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

I thank both Deputies for their support. I will meet the NTA and Indra Sistemas, which is developing this system. I will try to secure more specific timelines from the company. It has been very helpful so far. Work is progressing very well. On the contractual arrangements, I do not have that detail right now. I commit to reverting to both Deputies with an update on this after I meet with the NTA and Indra Sistemas.

If we look at other innovations that have taken place, the Leap card was a big step forward from what we had before. The 90-minute fare is very useful. The interaction of the Leap card between all of our transport operators as well is useful. It is not too many years ago that this option was not available to people. Thankfully, because this Government is still committed to free travel for our seniors, there will be no requirement for cash payments for most of them. As the Deputies know, a commitment made by the previous Government and this one is that people with free travel will be able to bring a companion with them, and it is being rolled out right now. Later this year, probably in September, we will bring forward free travel for those between the ages of five and eight. The purpose of this is to recognise that costs are high too for families. We also want kids who are using buses, etc., to get used to doing so in order that it becomes a habit. We had record public transport passenger journeys last year. We want to try to exceed that this year. People are responding in that regard right across urban and rural locations. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, answered questions about the advancement of Local Link. That has been really significant.

We have a great deal of work to do in this space, but real progress has been made. I will keep Deputies Neville and Ó Cearúil up to date. I will revert to them, post my meeting with the NTA, with specific timelines.

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