Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
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I had hoped that the Minister of State, Deputy Lawless, who is responsible for this area, would have been present to take this matter. I appreciate that the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, is here to take it and that I have the opportunity to raise it once again.

I reiterate my frustration not with the Minister of State but in respect of the issue I am highlighting, namely fair fares and the need for Government agencies to act and implement its policy regarding commuter fares equalisation. I have advocated very strongly and repeatedly for a better deal for the commuters of south Kildare. There is major disparity between the towns of Newbridge and Sallins, which are just down the road from each other. If I had purchased a return ticket this morning to travel from Newbridge to Heuston Station in Dublin, it would have cost €16.90. That was just the cost to travel from station to station - the ticket would not cover any of the public transport costs in Dublin city centre once I arrived. However, if I had travelled from Sallins, the next station along, the cost of a return ticket to Heuston would have been €7.20. That is a difference of 57% in the cost of travelling to Dublin from two stations that are just 12 km apart.I have worked closely with members of my own party, with Ministers and the NTA to equalise the price differential for commuters in places like Newbridge and Kildare town, which are just outside the short-hop zone. It is not just Kildare that is impacted, it is east Meath, north County Dublin, Drogheda and Wicklow. Seven key towns for commuters are affected. Two of them happen to be in south Kildare which I am obviously happy about. Where are we now? We were given a commitment that the fares determination as agreed would be implemented in September. In fact, the fares within Dublin went up on 23 June as part of the equalisation process. In Newbridge, the planned fare determination would result in a fare drop of 45% and in Kildare town, a drop of 37%. We have waited for years to reach this point and at the eleventh hour, once again, the process is being delayed. We are now told it will be implemented in quarter one of next year, 2025, but I can tell the Minister that trust has been broken and confidence on the ground is damaged. The reason we have been given for this delay is that contractors cannot deliver the timeline for technical reasons. That is simply not good enough. This is Government policy. It should be implemented in such a way that commuters feel the benefit of the reductions in their pocket until the technical hardware is in place. These technical issues should have been factored into the original timeframes. I did have the opportunity to question the NTA about that at the Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications. I was not given any substance in response.

Subsequent freedom of information, FOI requests came to light and I thank KFM, my local radio station, for looking at this. It showed the series of critical delays primarily caused by late software updates and some internal confusion. However, this has gone on long enough, we have had years of excuses and reasons for this not being implemented. As a public representative for Kildare and representing the community of south Kildare, I will not let this go. I will continue to bring this up in every single forum that I can until we have an adequate and appropriate resolution on the fares.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator O’Loughlin for her inquiry on the implementation of phase two of the National Transport Authority fare determination and, more particularly, its impact on the commuters of south Kildare. I welcome the opportunity to discuss this important topic, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Ryan. From the outset I would like to clarify that the Minister for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport, but neither the Minister nor his officials are involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services. The statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally rests with the NTA. The NTA works with the public transport operators who deliver the services and have responsibility for day-to-day operational matters. That said, I would like to reassure the Senator that the Government is strongly committed to providing all citizens with reliable and realistic sustainable mobility options, and public transport plays a key role in the delivery of this goal.

To support this objective under budget 2025, the Government has provided a funding package of €652 million - an increase from €613 million in budget 2024 - for PSO and Local Link services for next year. This includes funding to support fare initiatives and for the continued roll-out of new services next year, including the continuation of the BusConnects and Connecting Ireland programmes and the planned introduction of further new town services.

As the Senator knows, 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. In its capacity as fare regulator, the NTA published a new national fares strategy on 27 April, 2023, and a subsequent fares determination on 18 January this year. This strategy aims to address inconsistencies and make public transport more accessible.

I understand that the Senator's query is on the timeline for the implementation of this fares determination, particularly for commuters in south Kildare, and when those living in the area can expect to see the roll-out of the new Dublin commuter zone and a reduction in their fares.

The most significant change in this year’s fare determination is the implementation of the initial phase of the national fare strategy on Dublin commuter bus and rail services.This delivers more consistent and equitable fares and reduces the disparities that currently exist for some passengers, particularly in the outer commuter towns surrounding Dublin.

Under phase 2, the new national fare structure will introduce the Dublin city and Dublin commuter zones. The latter will extend approximately 50 km from Dublin city centre. This area was selected on the basis of a review of future public transport network proposals, for example, the implementation of DART+, along with analysis of ticket sales information to determine travel demand. The new commuter zone will include stations outside of the Dublin city zone extending as far as Rathdrum, Kildare, Enfield and Drogheda stations - it will also include Newbridge, to which the Senator referred - and will provide better value for passengers from these areas.

The Dublin commuter zone fare is designed to ensure that the cheapest fare is made available for passengers and will help alleviate boundary issues between national and city fare structures. For a journey from Newbridge to O’Connell Street, for example, passengers will benefit from the flat fare element within the city, facilitating longer distances of travel at a cheaper fare. For journeys entirely within the Dublin commuter zone, the standard national fare structure will apply.

I am advised that the implementation of these zones, initially targeted for quarter 3 of 2024, which Senator O’Loughlin referenced, has been delayed due to significant technical challenges, particularly with Irish Rail. These challenges involve integrating new stations, configuring ticketing systems and making necessary software changes. I have been advised that the technological updates to rail ticketing systems by Irish Rail's contractor are scheduled for completion in quarter 1 of 2025, a matter to which the Senator also referred.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. I accept that it is complex to integrate new stations, configure ticketing systems and make necessary software changes. Obviously, there are different fares because people use annual, weekly or monthly tickets or just pay for single journeys. The FOI requests I mentioned showed that the revisions made in the NTA requirements mid-project, such as the Leap product integration, added more complexity and meant that plans had to be revised in turn.

Quite simply, the NTA has not handled this matter well. Our Oireachtas liaison, Richard Kelly, is an exceptional person. I appreciate all his help, support and engagement on it. Generally speaking, however, the NTA has failed to implement Government policy. People will be left for six months without the reduced fares. That is simply not good enough. That needs to be addressed. What is going to be done in the interim to make sure that commuters will not be out of pocket because of the NTA's failure to deliver?

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I reassure Senator O’Loughlin that the Government is strongly committed to delivering a cost-efficient and sustainable public transport network. The ongoing review of existing fare structures has a key role to play in achieving this goal.

The Minister for Transport has welcomed the publication of the NTA’s fare determination which represents the first step in delivering the national fare strategy. However, the Minister fully acknowledges the frustrations of commuters and of Senator O’Loughlin on behalf of the people of south Kildare who have been impacted by the delays in the roll-out of phase 2 of the fare determination.

When phase 2 is implemented, it will involve the introduction of the new Dublin city and Dublin commuter zones, a significant reduction in Leap card multimodal caps and the introduction of Leap travel credit at all Dublin commuter zone rail stations. This will be a further positive step towards a more equitable approach to public transport fare pricing.

I trust this clarifies the Senator’s queries with regard to the implementation of phase 2 of the fare determination for commuters in south Kildare. I thank her for the opportunity to discuss this matter on behalf of the Minister for Transport. I appreciate the Senator's understanding and will convey her concerns to the Minister. I thank her for raising this important matter.