Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I appreciate the Ceann Comhairle giving me the opportunity to raise this important issue. I also appreciate that the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Canney, is here to reply.

Bus commuters on the Cavan-Dublin route were absolutely shocked to learn on 16 June of a massive increase in fares from that date. A daily return ticket from Cavan to Dublin was increased from €18.50 to €27.30, an increase of almost 50%. I was not aware of the proposed increase and I know from regular commuters on that route who contacted me that they were also unaware.

Over recent years there has been a welcome increase in the frequency of bus services in both rural and urban areas which we all welcome. The policy of successive Governments has been to encourage people to use public transport where possible. That policy has been supported practically unanimously by the Oireachtas. To encourage people to switch to public transport there is a need for reasonably priced fares. The decision by the National Transport Authority in the case of the route I am discussing is not fair and it is not equitable. Those fares must be reviewed and reduced. Typically on a bus any morning there are people going to work, students going to college, people going to hospital appointments and people going about their ordinary business. As the Minister of State will be aware there is a commitment in the programme for Government to keep fares low and affordable. I think the people on that particular route would question how that policy is being implemented.

A young lady who travelled on the route five days a week contacted me and sent me an extract from the relevant website. The question posed on the website was, “What this means for commuters” and the answer was, “From June 16th, fares on commuter services provided by both Bus Éireann and Go-Ahead Ireland are to change with some decreasing, some increasing, and some largely unchanged.” There was no mention of Cavan fares and the massive increase proposed there. That young lady did some research and said it appears to be by far the highest fare increase in recent times.

I am asking the Minister of State to ask the National Transport Authority to review that determination as urgently as possible and to have the fare substantially reduced to the range of what it was until 16 June. As he will know, the three counties of Ulster in this State, namely, Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan, do not have a rail service. When we travel from Cavan to Dublin we pay two tolls on the way to the outskirts of Dublin city. There is a lot of congestion in the outer Dublin area and in the city. People want to use public transport but they want to have it at a reasonable price.

I sincerely request that the National Transport Authority be told to review this matter, reduce the fares and ensure that commuters from Cavan to Dublin and Dublin to Cavan are treated with respect and provided with a reasonable fare structure.

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