Public Transport

118. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Transport further to Parliamentary Question No. 219 of 16 September 2026, the child fares that will be reduced as stated in the response; if he anticipates that the fare hikes on public transport will lead to a reduction in the use of public transport as reported by the National Transport Authority, NTA, at the Oireachtas committee hearing on 16 September 2026; if he has considered reversing these proposed hikes; if there will be any other changes to fares as part of budget 2027; and if he will make a statement on the matter [67278/26]

Further to previous parliamentary questions, I want to ask the Minister about the child fares that will be reduced in the upcoming budget. I also ask about the price hikes that have recently been announced. In particular, does the Minister of State have any response to the response of the NTA at the transport committee that these price hikes will inevitably lead to fewer people using public transport? We are in a cost-of-living crisis and I believe it is the wrong approach for the Government to take to allow the increases of 15%.

I thank the Deputy for the question. As he is aware, the NTA in its capacity as fare regulator, recently announced the revised national fare structure to take effect from January 2027. While adult fares will increase by an average of 15%, child fares are being reduced in several areas nationally. This represents the first broad adjustment to fares since 2018 and follows a period in which operating costs have risen sharply. In the Dublin commuter zone, in regional cities, in participating towns, and on TFI Local Link services, a new reduced child rate will apply, set at 33% of the equivalent adult fare rate. The determination will also continue to protect existing Government-supported fare initiatives, including the free travel scheme; free travel for children under nine years of age; and free companion travel arrangements for people over the age of 70. The NTA’s assessment is that, even with these changes, fares will remain approximately 8% lower in real terms than they were eight years ago. The adjustments to fares are required to help offset the cost increases in recent years. They are also required to improve fare revenue recovery and ensure the sustainability of the public service obligation, PSO, funding. We recognise that the NTA applies detailed statistical analysis of fare elasticity to assess the impact of fare increases on passenger demand and overall public transport usage. Notwithstanding these considerations, steady passenger growth is expected to continue in 2027, supported by the ongoing expansion and enhancement of services, which are anticipated to attract additional users and further strengthen public transport demand. The NTA will continue to monitor patronage trends closely as the new fare structure is implemented. Safeguarding the long-term financial sustainability while being responsive to passenger needs remains a central commitment under the programme for Government. Achieving this requires a careful balance between delivering high-quality reliable services and ensuring the network is adequately funded.

I thank the Minister of State for the response. Will he please expand on his comment that child fares in several areas will be addressed? We in Sinn Féin believe that fares should be abolished completely for anybody up to 18 years of age. What exact areas does he mean? The Minister of State also mentioned that, due to inflation, fares were 8% lower in real terms but what he failed to say was that, between 2008 or 2009 and 2016, there was an incremental increase in fares. Will he give us a guarantee that there will be improved and better services as a result of these fare increases? I do not believe there will be. The fare increases clearly should not go ahead in a cost-of-living crisis. They should be put off for another time. The Government should be investing more in it. There has been a huge decrease in the amount of new services that have been implemented this year compared to last year. The Government did not even have a transport plan published for this year until around this time last year. It shows a lack of enthusiasm, a lack of initiative, and a lack of priority for public transport.

I will give the Deputy a few examples of the reduction in the new fares for children. In regional cities like Galway, Cork, Limerick and Waterford, the new reduced fare is 33% of the equivalent fare. In town services like those in Athlone, Balbriggan, Clonmel, Drogheda, Dundalk and Kilkenny, child fares are cut to 50 cent. These are facts. What I said about fares being 8% lower than what they were eight years ago is also a fact. The Deputy asked about improving services. This year, we have spent €941 million in delivering PSO services. If we look at the increased number of people using public transport, that is because we have been increasing the offer in terms of public transport. Looking at what we will be doing over the next number of years with BusConnects, the all-island rail review extending train services, putting in passing loops to create more frequency, and looking at train stations to be able to take that capacity, we have a very good news story here in public transport and what we are doing with it. What we need to do is continue that trajectory, which we will do.

There are very few new services. Look at the number of new services that were delivered this year in BusConnects. It is way below what is acceptable and the progress that had been made up to that. The clock has been turned back. I am glad the Minister of State mentioned town bus services because I want to bring up the issue of Tralee town bus services. In a recent committee meeting, the NTA said it was going to "look at" the possibility of a town bus service for Tralee, which is one of the largest towns in the country. It was going to "look at" it next year and the year after, so it is guaranteed that there will be no town bus service. I wonder whether this Government has something against the town of Tralee. In the living city initiative, which has been announced for Athlone, Drogheda, Dundalk, Letterkenny and Sligo - all towns of a more or less similar size - Tralee has been completely excluded from the regeneration possibilities that are opened up by it. To hear that, while the Culloty Tralee People's Bus Service has done great work for many years - it is important to work in conjunction with the Culloty family - the Government and the NTA have no interest in putting a new town bus service into the town of Tralee is deeply worrying.

Tralee is just one town and the NTA is looking at it. Regarding public transport, 363.6 million passenger journeys were carried out in 2025. It was a record. That was because services were being increased all over the place. Be it rail, bus or Local Link, all of those services are being expanded. However, if we are going to have a sustainable public transport system going forward, we also have to have what I would call a fair revenue, which is a vital component in that funding model. Some €941 million in Exchequer funding has been put into the PSO this year to keep it going. We need to be able to expand the services more. What the Deputy desires for Tralee can and will happen but it will take money to do that, and we need to have a proper PSO to fund it.