Dáil debates

Thursday, 16 December 2021

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions

Transport Policy

10:00 am

Photo of Imelda MunsterImelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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8. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the measures being taken to incentivise public transport use for commuters in the Laytown and Bettystown areas of County Meath in order to ensure increased use of public transport and a reduction in car journeys; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62106/21]

Photo of Imelda MunsterImelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I ask the Minister of State what measures are being taken to incentivise public transport use for commuters in the Laytown and Bettystown areas of County Meath in order to ensure increased use of public transport and a reduction in car journeys. Will she make a statement on the matter?

Photo of Hildegarde NaughtonHildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The Minister holds responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. It is the NTA that has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally. The NTA also has national responsibility for integrated local and rural transport, including management of the rural transport programme which operates under the Transport For Ireland Local Link brand. The NTA works with the relevant transport companies that are responsible for the day-to-day operation of the services.

From a policy perspective, the Minister has made his beliefs clear that there is a need for a fundamental change in the nature of transport in Ireland. The Department has been undertaking a review of sustainable mobility policy, which incorporates public transport in rural areas. We intend to develop a new policy framework for the next ten years that can provide a strategic backdrop to the increased investment planned by this Government across the sustainable mobility programme and we hope to publish our new sustainable mobility policy early next year.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Covid-19 public health emergency has had a profound and swift shock on the public transport sector. Government support for all public transport services in 2020 amounted to €620 million. For 2021, more than €670 million has been provided in public service obligation, PSO, funding in order to ensure the existing level of public transport services, albeit at a higher cost, continue to operate in a safe manner. By comparison, the level of PSO and LocalLink funding provided in 2019 was in the region of €300 million.

I know of the Deputy's deep interest in the development of public transport services generally and more specifically in respect of the two areas she mentioned. I am advised by the NTA that, in addition to rail services from Laytown, commuter services are provided from Bettystown and Laytown by Matthews Coaches. These are commercial services and are licensed by the NTA. The NTA has no role in the setting of fares for commercial services.

On bus services, the NTA has indicated that Bettystown and Laytown are considered suburbs of Drogheda when planning their public transport services. Routes D1 and D2 provide four bus services linking both centres to Laytown station to the south and the town of Drogheda to the north west.

10:10 am

Photo of Imelda MunsterImelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I tabled this question because there has been a major increase in population in the Laytown-Bettystown area. The majority of those people have relocated from Dublin and travel to Dublin every day. We have a situation where the cost of an adult monthly train fare from Laytown to Dublin is €247. The fare from Balbriggan to Connolly Station in Dublin is €145 a month and Drogheda to Dublin is €264 a month. The average cost of an adult return ticket to Balbriggan is €11.05 and the equivalent to Laytown is €21.15. There is a distance of 10 km between Laytown and Balbriggan.

The issue is about reducing our carbon footprint. I have asked the NTA on numerous occasions to extend the short hop zone to Laytown and Bettystown to encourage more people to leave their cars and get on the train. The NTA has refused to do this, but the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is responsible for policy. We know that at the stroke of a pen he could direct the NTA to extend the short hop zone. Will that be done?

Photo of Hildegarde NaughtonHildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy knows, Laytown station is outside the short hop zone, which goes north as far as Balbriggan. Such stations have fares that are not well suited for the pay-as-you-go service provided by the Transport for Ireland, TFI, Leap card because cardholders would need to maintain a high minimum balance on their Leap cards before they could use them. The best fare for such intercity services is typically obtained by booking in advance, which again is not suited to the TFI Leap card. The NTA is actively investigating alternative ticketing solutions that would be better suited to intercity rail services as part of a next-generation ticketing initiative.

The NTA has adjusted a number of fares in order to mitigate the fares charged at the outside edge of the short hop zone. A number of tickets between Gormanston, Laytown and Dublin have either remained at the same price level or seen a reduction since 2018. The NTA is actively engaged on the development of a very flexible TaxSaver ticketing product suitable for occasional use in response to the change in public transport use as a result of Covid-19. It is hopeful of bringing something forward early next year.

Photo of Imelda MunsterImelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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The NTA has no interest in extending the short hop zone to Laytown and Bettystown. The Minister is responsible for policy. When we talk about getting cars off the road we are happy enough to slap a carbon tax on people, but not to make a basic adjustment to extend the short hop zone to that area to encourage more people to leave their cars at home. Is the Minister of State seriously saying that the Minister cannot direct the NTA to extend the short hop zone to Laytown and Bettystown? If that is the case, it is farcical because he can of course do that. If there is any sincerity at all in climate action and reducing our carbon footprint, he would extend that short hop zone in order to get the volume of cars off the road that are travelling to and from Dublin every single day. Will he do that? Will he instruct the NTA to do precisely that?

Photo of Hildegarde NaughtonHildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I will relay the Deputy's comments to the Minister. My information is that I understand the Deputy has written to the NTA. The Minister's office has referred the correspondence to the NTA, which wrote to the Deputy on 12 July advising that the position with regard to extending routes D1 and D2 to serve the ecology centre remains the same. They stated-----

Photo of Imelda MunsterImelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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That is a separate issue.

Photo of Hildegarde NaughtonHildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I apologise. I will relay the Deputy's comments to the Minister. Unfortunately, he cannot be in the Chamber today for personal reasons.