Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for being here to take this Topical Issue. I represent one of the youngest and fastest-growing constituencies in the State in Fingal West. Many of my constituents are served by the train, which runs alongside the side of my constituency, and some by bus. Unfortunately, for my constituents, most of the existing transport routes only bring them in to town. They need dynamic connectivity to bring them from one town to another. We know there is a link from Rush to Lusk to Balbriggan to Skerries to Loughshinny, which is good. These towns are linked by a bus service, but the outlying, smaller towns and villages are not linked up by a bus service.

Equally, many of my constituents experience difficulties accessing the train inasmuch as they do not have public transport that will take them all the way there. We do not have connected cycle routes either, so it is very tough for my constituents to get to the main source of transport. For elderly constituents who simply want to move around within their towns and villages, it is very tough for them to do so.

Some new housing estates are being built in north county Dublin now. Given the scale of the Government's housing crisis, any house building is, of course, to be welcomed. However, there is no joined-up thinking. There is no bus route. Every time a new estate is established, as sure as night follows day, a couple of weeks after people start to move in, a campaign has to be started to get a bus. There has to be some type of forward thinking. If people are moving in to the houses, they are not staying in them forever and for always and for 24 hours a day. They will need to get out. On the one hand, the Government says that it wants us out of our cars and to use public transport, which is a very noble and worthwhile endeavour. However, I do not know how the Minister of State imagines my constituents feel when they are told that the station that serves Rush and Lusk is taken into the Dublin city commuter zone. This is really welcome. It means reduced fares, which is really important. However, those people who use trains that leave from Skerries or Balbriggan have been taken out of the Dublin city commuter zone. It is not that far and the trainline is just a straight line up - I am sure the Minister of State is familiar with the area. They will now have to pay higher fares while towns in Wicklow, Meath and Kildare are being brought into the Dublin city commuter zone.

I am sure the Minister of State will appreciate that my constituents are very angry about this move. Like the Government, they share the aspiration to leave their cars at home. However, a disincentive is being created by making sure they have to pay extra. I mean no disrespect to the people who live in Kildare, Wicklow and Meath. I wish them the very best. I do not begrudge them the reduced fares. It is a good thing that there are reduced fares. In fact, I think it is such a good thing that I want more towns to be included in the Dublin city commuter zone. However, I would like if those towns were in Dublin as well since the scheme appears to be accommodating enough to include towns outside of Dublin city and county. We want to see people using the trains. I will not get into the issue of overcrowding with the Minister of State now. We really want to see people using the trains but they are getting a mixed message from the Government. On the one hand people are being told to leave the car at home but on the other hand, train fares are being increased.

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