Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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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.

Budget 2024 has allocated €613 million to support Public Service Obligation services across the State. This Budget allocation builds on the investments secured in recent years which have supported the delivery of new, enhanced and expanded public transport services across the country.

The funding allocated by Government also supports the fare initiatives we’ve introduced since late 2021 such as –

- Reducing average fares on all PSO services by 20%, helping people with cost-of-living pressures;

- Introducing, and most recently expanding, the Young Adult Card, reducing fares by a further 50% for young people just as they’re making choices about how they travel independently; and

- Introducing a new 90-minute fare to enable easy interchange between different types of public transport.

These initiatives have made public transport more affordable for more people and have undoubtably contributed toward the strong passenger growth we’re seeing across the network.

There are no plans to amend or extend the Student Leap Card. This fare type is targeted at those who are in full-time third-level education and whose access to full-time employment opportunities is naturally restricted.

Part-time third-level students can of course avail of the other fare initiatives depending on their circumstances. These initiatives include the generally reduced fares currently on offer, discounted fares available to those aged 18 and under, the 50% discount offered to all those aged 25 and under and the TFI 90 fare available to all on PSO services.

These initiatives sit alongside the funding being provided for the continued roll-out of BusConnects, town services, and the Connecting Ireland programme in rural Ireland. The combination of these targeted investments are delivering tangible improvements and helping to address the increased levels of passenger demand we are experiencing across the network.