Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House for this important debate. I also welcome his comments on rail freight, which are important. I look at pictures of the rail network going back 60 or 70 years and the way lines covered the country, compared to what we have now. It shows what we have lost and the potential we had in those times. Rail freight to take juggernauts, etc., out of our towns and villages should be invested in. I am glad the Minister mentioned it. However, I thank him for using one of those old railway lines for the new Athy inner relief street, which is almost built. It will relieve congestion in the town. It has been awaited in the town for 40 years. The street is on an old disused railway line. It will bring many advantages and take congestion out of town. However, we should develop and invest in rail freight. I am encouraged by the Minister's opening comments.

It is probably no surprise that I wish to talk about short hop zones. I have spoken to the Minister and the NTA about this previously. We need to extend the short hop zone to Newbridge. That will have a positive effect on the stations in Athy, Kildare town, Monasterevin and Portarlington. It is an issue the Labour Party in Newbridge and the people of south Kildare have been fighting for a long time. In the past number of years, we have gathered together more than 7,000 signatures from hard-pressed commuters, which we presented to the CEO of the NTA, Ms Anne Graham. At that meeting and at further meetings with the Minister, we have been told that the NTA is responsible for setting fares but, in the absence of appropriate Government funding to fund any fare reductions, the NTA's hands are tied.

It seems the same arguments were given to my colleague, Deputy Sherlock, in Mallow, who launched a similar campaign back in 2016. As the Minister will be aware, the Deputy succeeded in his campaign this year, by adding Mallow to the leap card scheme. The evidence, as the Minister mentioned in his opening remarks, told its own story. Passenger numbers from the station have almost doubled. Between May 2021 and the beginning of September 2021, they stood at 44,000, whereas the same figures for 2022 almost doubled to 77,000 commuters. As has been said, reduce the fares and they will come.

I will use the opportunity to acknowledge the work of the rail group, through Newbridge community development, which has been contact with the Minister about the short hop zone. It has had numerous conversations with Government officials and the NTA. I acknowledge Jennifer Caffrey, who continues to share information from hard-pressed commuters about the numerous times that they are struggling with costs and the costs of coming from the train stations in south Kildare. The fact remains that hard-pressed commuters are bypassing Newbridge and other Kildare stations and driving to Sallins. What makes that remarkable is that Government has invested in a new car park in Sallins. It has encouraged people to drive to Sallins, bypass Newbridge, Athy and Kildare and go for lower fares.

The issue has been mentioned by Senator Doherty. Who can blame them? I have seen the tickets used by some of those commuters. They are saving up to €200 per month. Who can blame them when they are paying mortgages, etc., having come to live in south Kildare? They can save €200 by getting in to their cars. However, the problem, which I experience three or four times per week, is that the N7 and the M7 are nothing more than car parks. Once people get to Kill every morning, they are stopped. A journey that should take ten minutes now takes 40 minutes. That is every morning of the week, no matter what time I leave, whether it is 7 a.m., 8 a.m., or 9 a.m. It does not ease up until after 10 each morning. There are no accidents. It is just the volume of traffic. People are using their cars and that is the problem.

The Minister has spoken about the climate crisis and we support him. My Labour Party colleagues in the Dáil and the Seanad have mentioned a €9 monthly ticket that other countries, such as Germany, are using. That is where we need to go. Luxembourg has been used as an example by Senator Dooley. We need to take that risk. We need to make sure that we offer people the potential to go there. I acknowledge the youth travel card. I pushed for it and I am glad that the Minister brought it in. The card has made a difference. We need to extend it. We need to go for the €9 monthly ticket or free travel. That will make the difference. It will take the pressure off the roads and improve everything that we are fighting for in climate action. I know that the Minister has looked at it, but we need to take that extra step.

There a couple of other issues I wish to raise with him. Toilet facilities are brought up with me on a regular basis, especially in Newbridge train station. I am dealing with a number of people who have various disabilities, cannot use the toilet facilities in Newbridge and are limited by the public transport they can take. The same is happening in other train stations throughout Kildare. I have mentioned Athy. When I speak to Irish Rail, I am told it is a staffing issue and that because appropriate staff are not in place, it cannot open the facilities. That is simply not good enough when we are trying to encourage people and those with disabilities, in particular, to take public transport. Those toilets need to be open at rail times. They need to be open constantly and staff need to be provided to have them open. I get phone calls from people who say they cannot use rail services, because they do not have the facilities. It is simply not good enough. The Government needs to sit down with Irish Rail, the NTA and whoever else is responsible for them and provide those staff. It is a very simple solution. This is going on too long. There is no regularity about when those facilities are open for people.

I am warmed by the Minister's comments on freight and I support them. However, at this stage, the short hop zone needs to be looked at.There have been comments and proposals have been put together. I have submitted to the greater Dublin area transport strategy on this. I have spoken to the Minister numerous times before. Government needs to take action. It needs to extend the short-hop zone not just for Kildare but the other counties Senator Doherty spoke about today. We need to stop the N7 being a carpark every morning, as it is at the moment.