Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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160. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the steps that he is taking to make public transport more affordable; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21068/22]

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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162. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to reduce public transport fares to combat the cost of living crisis as is being done in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20891/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 160 and 162 together.

As Minister for Transport I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport, nor decisions on fares. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has responsibility for the regulation of fares charged to passengers in respect of public transport services provided under public service obligation (PSO) contracts.

The Government is strongly committed to helping combat the rising cost-of-living being experienced throughout the country. In this context, a suite of new measures is being introduced by Government to help with this issue, including a 20% average fare reduction on all PSO services until the end of 2022.

On Monday 18th April, the first phase of the 20% discount was rolled out with online fares for Irish Rail intercity services, as well as for Bus Éireann and TFI Local Link services. Fares for Dublin Bus, Go-Ahead Ireland, Luas, DART & Commuter Rail and all other Iarnród Éireann services will also reduce by an average of 20% from 9 May. 

These discounted fares will benefit the hundreds of thousands of people across the country who use PSO public transport every day. €54m in Exchequer funding was secured to allow for the introduction of these discounted fares. Local Link services will also apply the 20% fare discount – under Connecting Ireland €5.6m has been allocated in 2022 alone to enhance and expand rural connectivity.

Also, in recognition of the importance of incentivising young people to use public transport, as part of Budget 2022 I secured €25m of funding to provide for the introduction of a young adult card (YAC) which will allow any person nationwide who is between 19 and 23 years old, to avail of an entitlement for discounted travel costs, and to increase the level of discount over and above the current student discount to an average of discount of 50% across all services, including city, intercity and rural services. It is envisaged that the discount will initially be made available on PSO services, and then broadened to include commercial operators at a later date.  This will not only promote modal shift in the transport sector among this age group but should also contribute towards a reduced reliance on private transport with associated benefit of transport emission savings.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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161. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he or his officials will examine the impact of a pilot scheme for fare free transport in Boston and its benefits for all commuters, especially poorer minorities and general climate goals; if he will reconsider his policy in relation to the possible future provision of fare free public transport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20974/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport, nor decisions on fares. It is the National Transport Authority (NTA) that has the statutory responsibility for the regulation of fares in relation to public passenger transport services and also has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public transport services by way of public transport services contracts in respect of services that are socially necessary but commercially unviable.  The funding of those services comprises both the fares paid by passengers and the subvention payments from the Exchequer.  The main purpose of the subvention payment is to meet the gap between income from fares and the cost of operating services.

The provision of public transport services is heavily dependent on passenger fare revenue as it normally contributes about 65% of the operational cost.  The remaining 35% of cost is covered by the PSO grant and the Department of Social Protection grant under the free travel scheme.  

Prior to COVID-19, €287 million of Exchequer funding was provided for PSO services in Budget 2020; however, since 2020, additional funding has been required to continue to address the significant COVID impacts on public transport provision.

In 2022, I secured €538m to support PSO services including over €200m to address COVID expenses (i.e. loss of fare revenue, cleaning costs). Up to €12m will be provided as ongoing support for the licensed bus sector; while, over €15m has also been allocated to support Local Link regular service provision in rural Ireland. 

The Government is strongly committed to helping combat the rising cost-of-living being experienced throughout the country. In this context, a suite of new measures is being introduced by Government to help with this issue, including a 20% average fare reduction on all PSO services until the end of 2022. These discounted fares will benefit the hundreds of thousands of people across the country who use PSO public transport every day. €54m in Exchequer funding has been secured to allow for the introduction of these discounted fares.

Also, in recognition of the importance of incentivising young people to use public transport, as part of Budget 2022 I secured €25m of funding to provide for the introduction of a young adult card (YAC) which will allow any person nationwide who is between 19 and 23 years old, to avail of an entitlement for discounted travel costs, and to increase the level of discount over and above the current student discount to an average of discount of 50% across all services, including city, intercity and rural services. It is envisaged that the discount will initially be made available on PSO services, and then broadened to include commercial operators at a later date.  This will not only promote modal shift in the transport sector among this age group but should also contribute towards a reduced reliance on private transport with associated benefit of transport emission savings.

The PSO programme represents a significant expenditure of taxpayers' money, and funding has increased in recent years to cater for additional services and growing capacity.  Any assessment of a proposed change to public transport fare structures would be a matter for the NTA to consider in the first instance.  

In light of the NTA's responsibility in this area, I have forwarded the Deputy's specific question in relation to the possible examination of the impact of a pilot scheme for fare free transport in Boston along with future provision of fare free public transport, to the NTA for direct reply.  Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.