Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

As the Deputy can imagine, since both of us live in the area, I share her frustration on this. We know very well that as the review was carried out, there were some people, including in our constituency, who saw significant fare reductions, but there have also been what I regard as anomalies in that some towns have seen significant fare increases. In this regard, the Deputy rightly referred to Greystones and Kilcoole, two towns we know well.

The NTA and others will tell us that the changes are broadly revenue neutral, which is true, and that we are moving to a distance-based zonal system. The NTA believes the latter is fairer and easier for passengers to understand. However, this needs to be kept under review. From a policy point of view, we have taken a number of steps to try to help people with the cost of public transport, including the young adult card and the 90-minute fare. We have had money to extend that. We have seen a number of initiatives that have helped to reduce the cost and I would not like to see anything that counters that, so I am happy to continue to engage with the NTA on this, as I know the Deputy is. I will keep in touch with her on it.

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