Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to be associated with the Cathaoirleach's introductory remarks regarding Jim McMahon, who served the Fine Gael party for 24 years and is retiring at the end of the month. I wish to put on the record my appreciation for the role he has played over many years. He has supported me and many others.

The National Transport Authority, NTA, today published a report on fare determinations. It is very interesting because, unfortunately, it does not refer a huge amount to rural Ireland. There are significant discrepancies between various services and their costs in rural Ireland. I have regularly highlighted the difference between the cost of getting a train from Ennis to Limerick and the cost of getting a train from Maynooth to Dublin. It is more or less the same distance but the cost of the train from Ennis to Limerick is far higher.

There is an even bigger discrepancy that I cannot for the life of me understand. We have Bus Éireann and Transport for Ireland, TFI. TFI is providing fantastic support and services in rural Ireland. There is a Bus Éireann service from Ennis to Ennistymon at 6.30 p.m and there is a bus serving the same route at 6.04 p.m. as part of the TFI service. If you were to book a ticket online today without a Leap card, the Bus Éireann service costs €6.80 while a ticket with TFI costs €2.50. Any amadán would understand that does not make sense. We need a standardised fare structure among all public bus and rail services that are provided directly by Bus Éireann or Iarnród Éireann or that are being funded by the taxpayer and provided by other operators. It is ridiculous, does not add up and does not make sense. It needs to be changed.