Public Transport

This Topical Issue is about the fare hikes - or the unfair hikes, as we might call them. The people who live in my constituency already had their fares jacked up. Those who get the train from Balbriggan or Skerries were taken out of the Dublin commuter zone and had their fares increased by almost €100. That was only last year. We now have a situation whereby they will be asked to pay more. They are not getting any extra services; not an additional carriage will be added. The Government was very clear about that. They will get nothing extra but will pay more for the joy of squashing onto overcrowded trains and standing at the side of the road while ghost buses do not turn up. It is not fair. Added to that, we had the NTA at the committee this morning speaking to all the Government backbenchers who, God love them, are outraged at this but prepared to do absolutely nothing about it. The NTA confirmed this will not be for additional services. The Taoiseach was quite wrong when he told me it would be for additional services. The NTA was clear there will not be additional services and that the knock-on effect of this will be fewer people getting public transport. The Government does not give people an opportunity to get public transport unless it invests in it. It is not investing in it; it is just charging people more. It is a political decision, not a decision of the NTA. The Government can reverse it and it should.

People are struggling with the cost of living, including the cost of getting in and out of work and of transport generally, and we need to increase the number of people using public transport for climate reasons. The Government's response is to increase fares to make the cost-of-living situation worse for people and to reduce the number of people using public transport. The first point is self-evident: the 15% increase is a significant hit for people who use public transport, particularly working people who use it day in, day out. We now have it confirmed by the NTA - which is absolutely extraordinary - that it took this decision knowing it would reduce the number of people using the public transport system, when everybody is supposed to be committed to increasing the use of public transport to reduce congestion and to assist with climate action. How can the Minister of State justify that? It is beyond belief. It must be that the Government does not want people to use public transport.

The Tánaiste told us we would have a budget for people who get up early in the morning to go to work but not if they get up early in the morning and go out to get a bus, Luas or train. The Government is saying those people will pay more than an extra €100 per year for the privilege of being on public transport that is inadequate and overcrowded. In the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, they are expected to fork out over €100 more per year. The NTA acknowledges fewer people will use public transport as a result. They will still have to go to work, college and so on. How will they get there? The Government is pushing people out of public transport and into cars in the middle of a climate crisis, which is incredible. This is 100% a political choice. A different political choice is possible. The cost of undoing this and not going ahead is €70 million. In the previous budget, the Government gave over €300 million in a special tax break to Google, about €400 million in a VAT cut to apartment developers and about €700 million to the fast food giants. To reverse this cut and go in the right direction, we should reduce fares and move towards free public transport, which is what we need. People are protesting. They were outside the Dáil today at 6 p.m. They will be on the streets again on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Parnell Square to build more and more pressure on the Government to reverse this hike.

I thank the Deputies for submitting this Topical Issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy O'Brien. The Minister has responsibility for policy and overall funding of public transport, but neither he nor his officials are involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services. The NTA has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally, working with the public transport operators, who deliver the services and have responsibility for day-to-day operational matters. The NTA also has statutory responsibility for the regulation of fares charged to passengers in respect of public transport services provided under public service obligation, PSO, contracts. In its capacity as fare regulator, the NTA under its responsibilities within the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008 made the decision to publish a new fares determination on 3 September 2026, with the revised fares taking effect from January 2027. This is a critical step in standardisation of the national fares structure and in line with the national fares strategy that was published in 2023 with the key objective of the strategy providing more equitable and consistent structure for all PSO services. Since 2022, we have seen inflation of almost 21%, which has driven up the cost of operating subsidised public transport services with fuel, vehicle maintenance and staff costs. In the same period, public transport fares have decreased through various measures such as the 20% cost-of-living discount, the young adult card discount of 50% and the extension of free travel to children under the age of nine. This has widened the gap between what it costs to run services and the revenue fares bring in. All the while, the NTA is seeking to continue with a significant expansion and enhancement of services. There is a requirement to strike the right balance in public transport fares to enable further enhancements to the public transport network in the coming years, offer the most competitive fares to younger and student passengers and ensure value for money of the PSO subsidy to society. Fare revenue covers approximately 38% of the cost of operating PSO services nationally, compared to a 44% European average, with the remaining costs funded by the Exchequer. While 2026 saw a substantial increase in Exchequer funding, continued inflationary pressures have increased the cost of operating public transport services, which has limited the NTA’s ability to improve services or introduce new services to the Transport for Ireland network as part of wider capital investment under the national development plan. Ireland has maintained an effective eight-year fare freeze alongside targeted affordability measures, including the young adult card, free travel for children up to nine, and the 90-minute fare. These measures compare favourably with international practice and will continue to provide substantial support to passengers in 2027. The adjustments to fares are required to help offset the cost increases of recent years, improve fare revenue recovery and ensure the sustainability of the PSO funding. It is important to note that every euro raised through fares goes directly back into the network, supporting better reliability, frequency and capacity and the continued roll-out of BusConnects, Connecting Ireland and DART+. I have no doubt the Deputies will understand that maintaining affordable fares must be balanced with ensuring a financially sustainable transport system capable of funding service improvements, network expansion and fleet investment.

It is very brave of the Minister of State to compare us to Europe. If he wants to go down that road, it will be a shame on him and his Government - let us be honest. He said he is maintaining affordable fares. Of course he is not; he is increasing the fares. He also tells us there will be significant expansion and enhancement of services but it has been confirmed that these unfair fare hikes will just tread water. It will be the status quo. They are not for new services, so my constituents will pay more again this year for the pleasure and the privilege of being on overcrowded trains or standing on the side of the road waiting for buses that do not turn up. This is nothing short of a disgrace and it will be resisted. We have time between now and when the fares are due to go up. This will be resisted.

Of course we need to dramatically increase the investment in public transport. We are more than in favour of this. The absence or inadequacy of public transport in many parts of the country, and particularly in rural Ireland, is an absolute disgrace. The idea it should be paid for by hiking up fares for people struggling with a cost-of-living crisis in a way that the NTA itself says will deter people from using public transport is unbelievable. It has admitted that for every 10% increase, 3% fewer people will use public transport. The Government is driving them out of public transport and into cars. How can it possibly justify this?

This Government is, in a way, in an envious position. It has the capacity, in terms of a massive budget surplus, to protect people from the cost-of-living crisis. It is probably a position that governments across the world would like to be in. The Government can protect people from the cost-of-living crisis but instead chooses to impose extra costs on people. It is quite incredible. It is a targeted attack on those people who use public transport. It makes no sense from the point of view of the cost-of-living crisis as it is going to make it worse and it makes no sense from the point of view of the climate crisis as it will make it worse. The main thing I would say is pressurise, pressurise, pressurise. Put pressure on those backbench TDs who tell you that they agree with you, and that they will raise it with their Government colleagues, to show it in terms of the position they will take on the budget if the Government does not provide the money.

I thank the three Deputies for their contributions and for raising this Topical Issue. I assure them 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, in budget 2026 the Department of Transport secured €940 million of funding for public service obligation and TFI Local Link services. This is a significant 43% uplift, an increase from €658.4 million in 2025. As I said earlier, Ireland's package of fare measures compares very favourably with many international peers. The challenge is to balance affordability for passengers with the long-term financial sustainability needed to expand and improve public transport services. The NTA has identified approximately 140 new service initiatives and capacity enhancements as part of its 2027 budget submission to the Department of Transport. Subject to the outcome of the annual Estimates process, this represents the biggest in-year and year-on-year enhancement of services for many years. The changes also represent an important step towards standardising fares nationwide in line with the national fares strategy published in 2023. The Government and the Department of Transport, in partnership with the NTA and operators, remain fully committed to delivering a public transport system that is reliable, accessible, affordable, and capable of meeting the growing needs of communities across the country. It is, therefore, essential that the public transport system remains well funded and responsive to passenger needs and adequate fare revenue is critical to support this. Again, I thank the three Deputies for raising this matter.