90. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Transport the position regarding the bus stop enhancement programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15421/26]
Sentiment score: -0.09
The bus stop enhancement programme, which is led by the NTA, is a nationwide programme that invests in bus infrastructure. It commits about €500,000 per year, which is not enough. There are problems with delivery, it is all very cumbersome and it takes a lot of time. I will get into some of the details shortly. Will the Minister give us an update on the programme?
Sentiment score: -0.13
I thank the Minister for his reply and I accept what he said. However, it is important there is a stop in the first place, and stops must also be safe and accessible. An audit was prepared by many local authorities, including my own local authority, in 2024. The difficulty on the ground is that, two years on, the bus stops have not been delivered. An audit is prepared by the local authority, the stop is designed and approved by the municipal district, and the NTA is also involved. However, many of the bus stops have costs, whether it is €25,000 for a simple pole or, where there is more preparatory work involved, up to €75,000 when there is a shelter. We have a problem in Ballybunion where there are no bus stops. In Lixnaw, there are none either. Tourists on the Dingle Way are looking for a bus stop and there are none. It all seems to be ad hoc and this is causing a lot of frustration. We have had an awful lot of wet winters in recent years, and that is going to continue. There are students going to college, people going to work and tourists who do not know where there is a bus stop and if it going to be safe. They need to have bus stops. There is huge frustration on the ground that there is no delivery. If it costs up to €75,000 when preparatory work is done, €500,000 is not really going to deliver a lot of bus stops.
Sentiment score: -0.10
Is there something the Minister can do to speed up the process? For example, a section 38 planning notice has to be given. Can that be sped up in some way? We are playing catch-up because the infrastructure just is not there. It has not been provided for many years. What we need is a large amount of money to get these things over the line. I understand the NTA criteria are based on the number of services that use the bus stop as opposed to the number of people who use it. For someone standing on the Tralee to Listowel Road or standing in the rain in Ballybunion, the delivery just is not there. For people standing in west Kerry, one of the wettest parts of the country, a structure has not been provided. There are poorly marked stops on some rural roads. While there are primary and secondary criteria and priority, it is the people who are standing at bus stops on their own, in the dark, in the winter and in the rain who are feeling it most.
Sentiment score: -0.01
92. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Transport the position regarding electric vehicles; the measures he is taking to make them more accessible to rural and lower income drivers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15422/26]
Sentiment score: -0.09
I want to ask the Minister about electric vehicles and the measures he is taking to make them more accessible for drivers in rural areas and those on lower incomes. Will he make a statement about it? Research has shown that successful applications for grants are clustered in affluent urban areas in Dublin and in parts of Cork. We think this is inequitable and regressive and the Climate Change Advisory Council agrees with us. What efforts is the Minister making to extend the grants to families and workers who are not as affluent?
Sentiment score: 0.21
The Minister said rural motorists are in a more advantageous position, but there are a couple of issues in relation to that. He also said that he exceeded his target, with the purchase of 212,000 EVs. However, he had moved the goalposts because a few years ago he said it was the ambition of the Government to have 845,000 EVs, and he reduced the target, so that is how he actually hit it. He said he is committed to having 30% of the private car fleet switch to battery by 2030, but that is hardly going to happen at this stage. The Minister also mentioned the advantages for rural dwellers, but the stats do not match that. In 2024, registrations in rural Ireland collapsed. In Cavan, they were down by 48%, they were down 45% in Sligo and down in Leitrim by 44%. There is a problem with the lack of public chargers. The Minister mentioned it, but it is not actually the case. Ireland has 2,500 public chargers, whereas Denmark has 18,000 and that is a country that is smaller than ours. The Minister is not scaling up to deliver as many, so we are never going to incentivise and encourage more rural dwellers to use EVs with a charging system like that.
Sentiment score: 0.02
The Minister is using an increase in the number, for example, in my own county off a low base. In 2021, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael announced a target, which has hardly been enhanced by the Healy-Rae support since the last election, of 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030. That obviously has not happened. Even though some electric vehicles have come down in price, they are neither affordable nor accessible for many ordinary people, especially in rural areas where more electric vehicles would have a bigger impact on emissions because research has shown that if used in rural Ireland they would have a bigger climate impact because they remove 35% more emissions compared to their urban counterparts. Seven out of ten grants that are awarded are for cars costing €40,000 or more and one third are for cars costing over €55,000. That is not fair or equitable and it is concentrated in wealthier areas such as Dublin.
Sentiment score: 0.26
That is because they dipped in the previous year.
Sentiment score: 0.00