I thank the Minister of State for being here to take this Topical Issue. I represent one of the youngest and fastest-growing constituencies in the State in Fingal West. Many of my constituents are served by the train, which runs alongside the side of my constituency, and some by bus. Unfortunately for my constituents, most of the existing transport routes only bring them in to town. They need dynamic connectivity to bring them from one town to another. We know there is a link from Rush to Lusk to Balbriggan to Skerries to Loughshinny, which is good. These towns are linked by a bus service, but the outlying, smaller towns and villages are not linked up by a bus service. Equally, many of my constituents experience difficulties accessing the train inasmuch as they do not have public transport that will take them all the way there. We do not have connected cycle routes either, so it is very tough for my constituents to get to the main source of transport. For elderly constituents who simply want to move around within their towns and villages, it is very tough for them to do so. Some new housing estates are being built in north County Dublin now. Given the scale of the Government's housing crisis, any house building is, of course, to be welcomed. However, there is no joined-up thinking. There is no bus route. Every time a new estate is established, as sure as night follows day, a couple of weeks after people start to move in, a campaign has to be started to get a bus. There has to be some type of forward thinking. If people are moving in to the houses, they are not staying in them forever and for always and for 24 hours a day. They will need to get out. On the one hand, the Government says that it wants us out of our cars and to use public transport, which is a very noble and worthwhile endeavour. However, I do not know how the Minister of State imagines my constituents feel when they are told that the station that serves Rush and Lusk is taken into the Dublin city commuter zone. This is really welcome. It means reduced fares, which is really important. However, those people who use trains that leave from Skerries or Balbriggan have been taken out of the Dublin city commuter zone. It is not that far and the trainline is just a straight line up - I am sure the Minister of State is familiar with the area. They will now have to pay higher fares while towns in Wicklow, Meath and Kildare are being brought into the Dublin city commuter zone. I am sure the Minister of State will appreciate that my constituents are very angry about this move. Like the Government, they share the aspiration to leave their cars at home. However, a disincentive is being created by making sure they have to pay extra. I mean no disrespect to the people who live in Kildare, Wicklow and Meath. I wish them the very best. I do not begrudge them the reduced fares. It is a good thing that there are reduced fares. In fact, I think it is such a good thing that I want more towns to be included in the Dublin city commuter zone. However, I would like if those towns were in Dublin as well since the scheme appears to be accommodating enough to include towns outside of Dublin city and county. We want to see people using the trains. I will not get into the issue of overcrowding with the Minister of State now. We really want to see people using the trains but they are getting a mixed message from the Government. On the one hand people are being told to leave the car at home but on the other hand, train fares are being increased.

Sentiment score: 0.14

I am very annoyed. MetroLink does not serve my constituency. Neither do DART+ West and DART+ South West. The only DART+ project that will serve my constituents is DART+ Coastal North, which has been a very long tale. I do not have the time to tell it all, but suffice to say that it has been a decade since the bridges were raised. A little like draining the River Shannon, it gets wheeled out every once in a while, but it never actually seems to happen. I fully appreciate the Minister of State being here and I thank him for the reply. However, that reply relates to people who live in different areas and not the people I represent. The people I represent in Skerries and Balbriggan are being taken out of the Dublin city commuter zone and will now have to pay more to get in. The Department has not even included the DART+ Coastal North project in the reply. That will drive my constituents up the wall, as I am sure the Minister of State will appreciate. While it is brilliant that the metro will come, and I am sure some of my constituents will use it, people will have to travel in their cars or by another form of public transport to get to the metro, which will stop in Swords. That is not in the constituency of Dublin Fingal West. It is in the Minister for Transport's constituency, which might lead people to believe it will be built, unless they are familiar with his record in other areas. I understand the limitations of the Minister of State's reply, but I would very much appreciate if he would get a comprehensive reply for me from the Minister for Transport. This should not be a reply that tells me why he cannot deal with the matter but a reply that provides an explanation for me and my constituents as to why commuters from the towns of Skerries and Balbriggan will have to pay more to get into town and use the public transport service, while at the same time, as the Minister of State said, improving public transport services and infrastructure is central to improving quality of life, achieving decarbonisation, and is part of the goals that have been set out in the programme the Government. These things do not make sense. If the Government wants people to use public transport, it needs to make it accessible, frequent and affordable. More money is being charged to my constituents to use public transport while at the same time they are being told that they have to play their part in decarbonisation, which they want to do. They are Dubs. They live in Dublin. They want to be in the Dublin city commuter zone.

Sentiment score: 0.15