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.

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 whe…

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 sche…

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 registe…

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 r…

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 ma…

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 goo…

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 adv…

Is that a problem?

Would she rather they were not working?

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-qu…

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 i…

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 …

I agree with the Deputy that this is a critical route. I am happy to provide him with an update. It was a programme for Government commitment, as the Deputy knows, to re-establish the route. I thank the Deputy for his continued interest in this matter. We are committed to supporting vibrant, inclusive and sustainable communities throughout Ireland where people can live, work and connect. The Deputy has made that point validly with regard to the north west. Many stakeholders have recognised that the north west is an…

I, too, share the Deputy’s disappointment with regard to the A5. We are still committed to delivering it whenever legal challenges and planning issues are dispensed with. In the meantime, this is critical. This route is viable and needed. We will support it with a public service obligation. The timelines I have provided are robust. I very much expect this service to be up and running in October. Both the awarding of the contract and a commencement of the service will happen in October, aligning with that winter 202…

This is another project that shows the benefits of the shared island initiative. It is bringing people on the island of Ireland together and normalising future relations. It is a fantastic example of how local authorities and chambers of commerce work together. The Border does not exist, and that is critical. People are working together and bringing in investment. People work on both sides of the Border. The shared island fund is an important enabler. The Taoiseach is incredibly supportive of the project. We are ha…

The NTA is critical in the context of the planning and provision of services and continues to keep public transport connectivity, including access to Dublin Airport, under ongoing and active review. As the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, mentioned in a previous response, there was a substantial increase, about 46%, in the public service obligation in the budget to enhance and improve our services. While there is no direct public transport from Dublin Mid-West to the airport, a range of convenient and flexible t…

Deputy Moynihan asked a question about this on a previous occasion. The cessation of the Airport Hopper was a disappointment. It was a direct route for people. On foot of the questions asked a few weeks ago and Deputy Ward's question today, I will ask the NTA to move forward and see if something can be done within the public service obligation. There was a substantial increase in public service obligation funding. We have also seen a substantial increase in routes and additions to routes. Last year, 365 million pub…

That point has been well made by both Deputies. I will engage with the NTA and keep both Deputies fully informed. There could be an interim measure we can take. There is a longer term plan and continued investment in the public transport fleet, including DART+ South West, which everyone is supportive of and which we will bring forward. The Government has started work on that. I will keep Deputies Ward and Moynihan informed of progress.

I talk to myself every day. It is good having two Departments because you can ask permission from the other Minister. There are good synergies between both though, to be fair. It is a good question. As Minister for transport and for climate, energy and the environment, I am aware of the report in question. I thank Deputies Cronin and Daly for bringing it to my attention. I have also reached out to Professor Brian Caulfield to arrange a meeting to discuss his research. It is very timely. We are firmly committed to a…