Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)

I thank colleagues across the House for their contributions on this debate. I thank the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, for attending.

Last year, we saw public transport usage grow to 1 million passengers per day, which was an important milestone to pass. This shows the success of the measures that were taken in the previous Government, led by a Green Party Minister, to encourage people to take the bus, the train and light rail. I am pleased that the Government is not opposing this motion, but what I am taking from the Minister's agreement to it is that the Government sees these eight commitments as being achievable in the lifetime of this Government. On behalf of the Green Party, I will be holding the Government to account on achieving these commitments.

However, something I was disappointed by in the speeches by the Minister and Minister of State was that, while they were very nice speeches, there was a lack of specifics and measurables in terms of when key commitments will be achieved. The Minister spoke with some passion about the transport security force. In my motion, I set out a timeline to have the legislation passed and the force up and running by the end of 2026. That is 18 months away. I think that is doable.

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