Pat Casey (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank my colleague, Senator O'Loughlin, for introducing this motion. One strategy at the heart of Government is about getting as many people on public transport as we can. We see this as the future. If this is a Government aspiration, looking at the short-hop zone and its success for the people who live within that zone in terms of access to services but more importantly access to reduced fares, it must be extended beyond that zone. As my colleague said, we need to create a medium zone and maybe a wider zone if we are honestly talking about moving people onto public transport. Regarding the fares, Kilcoole is the last stop within the short-hop zone in County Wicklow. The fare is €3.90. Moving 10 km down the road to Wicklow town, you pay €10.45. That is a 165% price differential between the two. Moving on to Arklow, which is another 15 km away, the fare becomes €15.75. That is a 300% increase. If we provide the right fare structure and the right service, we will get people onto public transport. Cork is a good example. When the Cork city to Mallow fare of €3.90 was introduced, the number of passengers doubled almost immediately. If we honestly believe in public transport, it has to be a priority for Government to seriously look at this motion and consider introducing medium and long zones in public transport for people who are coming from commuting counties to work in Dublin. This aligns with my point of view in Wicklow because once you leave that short-hop zone there, not alone are you crucified by a lack of rail service but also by the lack of a bus corridor on the N11. Even our buses are getting stuck and blocked up in traffic. For commuters coming from Kilcoole or further south, access to Dublin is a nightmare. There are only two train services in the morning. The 133 Bus Éireann service and the Wexford Bus route, all have to go through the Devil's Glen which is carpark. From a Wicklow commuter's point of view, not alone do we need to improve access to public transport, we also need the people of Wicklow town, Rathdrum and Arklow to have fairness and equally with public transport users in Kilcoole and beyond. This is the reason I am fully supportive of this motion.Following my talks with Irish Rail and with the National Transport Authority, NTA, I believe we honestly need to look at the rail service from Greystones onwards. We need to stop talking about it and implement what needs to happen in relation to provision of dynamic passing lanes and double tracks and where we can put them so that we can put real rail infrastructure onto the tracks and get passengers to their work in Dublin, but for a fair fare the same as everybody else in the county has.