Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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It is good to have the opportunity to discuss the extension of the €2 limit on the public transport fares as far as Skerries and Balbriggan but I would also like an explanation as to why we were left out originally. When the 90-minute fare was announced, it stated it would give Leap card customers the option to transfer between DART, commuter rail, Dublin Bus, Luas and Go-Ahead Ireland services in the Dublin area at no additional cost for 90 minutes. It is a very good initiative and we in north County Dublin would welcome it very much. We are so fond of it that we want to become a part of the scheme. I cannot understand why two towns in Dublin are excluded when towns outside County Dublin are included in the scheme, although I do not want to take any other place out of the scheme. Two of the towns I represent, one of which I live in and the other of which I have an office in, namely, Skerries and Balbriggan, have been left out of the scheme. We will all be getting the train into Croke Park next Sunday to cheer for Dublin because we are Dubs and always hope that Dublin will beat Kerry. I cannot understand why we have been excluded from this very good initiative.

I live beside the train station in Skerries and there is a constant stream of commuters in the morning and the evening. I have been approached by people when I have been on the train and they have asked me why we have been excluded. The have great words of praise for the scheme. We all want to see transport fares coming down and the Government has made some progress in that regard. However, to exclude those areas does not seem to make any sense. I have tabled a parliamentary question about the issue and I was not a bit satisfied with the response I got. I sincerely hope the response I get now will not just be a repetition of the previous answer, with no disrespect to the Minister of State. There is no good reason for leaving out Skerries and Balbriggan. There are significant numbers of commuters in those areas. They use public transport. The Government should encourage people to use public transport.

It states on the press release for the scheme that some exclusions apply. If I go from Skerries to Dublin city centre, it will cost me €3 rather than €2. If I go from Balbriggan to Howth, it will cost €3.90. However, if I go from Rush and Lusk train station all the way to Bray, it will cost me €2 as part of the Transport for Ireland, TFI, 90-minute fare. That does not make sense. If the Government wants people to use public transport, as we do and as I understand the Government does, it is sending entirely the wrong message by including towns in counties outside Dublin and excluding towns inside Dublin. This is intended as a scheme specific to the Dublin area and should include all towns in the county. It should include all commuters. The Fine Gael parliamentary party a couple of weeks ago passed a motion looking for the extension of the scheme to counties Meath and Kildare. I am not sure of the status of that. I do not want the towns I represent to be excluded. Many of the towns in my constituency are included in the scheme and we do not understand the reason that both Skerries and Balbriggan have been left out. We want to be included in it. We want to use public transport but we do not want to have to pay more than other people. We genuinely feel this is unfair.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this topic, which is important to her constituency and her constituents. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Transport. I understand that the question relates to the inclusion of Skerries and Balbriggan in the TFI 90-minute fare initiative. The Department of Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding for public transport. However, the Department is not involved in the day-to-day operation of the public transport services nationally. The National Transport Authority, NTA, has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally by way of public transport services contracts and for the allocation of associated funding to the relevant transport operators. That being said, this Government is firmly committed to enhancing and expanding our public transport service provision across the country as, among other things, a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector. Some €538 million has been provided under budget 2022 for the provision of public transport services nationally. The Government is also strongly committed to helping combat the rising cost of living being experienced throughout the country. In this context, a 20% average fare reduction on public service obligation, PSO, services was recently introduced. These discounted fares will benefit the hundreds of thousands of people across the country who use public transport every day.

In recognition of the importance of incentivising young people to use public transport, a young adult card has also been introduced on PSO services to allow any person nationwide who is aged between 19 and 23 to avail of an average discount of 50% across all services, including city, intercity and rural services. It is intended to broaden this young adult card scheme to include commercial operators later this year. This will not only promote modal shift in the transport sector among the age group concerned but will also contribute to a reduced reliance on private transport with the associated benefit of transport emission savings. Further, a TFI 90-minute fare was introduced by the NTA to coincide with phase 2 of BusConnects, which gives customers the option to transfer between Dublin Bus, Luas and most DART, commuter rail and Go-Ahead Ireland services in Dublin at no additional fare.

In the context of the Deputy’s specific question regarding the possible inclusion of Skerries and Balbriggan in this 90-minute fare initiative, I advise that the TFI 90-minute boundary for rail services encompasses all zone 1 to 4 journeys taken from Dublin city centre. Accordingly, it extends, as the Deputy described, southwards to Bray station, northwards to Rush and Lusk station and westwards to Maynooth station. Residents can avail of a promotional fare of €2.30 when using a Leap card as long as they touch on their last journey within 90 minutes of the first. This allows for greatly enhanced integration of public transport services.

However, journeys between city centre and Skerries, Balbriggan, Kilcock, Sallins and Kilcoole remain as zones 5 and 6, as they are longer than most journeys on Dublin city bus or Luas. For zone 5, including Skerries, the 90-minute fare is €3 for adults and for zone 6, including Balbriggan, the 90-minute is €3.90 for adults. The 90-minute rule applies where this single fare covers the entire journey, provided the final leg is taken no more than 90 minutes after the first leg started. By way of example, a commuter could use a bus to travel to Balbriggan train station, take a train to Dublin city centre and a tram to his or her final destination all for the single 90-minute fare of €3.90.

Fare initiatives such as the young adult card 20% fare reduction and the 90-minute fare are hugely beneficial to public transport users and will not only provide modal shift but should also contribute towards reduced reliance on private transport and the associated benefit of transport emission savings.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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The population of Skerries is more than 10,000 and the population of Balbriggan is nearly 30,000. The Minister of State effectively said that those commuters will be excluded from what is a very attractive scheme. They would not want to be in it if it was not going to be to their benefit. I appreciate the Minister of State being here and I thank him for the reply. However, it will not be good enough. I will read him an email I got from one of my constituents:

After two years unemployed and just getting back into the workforce for a limited number of months, I am very careful of my expenditure at the moment. I don’t know what my situation will be at the end of the year. According to their own definition, shouldn’t they have included Balbriggan and Skerries because they are within Dublin?

She cannot understand why she is being excluded and nor can I. With respect to the reply the Minister of State gave, I do not think it explains why Skerries and Balbriggan are excluded. It explains what the current position is, but we all know that because the fares mentioned are the fares we are currently paying. However, people in Skerries and Balbriggan who are excluded from the reduced fare can travel just a couple of minutes down the road, take a train in Rush and Lusk or Donabate and travel all the way to Bray, which is in County Wicklow, at the reduced rate.

I ask the Minster of State to raise my request with the Minister for Transport and impress on him the need not to let down the nearly 40,000 people in Skerries and Balbriggan, many of whom commute. These are two commuter towns. We have a significant amount of underemployment in north County Dublin. Many people have to leave the area and travel into Dublin city for work. They use the train and they want to be treated the same as people in other areas just down the train line.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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I assure the Deputy that the NTA is engaging regularly with the Department of Transport on public transport fares. I further advise that the introduction of the TFI 90-minute fare, as envisaged by the BusConnects programme, has hugely benefited public transport users across Dublin. I have been advised that when the boundaries were first established for the 90-minute fare structure, the existing longer distance rail zones were taken into account. The NTA advised that any extension of the current flat fare would make it even more difficult to manage the change between metropolitan fares and intercity fares, which have to be based on distance travelled to be equitable. However, to provide attractive fares to the travelling public, the NTA decided to include the 90-minute fare feature for all rail fares in the short hop zones, with zones 1 to 4 being the same as the bus and tram fare of €2 for adults.

In addition to the various fare initiatives outlined earlier, the roll-out of the new orbital bus routes and spines under BusConnects, as well as the extensive planned works on the DART+ project in conjunction with the continued work on the infrastructure projects, including cycling facilities, will greatly enhance the current offering of public transport and active travel services in Dublin.

The Government has recognised the importance of expanding affordable public transport options in all locations across the country. The national development plan provides €35 billion for transport over the next decade and the largest investment in transport in the history of the State. This provides the necessary support to translate our ambitions for public transport into reality.

Collectively, these measures will not only further improve connectivity, but will also provide viable alternatives. I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy with regard to the TFI 90-minute fare initiative. I will alert the Minister for Transport in relation to the concerns she raised. I also refer the Deputy to the fact that the NTA is independent in its workings and encourage her to contact the organisation.