Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)

The year 2024 was the hottest on record. Temperatures were 1.6° above the historical average. Europe is now in the grip of another heatwave. In France, 300 people have been hospitalised, and two people have already died from the heat. They will not, unfortunately, be the last to die this summer across Europe. We urgently need to stop pumping more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Fossil fuels must be completely phased out as fast as possible. This is what the science demands. We know transport is our second biggest emitting sector, contributing 21.5% of total emissions in 2023. The EPA predicts this will increase to 21.6% by 2030 with the existing measures. It is doubtful, however, that the target for those existing measures will even be reached. It is based on getting 560,000 electric vehicles on the roads by 2030, when there are currently around 73,000 such vehicles. Between 1990 and 2021, passenger car numbers increased by 178% and transport emissions more than doubled.

To reverse this situation, what is needed is a massive modal shift away from car dependency, whether fossil-fuelled or electric, to public transport and active travel. In light of this, the target in the review to increase the tiny 3% share of rail in passenger journeys to a slightly less tiny 6% is unambitious. Yet, this Government is unlikely to come close to this target. This Government is allergic to public investment on the scale needed to provide fast, free and frequent public transport for all. It continues to force more and more people into long, car-dependent commutes because this is the only way they can find semi-affordable housing. It is greenlighting and subsidising new domestic flights to Derry rather than building the railways we need. The programme for Government promises to act on the recommendations from the all-island strategic rail review. Which of the recommendations will actually be implemented within the lifetime of this Government? What share of rail in passenger journeys will result? When will we see new railway lines like metro south west? At the very least, will we see simple, obvious things done by 2029, including new train stations on existing lines in Ballyfermot and Cabra and more trams on the red line?

Another way of encouraging a modal shift to public transport is reducing fares. These were cut by 20% in 2022 as a temporary cost-of-living measure and then kept, just like student fees. In light of the Government saying we will not have another cost-of-living package, is it also saying transport fees are going to increase, just as is threatened in terms of student fees? Can the Minister of State give a guarantee that public transport fees will not be increased in the coming budget?

See this speech in context