this increase have started to arrive and will enter service next year.

To help us to meet our climate targets, we have decided that from 2019, no new diesel buses would be purchased for urban PSO bus fleets. Deputies will be aware that a fully electric town bus service is operating in Athlone. Similarly, as part of BusConnects, the current fleet of buses in Dublin will be increased and converted to a zero-emission fleet by 2035, meeting increasing demand and saving the equivalent of circa 85,000 tonnes of CO2 a year in line with our climate action targets. Buses and shelters will be modernised, increasing accessibility and ensuring safe and enjoyable trips for passengers.

The Department of Transport's sustainable mobility policy, published earlier this year, recognises that transport needs are not uniform across the country and that tailored solutions are needed for both urban and rural areas. The policy aims to deliver 500,000 additional daily active travel and public transport journeys as well as a 10% reduction in kilometres driven by fossil-fuelled cars by 2030. The policy is underpinned by a robust action plan out to 2025 alongside capital funding allocations in the revised national development plan to ensure delivery.

Increased investment in the inter-urban and regional network will improve journey times, enhance reliability and maintain safety across the network.

Public transport in rural areas is vital. Turning to rural areas specifically, whether it is reduced car dependency or a more integrated and accessible transport network, the Government’s vision is ambitious, and one that is a key motivator as the Department of Transport prepares its work programme for 2023. Of course, the connecting Ireland rural mobility plan is a key component of that vision. I reiterate that it will significantly increase both the number of routes and the frequency of existing services throughout the country. I see that in my own county of Limerick, where we have lobbied for and received an increased frequency on many routes and, more recently, we see the TFI Local Link creating an imaginative new bus route, all the way from Tarbert across west and south Limerick to the town of Croom, servicing Tarbert, Glin, Atteagh, Carrigkerry, Ardagh, Newcastle West, Ballingarry and Croom.

I am also in the process of lobbying for an increased frequency on the bus routes serving Bruff and Kilmallock and other locations in Limerick and I am also lobbying the NTA for increased bus shelters where we have a deficiency of infrastructure.

Under connecting Ireland, the NTA is proposing an overall increase of approximately 25% in rural bus services as part of the five-year connecting Ireland plan. Hundreds of rural villages and areas will for the first time be served by a viable public transport link. Service improvements are being rolled out under connecting Ireland with more planned before the end of this year.

The Minister for Transport is fully committed to strengthening our public transport offerings and progressively making them accessible for all. This requires a whole-of-journey approach, which refers to all elements that constitute a journey from the starting point to destination. It also means applying the principles of universal design.

In addition to the sustainable mobility policy, some of the other key guiding policies include the UNCRPD, the national disability inclusion strategy and the comprehensive employment strategy for people with disabilities. The public transport accessibility actions across these and other national strategies have been combined into the Department of Transport’s accessibility work programme, which provides the framework for prioritising projects and programmes to progressively make public transport accessible. The Department will continue to engage with all stakeholders, including disabled people, as we improve our systems for everyone.

I reiterate that the strategic rail review will examine the role of rail in supporting relevant policy objectives in both Ireland and Northern Ireland, with particular emphasis on achieving climate change objectives. The House will be pleased to know that this review will also consider the potential scope for improved rail services along the various existing or future potential corridors of the network, and that scope will include an analysis of the potential afforded by disused and closed rail lines. It will be one of the most significant reviews of the rail network on the island in many years and will provide a framework to develop a much-improved rail network in the years ahead. The Department of Transport expects the review to be completed by the end of this year.

I assure the House that the Minister for Transport emphasises the important role transport plays in all our lives and is acutely aware of the concerns raised as regards making public transport fully integrated, accessible and sustainable for all. The planned investment in the public transport sector will improve people's quality of life and allow urban and rural areas nationwide to grow and to develop into the future. I am confident that, with these plans, which all contributors today agree are necessary, we will leave a legacy of a much more efficient framework for the provision of public transport in Ireland.

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