Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)

I am also very anxious to see this. The Deputy is right; the Leap card is great. That is fine but, if you go to London or other parts of Britain, you can tap on or off with a debit card or credit card, which works fantastically well. When we bring in our system, it will be ahead of those in Britain and most of Europe because it will also involve account-based ticketing. I have asked for a timeline and I have engaged with the NTA. To inform the Deputy and the House, while I do not have an exact timeframe, we are aiming for 2027. In advance of questions this morning, I again met officials last night to try to get a more specific timeline for delivery because this will make a very significant difference to the passenger experience for residents and visitors alike. This is a big project. As the Deputy has said, it is €100 million of investment. It needs to be done correctly. The Deputy will understand that there are many checks that need to be carried out in advance of the roll-out of the ICT system. Work is well under way. I will come back to the Deputy with a firmer timeline but, to give him an indication, we are looking at 2027.

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