Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy quotes our policy from April 2021, but he should look at what has happened since then. For a student, the 50% reduction is in effect a 60% reduction because it also benefits from the wider 20% reduction. If people in college who use public transport are asked what has changed in the last few years and whether they notice that change, they say "Yes". That was delivered thanks to us and our Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael colleagues in government. It is not an insignificant change and, as I reported earlier, the numbers using the services are skyrocketing compared with any other international precedent, any other country one might look at.

What other Deputies were saying is true, namely, what really drives people mad is if they are waiting at a bus stop and the bus does not turn up. It is about frequency, reliability and speed and they should be the focus now. Budgets are limited. We have a constrained budget both on the current and capital sides. There is a real issue with how we pay for everything while also paying for health, social welfare, education and other services we need. Having delivered, especially for young people, a dramatic reduction in fares, it is right for us to now increase the service reliability and availability.

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