Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I acknowledge the level of funding in terms of the package that has been received for 2024, which is significant. I also accept his clarification that the NTA has statutory responsibility for the regulation of fares. However, as I started off by saying, the short-hop zone in its current format disadvantages commuters living outside of the zone, particularly those in south Kildare, in Newbridge, in Kildare and further on. At this time they are still being disadvantaged until the fare differential is published. I take it from what he is saying that the Minister of State expects to that to happen within the next few weeks and that there will be an announcement thereafter in regard to new fares going forward. Has he any idea of the timeline? Time is moving and people need to be clear about what their output needs to be and the savings that they can make.