John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The cost-of-living crisis, particularly for commuters, has been discussed at length. The Government has done quite a substantial amount of work to reduce the cost of public transport be that with Irish Rail, Bus Éireann, etc. The one area where we have not reduced costs for commuters is the cost of parking either at train stations or bus stops. That is the next thing we should look at because from a climate perspective and a cost-of-living perspective, we must entice people away from their cars and get them on to public transport. It makes sense for us to reduce the cost of public transport dramatically but at the same time, we are keeping the cost of parking at train stations around the country high. I firmly believe that the Minister should suspend the cost of parking for commuters, particularly at train stations, in line with the reduction in public transport fares. I know the Minister will not be able to ask a private company to suspend parking charges at a bus stop but we can do it at all Irish Rail stations. This would provide an extra level of help for and be of benefit to commuters. It does not make sense that on one hand, we are reducing the cost of public transport dramatically and encouraging people to use it while on the other hand, we are still charging the same parking charges. I call on the Minister to suspend the cost of car parking at Irish Rail stations across the country in line with the reduction in public transport fares until the end of the year and the economic situation stabilises.