Public Services Card
1. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection for an update on any plans to expand the use of a digital ID; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31202/26]
The Minister will be delighted to know that my question is straightforward. It relates to the expansion of the digital ID, or the public services card as it is known. The Minister will be well aware that this card has been mired in controversy. A succession of Ministers have tried to defend how this card is mandatory but somehow not compulsory. There is an element to this that people have to have it but they also do not have to have it. For that reason, I and many others are concerned about its expansion.
I thank the Deputy for her question. In April 2024, the European Parliament and the Council introduced eIDAS regulation 2. The overall aim of this regulation is to create a predictable and legally binding framework for digital identities that will enable citizens, residents and business to securely access public and private services across member states. The regulation requires each member state to develop and provide at least one European digital identity wallet by the end of 2026. The wallet will enable people to store various identity credentials, such as driving licences, EU health insurance cards and age verifiers, securely on their mobile phone or device and produce them, at their own discretion, to evidence entitlement to services and benefits anywhere in the EU.
A key benefit of the wallet is that the personal data will be held and controlled by the citizen. The citizen will decide whether they want to use the wallet, what credentials they hold in the wallet and where and to whom they provide any credential.
The Department of Culture, Communications and Sport has responsibility for implementing the regulation while the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation has responsibility for the development of the Government digital wallet. The wallet must meet EU technical, security, interoperability and certification requirements.
My Department’s role is to use the existing MyGovID service to verify that the person seeking a wallet and wishing to download identity credentials into the wallet is the person they claim to be. We will also provide the core public service identity data, such as the name and date of birth, but we will not hold or have access to any of the credentials from other public service providers they subsequently download. We will not know what other credentials have been downloaded, nor will we have any access to usage data.
The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, OGCIO, is currently inviting the public to take part in a consultation and testing phase of a pilot Government digital wallet. Launching a consultation and testing at this stage enables the Government to engage with the public to understand what they would like from the Government digital wallet.
The Minister will well understand why I and others, such as the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and other groups, are necessarily cautious about this. For example, when the public services card, PSC, was brought in, it was said that it would be mandatory but not compulsory, or vice versa. In the end, the requirement for those over 65 is that they must have one of these cards with a chip in it to access the free travel scheme. There is a creeping sense that people are being asked to hand over their identification and have a level of trust – this is not personal to the Minister - in the Government in the holding of their data. I do not believe that sufficient work has been carried out in order to assuage people. The Data Protection Commissioner has already made a ruling in this regard, although I understand it is under appeal. That ruling was damning of the Government’s capacity to handle people’s data.
As the Deputy said, the ruling is under appeal. We are appealing it. I also thank the committee for beginning pre-legislative scrutiny of the social welfare Bill yesterday. There are initiatives contained in that Bill for a card holder to use their public service card for identity purposes at their own discretion in exactly the same way they can do with a driving licence or a passport. That is particularly for people looking for ID for bank accounts or credit unions, etc. We are trying to give people the ability to use the card at their own discretion and judgment.
The public service card currently does not display card holders' dates of birth. The proposed changes provide for a card holder to opt in to have their date of birth inscribed on their public service card. If they so wish, they can have it removed at a later point. Since 2012, over 5 million people have completed the SAFE registration process for the public service card. There are approximately 3.5 million users of MyGovID who complete about 60 million transactions per annum. It makes the provision of services a lot easier and quicker for citizens.
The Minister stated that people can put their date of birth on it if they wish and that everything will be absolutely opt-in all the time but that is not true. The moment something like this is brought in, it becomes compulsory. Those aged over 65 have an entitlement to access the free travel scheme but they must have this card to do so. If people do not want to have the card, they are simply locked out of the scheme. When the Minister says that something will be voluntary, such as the public services card, it is not the case. The only thing people are volunteering to do is not have their lawful entitlement to the free travel scheme if they are over 65. Does the Minister understand why people are naturally suspicious about this? In the Minster’s answers, he talked a lot about it being voluntary and people opting in. In truth, however, the PSC is no longer voluntary, particularly for those over 65. People do not have the choice to opt in.
We are doing pre-legislative scrutiny on the social welfare Bill. It is a fairly big piece of legislation and changes to the PSC are contained within it. I am putting the Minister on notice that those changes will be resisted by me and the Opposition more broadly because there is no trust when it comes to the holding and collection of data.
I look forward to engaging with the committee on the pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill. I emphasise the voluntary nature of this. It is the Department’s policy that this is digital by desire. We understand there are people who do not wish to or are not comfortable using digital services. We will continue to make our services available on an optional basis.
Equally, there is a level engagement with the public services card. There are a total of 3.4 million verified MyGovID accounts. In 2025 alone, we had over 44 million logins. That gives the Deputy a sense of the level of interest and use of it. We will have further questions later about the ongoing online services. I have made it clear within the Department that this should be digital by desire. If someone is not comfortable with it – I am speaking as one such person - those services and options should be fully available.
Pension Provisions
2. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the action he will take to ensure that vulnerable individuals are not left without access to an invalidity pension for months due to delays in processing appeals, such as in a case (details supplied); if consideration is given to ill health in how his Department interacts with applicants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31713/26]
I ask the Minister about the long delays in invalidity pension appeals. I am aware of one such case but I wonder whether there are others. In this particular case, the original appeal happened in January 2025. It is now five months since there was an appeal to the chief appeals officer but there has been nothing back. This woman clearly cannot work. She has extreme migraines that mean she often cannot get out of bed. She can barely take care of herself.
It is important to ensure people claiming benefits satisfy the criteria established by the Oireachtas for entitlement to that benefit. However, in doing so, it is also important that we offer people who may not receive a favourable decision the opportunity to seek a review of that decision and submit a formal appeal. In that way, we work to ensure the entitlement is not denied to people who have a need for support and satisfy the relevant qualification conditions.
In the case of invalidity pension, we offer claimants both a review by the decision area as well as a formal appeal mechanism. In most cases, these reviews and appeals can be dealt with expeditiously. We are also continuously working to improve the service. For example, over the past year, we have introduced new regulations that extend the period of time during which a person can make an appeal from 21 to 60 days. The new regulations also grant additional rights to seek an oral hearing of the appeal and receive an explanation if an oral hearing is not granted. In addition, they grant specify specific timelines for the exchange and processing of appeal documentation.
In parallel, we have introduced a new IT system, including the ability to submit appeals online. An average of 60% of appeals are now received online. We have also significantly increased staffing in the appeals service. Indeed, I welcome members of the appeal service, who are in the Public Gallery.
These changes have resulted in a reduction in the number of appeals on hand from 21,630 appeals at the end of December 2024 to 7,470 appeals on hand at the end of March 2026. Processing times have also improved from an overall average of over 23 weeks in 2024 to just 9.5 weeks today in the case of invalidity pension.
However, having said all of that, some cases, in particular those involving the exchange of complicated medicine, take time to finalise. With respect to the case referenced in the Deputy's question, while I cannot discuss specific details on the floor, I have raised the case with the chief appeals officer, who acts independently in the performance of her duties, I will engage directly with the Deputy.
In this case, the woman is often in so much pain that she cannot leave the house. Sometimes, she might be well and can function as others can, but on other days she cannot even open her eyes. She is obviously not in a position to find work. There is a question as to whether this case is illustrative of a wider approach of delaying appeals. The woman has made the point that she has the capacity to fight, contact a Deputy, write letters and do those things. However, she acknowledges that plenty of people cannot necessarily do that and, when confronted with a wall of delays and refusals, might just give up. Is this part of a policy? It is interesting that the number of recipients of invalidity pensions has fallen at a time when the population has increased and the number of recipients of other payments has increased. I wonder whether there is some sort of policy or approach being implemented to push people back from receiving what they are entitled to.
I can absolutely assure the Deputy that is not the policy and approach. As I said in my initial response, we are working continuously to improve the appeals process and are continuously investing in that process. We are also investing in the initial process in terms of medical assessment and knowledge. By introducing a new IT system, we have given people the capacity to make appeals online. They do not have to physically post applications; they can apply and exchange information online from the comfort of their own homes. We have also increased staffing in the appeals process office considerably.
As I want to reiterate, some 21,630 appeals were on hand at the end of December 2024, which we reduced to 7,470 by the end of March. More importantly, the processing times for appeals have reduced from 23 weeks in 2024 to nine and a half weeks today, in particular in the case of invalidity pension. I am very focused on appeals. I thank the appeals office, which is independent, for its work in this space. There is a specific issue with regard to the case raised by the Deputy, which we will discuss separately. I assure him that there is no policy to dissuade people from applying for any payment or making appeals.
In that case, I do not know whether the Minister or Department has carried out any analysis of this area. What is the explanation for the decline in the number of recipients of invalidity pension? The number was about 55,000 in 2015, which rose to 59,000 in 2020, but the figure has fallen year on year to a low of just over 55,000 in 2024. There has been an increase of only 1% despite the population having significantly increased over ten years. The number in receipt of carer's allowance is up from 62,000 in 2015 to almost 100,000 in 2024, a 56% increase. The number in receipt of disability allowance is up from about 120,000 to close to 170,000, but the number in receipt of illness benefit has fallen. The Minister has said there is no policy of his predecessor's "I, Daniel Blake" policy, which was withdrawn and is not being implemented through the back door, in terms of targets to refuse applications or make it harder for people to access illness benefit and invalidity pension.
I can do some work and come back to the Deputy on invalidity generally. As he said, there have also been increases in disability and other areas, such as carer's allowance. There is definitely no policy to discourage people from applying. It can be challenging in terms of getting the necessary medical information, in particular where a case is not as black and white as other cases may be. The appeals team and medical team are very much attuned to those cases. That is why we have put a focus on invalidity and domiciliary care allowance appeals and reducing the processing time in order to give certainty to those making the appeal.
I will engage with the Deputy directly on the specific case he mentioned and will come back to the House generally on invalidity pension and illness benefit and the relevant figures.
Cost of Living Issues
3. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection if he has given consideration to an emergency cost-of-living payment to vulnerable households at risk of poverty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31203/26]
As the Government seems to be blissfully unaware, there is a cost-of-living crisis. We know this from the numbers of people in energy arrears. We also know this from the figures from Barnardos and other agencies. This is backed up by the survey on income and living conditions, SILC, data. My question is simple. In light of the announcement of a surplus last week, has the Minister given any consideration to a cost-of-living payment for those vulnerable households at risk of poverty?
I thank the Deputy. We are all greatly disturbed by recent geopolitical developments, including the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. Wars are destroying lives across the world and in communities and will deepen and entrench rather than resolve any situation. As a nation, we feel the impact of these conflicts in the upward pressure on fuel costs, in particular. We should always remember those who are suffering in other ways.
In response to the spike in fuel prices, the Government has acted more decisively than many other Governments. We have made an investment of over €750 million, which will bring down fuel prices and provide targeted support to households on low incomes in receipt of the fuel allowance payment. More generally, the Government increased core welfare rights above the rate of inflation in budget 2026. In 2026, my Department will spend €28.9 billion on schemes and services, which includes €1.15 billion in new measures, comprising an above-inflation increase of €10 per week in core rates and a range of targeted supports, including €320 million in measures that are alleviating child poverty. This also includes the largest ever increase in the child support payment.
The budget also provided significant support to help households with the cost of heating and other energy bills. The fuel allowance has increased by €5 per week, or 15%. For the first time, families in receipt of the working family payment qualify for the fuel allowance. The Government has also extended the period of time during which the fuel allowance is paid by four weeks to the end of this week. Combined, the changes in fuel allowance equate to a year-on-year increase of nearly 32%. The fuel allowance is paid to just under 469,000 households across the country.
Taken together, the increase in core rates, the child support payment and the fuel allowance mean that, for example, a lone parent family with one child will see an increase of over 9%, or nearly €1,800, in payments from the Department, while a household comprising two adults will see an increase of over 8% percent or €2,300 in their payments. Those increases are significantly ahead of inflation and we will continue to monitor the situation and cost-of-living pressures, including those arising from any developments. I will continue to revert to the House on that.
The Minister will know that, before the war in Iran, 330,000 households were already in arrears with their bills. The average household arrears are €470. The Minister is playing ducks and drakes with percentages and references to millions of euro. The figure for the average arrears for household energy bills is €470 and the extension to the fuel allowance is worth €136. The Minister can see how those figures do not add up. The Taoiseach referred to October and January, but if people are struggling now, what is the Minister prepared to do for those households that are at risk of or are in poverty? They cannot pay their bills today and cannot wait until the budget in October and the measures to be introduced in January. That is far too long for people to wait.
We have acted. I again emphasise the increase in the fuel allowance and the extra four weeks of the payment bringing it to the end of this week, which is the beginning of the month of May. That has not been done previously. We increased the fuel allowance by €5 per week. As I said, the increase in the fuel allowance is a 32% increase for the 469,000 households that are in receipt of it. For the first time, the fuel allowance is now being paid to working families. Those in receipt of the working family payment were eligible for the fuel allowance. We made a back payment to the beginning of January so that those in receipt of the working family payment received a lump sum for January and February at the beginning of March and now have the benefit of the extension.
That is a very targeted intervention to those 469,000 households in receipt of the fuel allowance. We continue to pay the household benefits package. Over 500,000 households are in receipt of that. That is a direct payment that people can use in relation to fuel and energy supports. We have just finished a run of engagements across the country with Members of the House around availability of additional needs payments. That may be something we can come back to.
I am a constituency TD, as is the Minister. I listen to my constituents and I have talked to people in my own party. From our read of it, there is a need for an intervention from the Government. We have proposed €400 in energy credits, a cut to the USC, which would be worth €500, €400 in emergency welfare payments and a €500 cost-of-disability payment, as well as an additional eight weeks on the fuel allowance because that is what people need.
Last February, I was ten years in the Dáil. The Minister has been here longer. I have never experienced the level of poverty that I see in my constituency offices in Balbriggan and Rush. I have never seen anything like it. My constituency manager would say the same thing. People are desperate and being put to the pin of their collar. We are not making this up in the Opposition. This is coming to us. The Minister saw people on the streets, not just in tractors, but in wheelchairs, telling the Government very clearly that they were making choices between heating, eating and charging their mobility devices. The time for intervention is now.
I acknowledge that pressure. We see that as well - we are not immune from that - but we also have to be honest with people about our ability to make interventions. We cannot make interventions every few months. There will be an intervention in the context of the forthcoming budget. We have made a €750 million intervention since March in two packages, which has reduced the day-to-day cost of fuel for people and has brought in a targeted extension of the fuel allowance payment, giving people access to the fuel allowance to the beginning of May. This was not previously available to those 469,000 households. Some 500,000 households are benefiting from the households benefits package, which will be paid all year around, including the summer.
We will continue to review all of the pressures people are under. We get it, but we also have to be honest. We cannot support all of those pressures, and we have to do this in a manner that is feasible and allows us to respond when the winter comes when energy prices and energy pressures will possibly be worse.
Social Welfare Code
4. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide an update on the commitment to introduce a cost-of-disability payment; the current status of policy development and implementation; the expected timelines for introduction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31682/26]
Tá mé ag lorg nuachta faoin infheistíocht do dhaoine faoi mhíchumas, go háirithe i mBaile Átha Cliath Thuaidh ach nationally chomh maith leis sin. I would appreciate if the Minister would give me a detailed timeline for the next step for recognising the associated costs for people with disabilities.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ucht na ceiste ar son na ndaoine faoi mhíchumas. Gabhaim buíochas leis as a shuim san ábhar seo. Tá sé ráite sa chlár Rialtais go mbeimid ag seasamh le daoine faoi mhíchumas agus go bhfuil muid ag obair go crua air sin. Supporting disabled people is a key priority for this Government. That is why the programme for Government is introducing a number of commitments to improve the position of people with disabilities, including a commitment to introduce a permanent annual cost-of-disability support payment. Under the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030, which was developed with significant input from disability groups and advocates, it was agreed to establish a strategic focus network summit on the cost of disability. This is being led by my Department, but it should, must and does include other Departments as well as disabled people and their advocates.
We have had a series of meetings with a number of organisations, including disabled persons organisations, DPOs, to discuss the structure and content. A public consultation process is also being established on how a cost-of-disability payment can best be achieved. That was launched on Friday, 20 February. It ran for just over six weeks until Tuesday 7 April. I am pleased that there was an exceptional response, with over 1,000 submissions received. Some 87 submissions were from groups and organisations and 12 were from disabled persons organisations and disabled persons representative organisations. Accessible ways to partake were widely used, with almost 60 submissions made over the phone, 20 received by post and seven by video. I thank all of the contributors, including Members in the Chamber, for taking the time to make a submission to the process.
The summit will now be held on Lansdowne Road on 13 May. It will be an in-person event, with online access also available. The summit and the submissions received through the consultation process will help inform the approach to be taken in delivering on our programme for Government commitment.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. Táim buíoch as an bhfreagra sin and the continued engagement with my office. I commend the staff in his office for their hard work as well as the Minister himself. What is absolutely clear is that the cost of disability must reflect the reality. In north Dublin in my constituency, we have the Irish Wheelchair Association, IWA, the Central Remedial Clinic, CRC, and multiple disability organisations. I have been speaking to them about the urgency needed, not just in the winter, but also with transport costs, infrastructure and electricity. I hope that the Government acts on plug-in solar, which will reduce the cost for apartment dwellers, particularly people with no access to rooftops but who could easily access a similar system with a low initial cost. In conjunction with batteries, this would help with electricity costs. We also need to be clear about eligibility. Those who are on disability payments, who are in employment or who are over 65 need to be prioritised.
I thank the Deputy for his input. We will be having the summit on 13 May, which is next Wednesday week. Following the summit and the consultation process, we will be preparing a paper that will outline the key learnings and any tangible outcomes that support how we deliver in this area going forward. I will work with my colleagues in government in relation to a potential proposal around the eligibility for the payment, who should get the payment and how it should be paid. We will have engagement around that with the committee on social protection.
I wish to emphasise that we have made increases this year to the fuel allowance and the weekly rate of disability allowance. Additional needs payments are also available through the community welfare office network. I encourage people to ensure that they have access to those payments and have engaged with the network in respect of them. We have done a lot of work in recent weeks to make information about those payments available to Members of the Oireachtas so that they can pass it on.
There is real urgency here. I welcome the fact that the Minister is acknowledging that this is needed. The gap is not abstract and it is felt every single week by the people I represent and people across Ireland. The payment would be very meaningful and very well accepted. I look forward to working with the Department and the disability organisations on that.
This does not relate to the Minister's Department, but last night, we saw Irish citizens from my constituency and some of my friends illegally abducted by the Israeli Government. I was part of a previous flotilla. Could that be brought to the Department of foreign affairs, as they were off the coast of Crete in international waters? I know that the Minister cannot act on this in his Department, but I need to highlight it on the floor of this House and do everything I can do. A lot of these people were with me previously.
I have absolutely no doubt that the Department of foreign affairs is fully monitoring that situation. Our thoughts are with all of those Irish citizens this morning and with their families here at home.
Regarding the Deputy's question, the cost of disability and the challenges facing those with disabilities is not solely a matter for the Department of Social Protection. It is essential for transport costs and employment costs - there are other supports from the Department of Health, obviously - that all of those Departments are part of this conversation. That is our intention and our priority as regards both the summit and the paper that will inform decisions. We will be prioritising the cost-of-disability payment from the Department of Social Protection in this year's budget but other Departments are going to have to come to the table as well with supports to allow to people to travel, use medical services, access primary medical certs, avail of motorised transport and deal with the various costs that are there.
A whole-of-government approach is necessary. We will work closely with the Minister, Deputy Foley, and other Ministers in relation to this.
Road Safety
96. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Transport the measures he is taking to improve road safety; the reasons road deaths have risen by 31% since 2019 while road deaths across the EU dropped by 15% over the same period; the measures he is taking to address this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31157/26]
What measures are being taken to improve road safety? Clearly, road safety and fatalities on the road are moving in the wrong direction, and quite dramatically so. An independent report said that there had been a very worrying recent increase in fatalities and serious injuries. Since 2019, road deaths have risen by 31% in Ireland while across the European Union they have fallen by 15%. What steps are being taken to address this?
I thank the Deputy for raising this really important matter. Any death on our roads is one too many. I am always conscious when talking about numbers that behind these numbers are people and families. We have to continue working to improve road safety. One element of it is the continued investment in our roads. Physical infrastructure is critical, as is the safety framework.
The current framework for road safety is set out in the Government’s fifth road safety strategy, which has the target of reducing road deaths and serious injuries by 50% this decade. My Department published the phase 2 action plan under this strategy last July for the period 2025 to 2027. That plan comprises 12 primary transformative actions and 77 supporting actions. Delivering the action plan is a collaborative effort involving my Department, the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, An Garda Síochána, the Road Safety Authority, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, the National Transport Authority, NTA, the Courts Service, and right the way across the board. The Deputy will note that there are many experts across a range of partners collaborating on taking action and delivering positive road safety outcomes, and I would like to assure him that progress is being made.
Key deliverables for this year include passing the National Vehicle and Driver File Bill to allow local authorities to resume accepting and processing collision data. We are also addressing the long-standing issue relating to repeat renewal of learner permits, with regulations coming into effect later this year in November. Yesterday, I published the first national safety camera strategy, which provides a framework for increased deployment of cameras across the road network in urban and rural locations. The use of cameras has been proven to reduce speeding and improve driver behaviour, and I am confident that implementation of this strategy will help us achieve our road safety targets.
The Deputy might wish to know that, this year, €14 million has been allocated under the low-cost safety improvement scheme to support small-scale engineering measures to address identified road safety issues.
The Minister mentioned that there had been progress on all actions but, unfortunately, that is not seeping down into the road death figures, which are going in the wrong direction. It is not the Minister's brief but I want to refer to the number of gardaí on the roads. It is a consequence of inaction by the Government. There are 400 fewer gardaí on the roads than there were 15 years ago. The number of gardaí in that Garda unit has halved since 2009. We received a briefing the other day from Alcohol Action Ireland. There are some very worrying statistics in its brochure. It said that, in 2025, there were 4,800 arrests for drink driving. That compares to almost 20,000 in 2007. The rate of breath-testing among licensed drivers is only 5.3% whereas in other countries it is multiples of that. The consequences of that are that while 14% of driver fatalities in Australia, for example, have a positive toxicology for alcohol, that figure is 35% in Ireland.
Undoubtedly, we have seen an increase over the last number of years from a lower base. When you compare Ireland to the rest of Europe, the statistics - this is not to mean the road fatalities themselves - compare favourably and we are still in the upper quartile in relation to prevention of road deaths and the number of road deaths. Again, I say this on the basis that I do not like talking about numbers because there are people behind them.
On safety cameras, 390 new safety camera zones became operational from 1 January this year. This brings the total number of safety cameras nationwide to 1,901. The Deputy raised a point and I would say to him that enforcement is unquestionably critical. It is something that my Department discusses with the Department of justice. I continue to engage with the Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan. We have the road traffic (amendment) Bill coming in later this year. Driver behaviour is critical, though, and that is why education is important. We all see it, we all drive around the country and see some outrageous driver behaviour. It is unacceptable, by the way, for anyone in this day and age to get into a car when they have had alcohol.
Hear, hear.
Whatever level of enforcement is there, personal responsibility really needs to be brought to the fore. We all agree on that. There is only so much a Government can do. We need to do more - I am with the Deputy on that - but personal responsibility is critical.
Unfortunately, personal responsibility is corralled or dictated by the chances of getting caught.
When the number of arrests, the amount of enforcement and the number of gardaí on the road have decreased so hugely and the number of drink driving arrests is down by 75% since 2007, people are more likely to get into cars. That is just human nature.
I want to ask about the flip flop on the disbanding of the RSA. An independent report was commissioned, done by Indecon. It said the dual role of the RSA in delivering operational services, such as driver testing and NCT, is a distraction from the more important role of national road safety policy, education, which the Minister spoke about, and campaigns. It undermines the ability to respond to rising fatalities.
Thank you, Deputy.
Is the Government even at this late going to allow the RSA to do what it is supposed to do and deal with operational services in a separate body?
The RSA is very well resourced to carry out the functions it is charged with. Splitting up the agency would have a detrimental effect. It would take too long. It needs to focus on road safety and education. NCT and driver testing are also important. That feeds into the road safety piece. I will counter the Deputy on one particular thing he said. Driver behaviour and personal responsibility are critical. We all want to see more gardaí enforcing this. Measures have been taken around specific bank holiday weekends when we still see shocking numbers of people driving under the influence or drink and drugs and speeding at excessive and dangerous rates. Enforcement is critical to catch these people and put them off the road - it is as simple as that but more needs to be done. I outlined some of the safety measures that have been brought forward. The number one priority is road safety to reduce road deaths.
Electric Vehicles
97. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport to report on the zero-emissions heavy duty vehicle purchase grant and zero-emissions heavy duty vehicle infrastructure grant schemes, including the number of applications received and funding drawn down since their inception; the steps he will take to encourage and increase uptake among those in the haulage and farming sectors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31741/26]
I would like to ask the Minister about the electrification of our heavy goods vehicles fleet and for a report on the zero-emissions heavy duty vehicle purchase grant and zero-emissions heavy duty vehicle infrastructure grant schemes, including the number of applications received and funding drawn down since their inception; the steps he will take to encourage and increase uptake among those in the haulage and farming sectors.
This is an important area and we have to look to electrify it. Heavy goods vehicles is one of the more challenging areas to electrify. We are committed to transitioning to a low-carbon economy by 2050. The transport sector has a significant role to play in that. The decarbonisation of heavy duty vehicles will be a key mechanism in achieving this objective within the sector. To promote the decarbonisation of HDVs, we launched the alternatively fuelled heavy duty vehicle purchase grant scheme in March 2021. That scheme was intended to help bridge some of the difference in purchase price between conventional HDVs and those powered by alternatively fuelled powertrains. In line with changes to the state aid regime, the Department amended the scheme to focus on zero-emission vehicles and launched the ZEHDV scheme in 2024. The scheme is administered by TII and funded by my Department. It awards grants to assist companies and enterprises that wish to buy zero-emission heavy duty vehicles instead of the diesel equivalent. In November 2024, the scheme was expanded to include purchase grants for recharging infrastructure. The total funding available under this grant scheme since 2024 to date is €11 million. Almost €4 million has been drawn down to support 76 vehicles - not a massive number - all of which are electric and include large HDVs, refuse trucks, large vans and buses. Using this scheme, the Department of Transport is also supporting businesses at the planning stage through the EV fleet assessment grant. This offers fully funded expert assessment to help companies understand how electric vehicles can operate within their existing fleets. In February, we published a new national EV charging infrastructure strategy for the next three years in line with the programme for Government commitment. This strategy includes a specific set of measures to support the transition of the HDV sector, taking account of a recent report, the HDV Electrification Pathway Report, which brought the haulage sector and my Department together to determine an appropriate and viable pathway for the sector.
I ask this question in the context of the €500 million package with no strings attached announced for the haulage and farming sectors. While we recognise the need for these packages, we also have to recognise this exists because of fossil fuel dependence in those sectors and it is in many ways a subsidy to the fossil fuel industry. As part of a just transition, we must make this choice easy for hauliers in particular to decide to purchase zero-emission vehicles. The figures are not great. In 2025, of 2,564 HGVs purchased in Ireland just 1.09% were zero emission. The grants available are not availed of to the full extent either - about 50% are not being availed of. What will the Minister do to encourage the use of them?
It is a fair point. The road transport support scheme is not a subsidy. It is a cost reduction measure and a viability measure for our supply chain. I do not see it as a fossil fuel grant or incentive for the use of fossil fuel. That said, it is clear the haulage sector in particular and others in the agriculture sector are heavily dependent on fossil fuel, especially heavy goods vehicles. A lot of white van vehicles have changed to EVs and hybrids. It is down to the weight carried. We had 162 electric HGVs registered at the end of 2025. Compressed natural gas is another renewable fuel. We had 157 registered in 2025, a 5% increase. Also, to be fair, in the haulage sector many firms use alternative sustainable fuels and biofuels like biogas and HVO. This is an area for which substantial grants are available but we need to create confidence in that sector that there is an alternative in using electric instead of diesel in the heavy goods vehicles space.
No country is doing particularly well in this area but even across Europe 4.5% of HGVs are zero emission and we are only at just over 1%. In China, it is up to 25%. It is leading the world in this regard. The charging infrastructure grant is important because hauliers say to us they cannot avail of this not only because of the cost of the vehicles but also the lack of infrastructure. My understanding of that grant is that €1 million was allocated last year, less than €200,000 was spent and €188,000 of that was on administrative costs. I think only one grant was availed of in that whole infrastructure scheme. Improving that has to be looked at. I ask the Minister to increase the price differential in the purchase grant scheme to 100% to incentivise, so there is no cost differential between a diesel or electric vehicle purchase. At the moment, there is still a cost to the haulier in making that decision.
The Deputy's point is well made. In the private fleet and private cars, there is a substantial increase in EV registrations. There are over 230,000 EVs on our roads. In the first quarter of this year, there was a significant increase with about 40% of all cars purchased being EVs. Heavy goods vehicles is a more complex area. Confidence needs to be instilled in the sector that there are alternatives. The Deputy is right that the level of drawdown is low. The scheme was reworked at the end of 2024. It is kept under review. I have met officials about it. We would like more supports deployed to this sector to bring the transport sector onto a more sustainable and climate-friendly footing. That can be done but the Deputy rightly pointed out it is a challenge across Europe not just here. I take the Deputy's points on board. We are keeping this under review. We will change the offerings if we can see that by changing them more people will access them. There are substantial grants and savings for businesses if they pivot to electric.
Rail Network
98. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Transport for an update on the new Irish Rail traffic management IT system; the measures he is taking to address cost overruns and delays; when he expects this system will be delivered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31154/26]
I want to ask the Minister about documents recently released to the Committee of Public Accounts relating to cost overruns in the IT system that was supposed to regulate train movements across the State. Under the initial proposals, the traffic management system was targeted to be commissioned in 2024 with an associated target cost of €19 million.
However, over €31.5 million has apparently already been spent without the first phase having been completed. Has the Minister of State any statement to make?
I thank the Deputy for raising the matter and acknowledge that this is an elongated process. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, has been engaged with the process on behalf of the Department and twice met the people involved. The Deputy can take it from our side that we are not happy with progress, and I will come back on that further in the supplementary.
The national train control centre, NTCC, project aims to deliver a modern, safe and efficient rail traffic management system that can effectively meet the needs of a growing railway service in the coming decades. The NTCC building near Heuston was completed in November 2022, close to its initial target date and budget despite the significant disruption to the construction caused by Covid during its development. Bringing the centre into full operation has been delayed by slower-than-projected progress in developing and rolling out the new traffic management system, which is the software that integrates a range of complex railway systems, such as signalling and communications. As a result of these delays, the Minister met the NTA and the contractor responsible for the traffic management system, Indra Sistemas, last August and later on to express dissatisfaction with the rate of progress and emphasised the importance of project delivery. The Minister met them again in January at the opening of Indra Group's office in Dublin, which marked an important positive development for the project in terms of Indra's permanent presence in the Irish market and reiterated the importance of successfully progressing the project.
I understand that Iarnród Éireann has been actively engaging with Indra and testing software ahead of a major release in July, with commissioning phase 1 covering the Rosslare line targeted to go live in 2027. The timeline for future commissioning phases will be informed by phase 1, and the Department and the Minister will continue to keep the project under close review with a view to bringing its benefits to railway users as soon as possible.
It is important to note that traffic management is continuing to operate out of Connolly Station and there is no impact on railway safety as a result of delays in the introduction of the new system.
There may not be difficulty with railway safety at the moment, but to say that progress has been slower than anticipated when €31.5 million has been spent without the first phase having been completed is surely the understatement of the year. I understand that there are between seven and nine phases to it and we have not even reached phase 1 despite that kind of expenditure. I do not need to go into the history of bike sheds, children's hospitals and so on but is there a danger that something similar will happen, given the snail's pace of this progress? It was presented as a flagship project. It was going to be the brain of the railway network and the NTA said it was a critical component of the national train control centre, but we cannot hide from this. The costs are massive, and people are keeping an eye on this at the moment with the cost-of-living crisis. I do not think that the progress, answers or reviews are good enough. The Department, the Minister and the wider Government need to take action.
The Government has taken action. The Minister has been proactive and the Department has engaged. The payments under the contract are directly linked to the costs incurred by the contractor and are based on standard international engineering projects. The Deputy presents it as black and white. To be fair, it is not, and I respectfully challenge him. This is a complex matter and it takes time. It is going slower than we would like and we recognise that, but we must get it right and we must be prudent in the management of the project to be delivered. I take the point that it will make a great headline on the news tomorrow that we are running behind time and it is costing X amount, but the costs are incurred by the contractor. We are determined on the Government side, on behalf of all of us, to ensure that the project is delivered. It is taking longer to deliver, but it is still a flagship and it will still be this model that will ultimately deliver for all of us.
We have seen, if the Deputy looks at the depth of the questions on rail, that there is a growing use of rail. I assure the Deputy that there are no commercial agreements that will cost further, as of now, for the State. We will work with everyone to ensure that we deliver the matter on budget.
The Minister of State is correct to say that there is a growing use of rail, and we support that, but its development and broadening out are at serious risk with projects like this. The minutes of Irish Rail board meetings are publicly available. The chair of Iarnród Éireann and the project director have expressed serious reservations about the direction and delivery of the project as well as concerns about the contractor's ability to deliver all phases of the project. The failures of this project also raise massive concerns about the contractor's ability to deliver the new €269 million-plus contactless transport ticketing service, the contract for which it also has. We are in a situation where there are electric buses parked up. They are not being used and there are serious concerns about the ability to deliver next generation ticketing. We are lagging far behind the progress that we see in other countries.
We share the Deputy's concern. The Minister has met Indra twice and it now has an office in Dublin. The Deputy is not correct about the buses he refers to. They will be used. Two per week are being unveiled as we speak. All I can say to the Deputy, and I think he will agree, is that there is an extensive safety process that must be gone through. With safety approval stages, you cannot just tick a box and hope it goes away and that you get away with it. That is why the software package must be proper and robust and must stand up to testing and have a quality mark.
The Minister has been actively engaged with Indra. The Deputy is right in one regard, in that Indra has to step up to the plate as well. It is the operator. It is the genius, if you like. We can only do so much. I concur with the Deputy on that. That is why the Minister and the Department have been proactive and the Department has been engaging with Indra.
At the end of the day, notwithstanding that it is behind time, which we are unhappy about, I think we will have a project that is fit for purpose, will be a flagship and will serve us well in time.
Public Transport
99. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Transport if he is aware that the DART will not be operational again this May bank holiday weekend for the VHI mini-marathon, an event that attracts up to 30,000 participants each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31200/26]
I thank the Deputy for the question. As she knows, essential maintenance is being carried out and there is inconvenience for people, but I will put this in context. The majority of maintenance works on the rail network take place overnight or in a way that will see little or no disruption to services. In some instances, however, this disruption is unfortunately unavoidable, such as for the upcoming May and June bank holiday weekends. I genuinely understand that while it is frustrating, it is an essential part of maintaining our rail network. To support the maintenance of our rail network, we are investing close to €2.1 billion over the period 2026 to 2030. This year alone we will invest over €350 million in resilience and upgrading of tracks and network. The annual investment will increase year on year to almost €465 million by 2030.
Disruption to services occurs when Iarnród Éireann is replacing or improving essential infrastructure like tracks, bridges, signalling and overhead lines or assisting third parties with major works. We do this to ensure that, at peak times when more people are travelling, the network is robust and we will not see outages in the system. The company is also currently engaged in the multi-annual programme of overhead line renewal and track renewal across the DART network.
Iarnród Éireann chooses bank holiday weekends to undertake projects of significant scale. The extra weekend day allows them to achieve more progress more efficiently, avoiding impacts across multiple weekends and weekday passengers. It is standard international railway practice for bank holidays to be used in this way. I know that when events like the VHI mini-marathon are on, which will see approximately 30,000 people coming in, additional bus services are put on. However, I will be honest and say that, that looking through the details, the buses will serve major stations and not every station. I think that is an area that can and should be improved on. People get that we have to maintain our lines and make sure that they are safe and upgraded.
I will come back with more information during supplementary.
Approximately 30,000 women take part in the VHI mini-marathon. It is the world's largest all-women 10 km race. It raises approximately €10 million per year for charities and it has raised over €255 million since it began. This is a hugely important event. Tens of thousands of women and their families participate in it and it raises money that charities across the country simply cannot do without.
People understand the need for track maintenance, know it has to happen and appreciate that days that are quieter, like Sundays, are the ones for maintenance. However, on weekends where we have such a major event it does not make sense to stop the DART from running when there are so many people who need it. I ask the Minister to reconsider this policy.
This is an operational matter. I do not direct Iarnród Éireann as to when it maintains its lines. I recognise there will unquestionably be inconvenience to people. Bank holiday weekends allow engineers to work continuously for 76 hours on the line and get extensive work done that does not have to be spread over other weekends. Fortunately, there is very rarely a weekend where there is not a major event on in this country and in our capital city. That could be sport, concerts, mini-marathons or whatever. That is good because it is a vibrant city and a lot of people use the city. DART services will operate on the southern line from Greystones into the city. It is the northern line that will be impacted. There are additional bus services put on that line. During the June bank holiday further work will happen. All those details are pre-announced and they are all up on the website. It is also advertised that there will be disruption when lines are closed for maintenance. There is no easy way of doing this. There is only so much work you can get done during night-time hours because we are running earlier and later trains, so the gap for maintenance at night is shorter. That is why if we can get 76 hours of continuous work done, that is banked and we do not have to do it over successive weekends.
I thank the Minister. I understand, and everyone understands, there is no easy way of doing it but there are certain weekends where the demand is so high it warrants running the DART. Perhaps it could just be for that individual day and the works could be done at other points in the weekend, which is what used to happen. Last year there were no additional Luas services provided on the weekend for the VHI mini-marathon and no additional bus services. I have been contacted by people who ended up arriving late to the entry point and were not allowed run the marathon. This is hugely disruptive to people. Just because there is low commuter demand on a bank holiday weekend does not mean there is low public demand. These are public transport services, not just commuter services. Relying on bank holiday weekends, especially ones when there are large-scale events, is the wrong way to go about these works. There has to be a way of doing this and managing this better.
There is significant advance notice given. We need to improve the additional services that are there. I can tell the Deputy there are additional bus services this weekend serving the northern line. There is no easy answer to this. Lines need to be upgraded. Overhead lines, railway tracks and embankments need to be worked on. That all needs to happen. I cannot tell the Deputy we can avoid doing work on the May or June bank holidays. You can get a significant amount of work done on a continuous basis. That is the advantage to the workers who are carrying out that essential work. I appreciate it is disruptive and I take the point. I will bring the Deputy's feedback to the company to see if there is a way of just using the Monday. Large events are taken into account too but fortunately there is rarely a weekend that there are not major events in the capital city. I take the point the mini-marathon is a staple in our national calendar and I will bring that back.
Bus Services
100. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Transport his plans to end the 70 bus route resulting in people in the Littlepace area having to change buses to go to Dublin city centre; if BusConnects gives consideration to the impact on bus users with mobility issues when cutting direct routes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31156/26]
The 70 bus that connects Dunboyne and Littlepace to the city centre is going to be cut under the BusConnects plan even though it is the most direct route many people in Dublin 15 have. This is also going to hit people who are not very mobile. It is incredibly ablist to force people to get off a bus and to route everything through Ireland's busiest shopping centre in Blanchardstown. Nobody wanted this and the BusConnects planners have not listened.
I thank Deputy Coppinger for raising the matter. In the overall context BusConnects is important. She makes a point about the listening piece. I know from my constituency in Cork there is an obligation and a real need to listen and engage. I will bring the Deputy's comments back as well.
As she has said, the 70 bus will be replaced by other bus services as part of the implementation of BusConnects Dublin. These new services will include the L64, which will provide a frequent service between Dunboyne, Clonee and Blanchardstown, and the P64 which will provide a direct bus service to Dublin city centre for commuters. Since the start of BusConnects, a core objective has been to provide a network of more frequent bus services with reduced wait times for all passengers. This sometimes requires transfer between frequent services. Opportunities will exist for transfers to very frequent bus services on the B spine to and from Dublin city centre. Connections with Dunboyne rail station, for rail services to and from Dublin city centre, will also be available. I would also like to highlight the benefits of these new services in the Littlepace area. These will include the introduction of significantly better all-day frequencies, not just during peak commuting hours, and better network connectivity options with the 90-minute Leap fare.
On bus users with mobility issues, I note that all buses are fully low floor wheelchair-accessible and bus stops at the L64 transfer point will also be fully accessible. I assure Deputy Coppinger the distances between bus stops will be kept to a minimum where interchange is required.
Yes, but most buses only have a place for one wheelchair and one pram, so I do not accept the idea everybody is going to be able to transfer like that. Let us start with the reality. Who wants to have to get off a bus? Nobody. Once you are on a bus you want to stay on it. However, for some reason BusConnects planners and the NTA are fixated on the idea of routing everything through the Blanchardstown centre, which by the way, coincides with the potential introduction of car parking charges there. That fits in nicely and BusConnects is being cited as the reason to fleece the local community.
There is currently a bus that runs from Dunboyne and Littlepace directly onto the N3 with a bus lane and for some reason the planners want to take it away. From 6 a.m. it is every 20 minutes and then from 7 a.m. it is every ten minutes until 8 p.m. when it becomes every 15 minutes. It is perfect. It is one of the buses that actually works. In 2018 when this was discussed there was a raft of complaints, public meetings and petitions. Why does government not listen?
I think the Deputy is incorrect regarding the buses because there are many buses and the new ones will have more than one wheelchair access point.
The other point is we have almost 5,500 people working in Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, which is a massive number.
Tell me about it.
Is that a problem?
Is that a positive or a negative for the area?
Would she rather they were not working?
Would she prefer they were not working? In fairness, they are providing. The Deputy can shake her head at me but she is meant to represent-----
Just answer the question.
I will.
It is about the 70 bus.
She raised the shopping centre. Does she want the people to work or not? Does she want them to be unemployed? Let us be fair now.
Will the Minister of State just address the question?
The fundamental point is BusConnects offers greater connectivity, higher frequency, better connection and a more direct route to the city. We can disagree on some things but I genuinely take the Deputy's point that if BusConnects is to succeed there must be meaningful engagement with residents and people in areas that are affected. The point she made there is right. I have it in my city, as I said. It is important planners engage and listen. The overall point is this is a good news story for people, in that there is an enhanced offering of bus services.
The reason I was rolling my eyes is I campaigned and marched to get that town centre built. I know how important it is and family members have worked there. My point is that does not mean everyone wants to sit in traffic in it.
That is why we are doing BusConnects.
Yes, but nobody wants to sit on a bus and be dragged through Blanchardstown centre. The Minister of State does not seem to know the area, with all due respect. People are often delayed there for 20 minutes. With the original BusConnects plan there were roughly 28,000 complaints. Some 914 of them originated from Blanchardstown and most of them were about the 70 bus route. One third of respondents said there would be a loss or reduction in the existing service. Roughly one third said they did not want to have to get off the bus to transfer into town and one third referenced the requirement for new infrastructure and a new interchange. I do not know how frequent the L64 the Minister of State mentioned is going to be and it is not clear how many P64 buses there will be either, but at the moment the service is perfectly adequate at peak times and people are losing this. Government needs to listen to what people are saying sometimes.
I listen. I am a public representative and I represent people.
It is important to recognise that the new L64 network will run between Dunboyne and the Blanchardstown centre. The new peak-time route, the P64, will run between Dunboyne and the city centre and both will serve Littlepace. Both services will also lead to Dunboyne. Equally, detailed timetables will be issued and will be set near the time of implementation so that we can take account of the comments the Deputy has made here this morning. There has been engagement with residents. Concerns have been raised not just by the Deputy but also by other local representatives in the area and changes have been made. I look forward to further engagement by the NTA. In the interests of fairness, BusConnects is a good news story. It will enhance frequency, enhance connectivity and enhance the passenger experience for the commuters who are asking for more buses that are on time and that are frequent.
Public Transport
101. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Transport for an update on the DART+ South West project; the progress to date; the way in which the project may be expedited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31714/26]
I ask the Minister for Transport to give an update on the DART+ South West project, the progress that has been made to date, the way in which this crucial infrastructure project for my constituents in Dublin Mid-West may be expedited, and if he will make a statement on the matter.
As part of the wider DART+ programme, DART+ South West will provide an extension of electrified DART services from the city centre to Hazelhatch and Celbridge. I know this is a project the Deputy has supported from its genesis and he continues to do so. A major milestone was cleared in November 2024 when the project secured full planning approval from An Coimisiún Pleanála. Preparation for procurement for DART+ West and DART+ South West is progressing together. I want to be clear about that. Design and build pre-qualification questionnaires were issued in May 2025. Funding allocated under the national development plan sectoral investment plan, which was published last November, will see construction of the DART+ programme begin. I expect DART+ West will enter construction before the end of 2027. DART+ West is a critical enabler for the wider programme and must be advanced first, as it will provide an additional depot location and capacity for new fleet as well as the requirement enhancements to city centre rail capacity to support future services. I will return to this.
Funding from the sectoral investment plan has also allowed compulsory purchase orders for DART+ South West to commence in February this year. Procurement for DART+ West is progressing in a way that ultimately assists with DART+ South West, in that it is intended the framework contracts being established for DART+ West will also be used for DART+ South West. I want to see this being done in tandem. In addition to sectoral Exchequer capital allocations, which the Deputy has been pushing for and on which we met on a number of occasions, my Department will continue to explore opportunities to advance this and bring it forward. DART+ West is an enabler for DART+ South West.
Within our sectoral ceilings we do have some flex and I believe we can bring this project forward. We need to get the compulsory purchase order, CPO, work done and we need to get DART+ West started in 2027. I believe that with continued work on this we could see DART+ South West starting in 2028. Both of them interact with each other, as the Deputy knows, and I will be working with the Deputy to ensure that we do.
I welcome that response. The Minister's successor as the Minister for housing, Deputy Browne, was in the constituency this week in Clonburris and Adamstown. He saw the scale of housing being delivered and the importance of the infrastructure that enables that housing. One such project is DART+ South West. Coming from a commuter constituency the Minister will know full well that commuters in my constituency who use stations like Kishoge, Adamstown, Clondalkin Fonthill, and Park West are the people who want to use public transport in the morning. Carriages are full so we know the demand is there. DART+ South West is something we must prioritise. I welcome the movements made on the CPO work being rolled out. I welcome the work being done to ensure that procurement will not be delayed if and when funding becomes available for this. I also welcome the Minister's commitment to bring this forward as far as we can to ensure that those commuters who do not want to sit in traffic on the roads around Lucan and Clondalkin are served well by a train station. I will work with the Minister to continue doing that but I will also fight the corner for these commuters who need a good, reliable and, crucially, a frequent train service to enable their commutes and to get the congestion off our roads.
I agree completely with the Deputy. The work that is happening now is critical to advance the project. In fairness, the Deputy has been working directly with us on this and advocating for his constituency. Deputy Moynihan is right. Given the number of houses and the development that is happening out there and in Adamstown the whole area has grown substantially over the last years and this needs to be supported by DART+ South West. Working with the Deputy, we will ensure that we do that. DART+ West is critical, as is DART+ South West because they do interact with each other. I believe we can bring this project forward and I want us to do that. We have allocated the funding we need in order to do what we need to this year and next. It is about bringing it into construction. I am confident we can do that. I want to get over the milestones of the CPO. We want to get to the commencement of the enabling works as well, which will be happening too. We will see construction start in 2027 on DART+ West. Shortly after that, with movement in our sectoral ceiling that I think we can do, we can get DART+ South West into construction in 2028.
I thank the Minister. For the record of the House, I have seen the work being done to advance the CPOs and the enabling works. The Minister has outlined the important step, which is crucial, that procurement for DART+ South West and DART+ West is done in tandem. We cannot afford to lose any time in this if and when funding becomes available. I want to thank the Minister for his personal commitment to try to bring the funding forward for this. I will work on this directly with the Minister.
I will take a moment to point out the additional benefits of the DART+ South West project not just for my constituency in Dublin Mid-West where will it be a crucial enabler, but also for intercity trains coming from the western part of the country. The four track system that this will enable on the line will reduce the bottlenecks at Athlone and Heuston. They are all crucial pieces of infrastructure and investment that we need to do. The key point for me remains that we need to get this over the line as quickly as we can for the commuters who want to get out of the traffic that is already congested all around the roads in my constituency, and for those people who use stations like Kishoge, Adamstown, Park West and Clondalkin Fonthill, and all the commuters in Lucan and Clondalkin who are relying on this piece of kit who want to use public transport. Let us respond to that demand and put a strong service in place to deliver it.
In the national development plan one in every four euro being invested between now and the end of this decade, between now and 2030, is being invested in transport. We are investing in public transport like has never happened before. It is very much focused on our rail network because it is good particularly for commuters, good for quality of life, good to reduce congestion and good for climate. We are seeing record numbers of people using public transport and record numbers of people using the trains. I know from being out in the constituency with Deputy Moynihan and from meeting his constituents that there is an absolute desire and imperative to deliver this project. We are delivering it and we have started those enabling works now through the CPO work. I believe we will be able to bring this very shortly after, with construction on DART+ West and DART + South West. I will work with the Deputy on it. The Taoiseach has spoken to me directly on it too. He is fully supportive of the DART+ programme. Obviously there are also the other elements such as DART+ Coastal North and so on, but these two will be first. We will work together to make sure it happens.
Before we move on to the next question, I welcome all of the students in the Public Gallery. It is great to see you here this morning. I hope you enjoy your day in Leinster House and your visit. I particularly welcome the students from the Christian Brothers College in Kilkenny and their teacher, Mr. Murphy. You are all very welcome. Enjoy your day.