Public Transport and Fare Increases: Motion [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-29
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Ciarán Ahern (LAB), Dublin South-West

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion today. It is a great motion. I think we in the Opposition are all of one mind on this. There is absolutely no way we would be proceeding with an increase in public transport fares at this time. I have read the Government's counter-motion and I read the Minister's comments earlier. By reading them, you might thing we were living somewhere in continental Europe such is the level of propaganda about how great our public transport system is. This week marks German Unity Day. We barely have a unified Luas system here.
I am genuinely baffled by this decision. Keeping public transport fares low is good policy. That has been borne out by the fact that we have seen huge increases in the numbers on public transport over the last number of years, far outstripping population increases or anything like that. The NTA has told us that for every 10% increase in fares, there is going to be a 3% decrease in the number of people using public transport. At a time of a cost-of-living crisis and when, as the Minister knows, we are in the middle of a climate crisis as well and we are trying to get people to use more sustainable modes of transport, a move like this that really punishes people who are less well off, who cannot afford to buy cars, or disabled people, students and other cohorts who are already up against it, is a really baffling move. It is not like the Minister is up against it from the Opposition. We all think this is a great policy. As I said, we are unified. It is a very popular policy with the public. It is a popular policy when it comes to politics as well. It is just sad that this Government is kind of pitching one section of society against another, or certainly looking out for the interests of certain sections of society and not all of them.
How is it that the Government can find €1.2 billion to subsidise people who are able to afford cars to drive to work, while the less well-off people who are stuck on public transport or cannot afford to buy cars are not getting the benefit of the largesse of this Government? I just do not think it is fair. The amount the NTA requires not to go through with this is €70 million. That is 6% of the €1.2 billion the Government has been able to find down the back of the couch to subsidise the cost of petrol and diesel, and we know there is going to be more. Of course people who are driving their cars are suffering as well, but I do not think it is right for this Government to look after one section of society and forget about others with this public transport fare hike.
In the Labour Party, we are dead set against it and very proud to support the Sinn Féin motion tonight.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-29/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-29