Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach and Senator O’Loughlin for raising this important Commencement matter, and I welcome the opportunity to discuss this issue with Members of the House today. I also want to acknowledge the Senator's consistent advocacy for this on behalf of constituents and also in connecting the local campaign with the Government and with the National Transport Authority who are progressing this.

The Senator's question is on the implementation of the national fares strategy 2023 and how this will benefit commuters in south Kildare such as those residing in Newbridge and Kildare town, which are outside the short hop zone.

As the Senator knows, the Government is strongly committed to improving public transport services throughout the country by providing a cost-efficient and accessible public transport sector. This means that whether it is giving people a genuine alternative to car dependency, or a more integrated transport network, the Government's vision for the public transport network is ambitious.

In this context, under Budget 2023, the Department of Transport secured €563.55 million of funding for the public service obligation, PSO, and Transport for Ireland, TFI, Local Link services. More recently, the Department secured a €611 million funding package for the PSO programme under budget 2024. This includes funding for the continuation of the 20% average fare reduction on PSO services and an extension of the upper age limit of the young adult card initiative from 23 years-of-age to 25 years-of-age. It also includes funds for the continued roll-out of important transport projects throughout the country.

As the Senator will be aware as part of the programme for Government, we committed to review existing fare structures to ensure that public transport is as accessible as possible, supports the delivery of services, and incentivises off-peak travel.

I would like to clarify that it is the National Transport Authority which has statutory responsibility for the regulation of fares charged to passengers in respect of public transport services provided under PSO contracts. To this end, in its capacity as the fare regulator, on 27 April the NTA published a new national fares strategy 2023. This strategy follows the previous implementation of a simplified fares structure for Dublin, and proposes an approach that is more equitable, consistent, and easy to understand for passengers. This new approach will apply to fares on PSO services outside the Dublin metropolitan area and will complement the planned roll-out of public transport projects such as BusConnects and Connecting Ireland. I understand that the NTA does not intend to introduce changes to the existing fare structure until later this year following the full completion of a fare determination process.

With regard to the specific impact of the new national fares strategy 2023 on commuters in south Kildare who are outside of the short hop zone, I understand that the strategy includes the creation of a new Dublin commuter zone, which will apply to those areas. In effect, this means that for commuters travelling from the Dublin commuter zone into the more central Dublin city zone, the lower of the following fares will apply: the national fare structure i.e. boarding charge plus an incremental fare based on the straight-line distance between the start and end stop of your journey; or the flat Xpresso Dublin city fare plus an incremental fare based on the straight-line distance between the start of your journey and the Dublin city zone boundary.

This approach will ensure that the cheapest fare is made available for passengers and will help alleviate boundary issues between the national and city fare structures. I am further advised that the NTA intends to finalise and publish this fares determination in the coming weeks, which is expected to include plans for implementation of the initial phase of the national fares strategy 2023. This will include the formalisation of new Dublin city and Dublin commuter zone boundaries simplified to Leap capping, along with changes to some Intercity rail and town bus fares.Details of fare changes in the Dublin city and commuter area will be available in the fares determination when it is published.