Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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I welcome the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and take the opportunity to wish him well in his demanding portfolio.

The issue of fare increases is important and will have a substantial impact on large numbers of my constituents and others across Dublin who use DART and Dublin Bus services every day. At the end of October, an announcement was made that ticket prices for rail and bus services were set to increase and they have subsequently been increased. It is difficult for commuters to stomach the fact that ticket prices have continued to increase, despite the fact that there has been no improvement in service. My constituents are already paying substantial amounts, between €3.85 and €5.75 for a day return ticket, if they are not using a Leap card.

I am aware that Leap cards provide cheaper fares and that more people are availing of this service. However, those passengers who pay cash face substantial price hikes, increases of up to 13% in fares across rail and bus services. This amounts to a total increase of 40% since 2012 because of the reduced Government subvention from the Department. These price increases are not justified, particularly when the service is patchy. For example, on Monday and Tuesday of this week, two major signal failures occurred at peak commuting time, around 5.45 p.m., as a result of which thousands of passengers trying to commute home from the city centre were stranded after their day's work.

I raised the issue previously of the reduced number of DART carriages to four, particularly at peak times. This is unacceptable and the Minister should raise the issue urgently with Irish Rail management. Another issue is the lack of information when there is a difficulty with the service. Doors are left open on some trains and commuters are allowed to board. However, they are then told there is a delay in the service, but they are not given any further information or only hear muffled announcements on the train's communication system which is unfit for purpose. Commuters are unhappy with the level of service and I hope the Minister will take these issues on board.

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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Last week the NTA sanctioned price increases on rail and bus services. In ten years there has been an increase of almost 85% in the lowest fares on Dublin Bus. It seems criminal that at a time when Dublin Bus passenger numbers are increasing and there is further potential for growth, these fare increases have been proposed. In the past few years Dublin Bus has restructured and rejigged routes and services, causing great upheaval. This restructuring was supposed to save money, but it is now going to add to the cost of journeys by increasing cash fares by up to 15%.

Dublin Bus had a surplus of €3 million last year which was achieved despite a cut in the subvention. Recently, the new head of Dublin Bus said at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications that he did not envisage fare increases. What has happened since? It is important to note that some Leap card fares have been cut and that any increase in prepaid fares is smaller than other increases. Dublin Bus wants to encourage a further move to Leap cards and prepaid options by bus users. The problem is it is going about it in the wrong way.

In the context of the substantial fare increases in recent years and increasing passenger numbers, Dublin Bus should be using a carrot to attract new customers and new Leap card users. Instead, it is using a stick to beat cash fare users into using prepaid models or beat them out of using public transport altogether. It is now possible that a person living in Finglas or Ballymun will pay almost €6 for a round trip to the city centre. One might argue such persons should have a prepaid card, but it not so easy for them to have €30 or so every week to pre-load onto a Leap card. Also, owing to the inflexibility of Leap cards in terms of top-up options, regular small top-ups are inconvenient to say the least.

In order to make Dublin Bus increasingly viable, we must make it more accessible and better value. There have been big improvements, but this move shows much more is needed in the company's thinking.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputies for raising this matter.

Under the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008, as amended by the Public Transport Regulation Act 2009, the National Transport Authority is responsible for determining fares on publicly funded bus and rail services. I have no role in the setting of public transport fares. It is the responsibility of the NTA to adjudicate on applications from the CIE companies and the Railway Procurement Agency for fare increases or changes. On 28 October the NTA issued its 2015 fares determinations for Luas and the CIE companies - covering monthly and annual tickets, cash fares, Leap card fares and pre-paid tickets. In contrast to a trend of reducing public service obligation allocations in recent years, I have ensured the level of PSO subvention for bus and rail services will be maintained in 2015 at current levels.

The maintenance of subsidy funding for public transport in 2015 at current levels has enabled the NTA to moderate the fare increases necessary in order that the operators can, as far as possible, maintain the current level of services and respond to sectors where demand is growing and capacity needs to be increased. The NTA has continued its plans to increase use of the Leap card integrated ticket by keeping fare increases to a minimum on the card when compared to cash. In fact, even with the fare increases approved by the NTA, a Leap card fare in 2015 will nearly always be the same as or lower than the cash fare was in 2012. There are now over 750,000 Leap cards in circulation and almost €2 million per week used in travel credit, which provides evidence of the convenience and value it offers to the travelling public. I emphasise again that the Leap card fare in 2015 will be almost always the same or lower as the cash fare three years ago.

Before the end of the year the NTA will introduce a second- ourney discount on Dublin Bus Leap card fares. This will be further rolled out to cover all PSO operators in 2015. This will reduce the cash penalty currently paid by a person who is required to change buses to make a trip from A to B. Also, an off-peak reduction in Luas fares has been introduced for Leap card users, as the cash fares for peak and off-peak have been merged. The NTA aims to increase Leap card use to simplify fare payments, improve bus journey times and cross-mode transfers. It has also incorporated a wide-ranging structural review of fares across and between all operators, with a view to simplifying and streamlining fares to encourage increased use of public transport by removing some of the confusion around anomalous and illogical fares and pricing.

I understand that for people who are paying cash fares, this represents an increase, and I understand that we are asking people to pay more in a time when they have less income available to do that. However, the payments they are making are going directly towards maintaining the level of public service available at present on our buses, Luas trams and trains, and it is giving our public transport companies the best capacity possible to provide a better service in the future.

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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I thank the Minister for his very detailed response and for dealing specifically with the issue in front of us. However, the issue is broader in that customers are not getting the service they deserve and demand. As I stated, there were two signal failures on the railway line this week, with little notification given to paying customers as they left their workplaces to try to get home after a day's work. It is unreasonable to expect people to pay more, particularly given that the service is so poor at present. I would ask the Minister take an active interest in this issue by using both rail and bus services to see for himself what people have to deal with.

Is capital investment needed in regard to the signal failures, which, while not a daily occurrence, do happen periodically? Can the Minister ensure proper customer service is given by all staff of CIE to customers so they know exactly where they stand, by providing either information on screens within stations or proper and audible public announcements?

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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At a time when we see huge increases in passenger numbers on Dublin Bus and other services, it seems hard to understand how we could be looking for price increases. I believe it is counterproductive and I do not understand the logic for it. Dublin Bus had a surplus of €3 million and the subvention has been cut substantially, even though the Minister said he would try to maintain it in the coming years at the current level.

We cannot afford increases like this when people are struggling. The people who are most affected are the least well-off, because they pay cash when they get on the bus with a buggy or a child, although they might only be going a number of stops. It is the least well-off in society who are getting hurt the most, which seems to happen every time we have an increase.

I acknowledge that the Leap card has been a huge success and that it provides much better value for money. However, most of the people I meet in the suburbs, whether it is in Ballymun, Santry, Whitehall or Finglas, do not have a lump sum to hand out for a Leap card, as they only have the bare minimum left at the end of the week. None the less, these are the people who will be affected.

The Minister said the NTA and the RPA had been given the legislative role of dealing with this, but there must be some input from the Minister. He must be warned in advance that this is going to happen and he must have some input in telling them this is unacceptable in these times of austerity.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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There is a broader picture in this regard, which Deputy Flanagan touched on. To consider the issue from the point of view of Irish Rail alone, it has accumulated losses on its balance sheet of over €200 million. That is the scale of difficulty that is being faced, which feeds directly into the point Deputy Flanagan put to me regarding the need for investment in the future. There is a very clear need for investment levels not just to be stabilised, as I have done for next year, but to be increased in the future.

A point I want to make very clearly in response to the different issues that have been raised with me is my hope that, due to the current economic growth, we will see our public transport companies increase their revenue because more people are using bus, tram and rail services. My hope and ambition is that during my time in office I will be able to increase the investment these companies need, particularly within rail, to deal with the capital needs that exist.

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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Are there problems with the signalling system?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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There is signalling work that needs to be done, and some of that work will take place next year. However, if we get ourselves to a point at which revenue is going up because of an improving economy, and the Government is also able to increase investment, it is my expectation that the fare increases we have seen in the past will not continue in the future, in either their level or their frequency.

An objective we must have is that, as we encourage more people to use public transport, two things must happen. The first is that it must be affordable, and the second is that we have to deliver a service that meets the needs of the public. That will need investment and it will need a recovery in revenue. We are seeing encouraging signs, but, I have to say, it is only recently that we have seen the kind of increase that the Deputy is referring to actually occur month after month. As these issues improve, it is my expectation that the fare increases of the past will not be the fare increases of the future.

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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We need improved customer services.