Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise an issue that I have previously mentioned a number of times in this House. I refer to the need to extend the short-hop zone to Newbridge train station, other train stations in south Kildare and to Portarlington in County Laois.

I welcome the creation of a focus group by Newbridge Community Development within the last number of days to advocate for an extension. On my way here this morning I listened to my local radio station, Kfm, and heard Jennifer Caffrey, who represented the focus group, eloquently state the reasons for the extension. Over the last number of years the local Labour Party in Newbridge has run a campaign to change the pricing structure. We met Ms Anne Graham, CEO, National Transport Authority, and handed her 8,500 signatures of local commuters in County Kildare who demand such a change. Since then we have continued to raise the issue at every opportunity. We have continuously raised this matter with each Minister for Transport and, indeed, the NTA.

Quite simply, hard pressed commuters bypass Newbridge and other Kildare stations and drive to Sallins station in Naas to avail of the short-hop fares but who can blame them? Many people save up to €200 per month by choosing to drive past their local station in favour of stopping at Sallins station. The result is that the N7 has become a car park as other commuters make the hard choice to drive all of the way into the capital to attend work. Time and again I am contacted by commuters from every corner of County Kildare asking for an update on our campaign. Recently those queries have come from students, as I have previously stated in this House. Students simply cannot afford the cost of accommodation in Dublin or avail of student accommodation in the city.The youth travel card has helped but we still have problems with students paying considerable amounts of cash that they work hard to earn to avail of transport. The solution is to extend the short hop zone or even to create a medium or intermediate zone. This must allow for the use of the Leap card and the privileges it has given to commuters within the existing short hop zone. I recently made a submission to the greater Dublin transport strategy on this matter asking for such an outcome. In all of my recent conversations with the National Transport Authority, NTA, I have been told that a review of the short hop zone pricing structure as against the structure for other stations and how these differences are impacting commuters is under way. However, the CEO of the NTA is also on record as stating that, if public service obligation, PSO, funding was provided by the Government and the Minister, the NTA would change the pricing structure in the shorter term. This is what needs to happen. Government must provide such funding to alleviate pressures on those hard-pressed commuters who have no choice but to use their cars. Funding would alleviate pressure on the car park that the N7 and its feeder roads have become. The most fundamental point is that we are in the middle of a climate crisis. That alone should concentrate minds on the urgent need to address this issue in the shorter term. Once again, I ask the Leader to organise a debate on rural transport with the Minister for Transport. I would appreciate that.