Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 January 2014
933. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport for his views on a submission (details supplied) regarding train fares; if he has plans through any of the State agencies under his remit to address the issues raised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1023/14]
View answer965. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will address the concerns of commuters from County Kildare, where train fares have increased again; the reason for same; if he will explain how commuters can help to alleviate the additional costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1762/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 933 and 965 together.
I do not set public transport fares. It is the responsibility of the regulator, the National Transport Authority (NTA), to adjudicate on applications from the CIE companies and the Railway Procurement Agency for fare increases or changes to fares. I think it is important to point that heavy rail is very expensive to run and journeys by Irish Rail remain heavily subsidised while journeys by car, Luas or bike are not.
In our dealings with all companies, we have consistently emphasised that they must reduce costs ahead of future fare increases or service cuts. However, in the current environment, it is the case that fare increases will be inevitable if costs cannot be reduced sufficiently in order to maintain a reasonable level of service provision and protect our network. It is, however, important to point out that significant savings can be made by passengers who choose to avail of the integrated ticket, the Leap card. In many cases, passengers will be paying fares that are below 2011 cash fares when using the Leap card.
Notwithstanding the NTA's statutory responsibilities, the Government recognises the need for the CIÉ companies to respond to the challenge of reduced PSO subvention funding, reduced fares income arising from reductions in passenger numbers and increased costs, such as fuel costs, which are outside their control. It is important to remember that public transport remains heavily subsidised by the State and fares would be much higher if people had to bear the full cost of providing PSO services.
Over the past 18 months I have monitored the financial situation in CIÉ and the subsidiary companies, including Iarnród Éireann, to ensure a return to financial stability in order that they can continue to provide an essential service to the public. Iarnród Éireann has incurred accumulated losses of €130m in the past five years, a position which is unsustainable.
My Department and the NTA are working with Iarnród Éireann to increase the efficiency and attractiveness of existing rail services. The Government continues to provide substantial Exchequer investment in the rail network. Despite the reduced level of funding available, my Department has allocated over €150m towards the rail network this year. Investment in roads has been severely curtailed since 2009 and at current levels is less than what is required to maintain and protect our investment in the longer term.
In addition to safety related works, Iarnród Éireann is undertaking infrastructural works to improve journey times such as removing or upgrading level-crossings, providing automated ticketing machines, improving station facilities - all of which contribute to making the railway more competitive and attractive to passengers. As well as capital investment, Iarnród Éireann will also receive a total allocation of €117m in 2014 for Public Service Obligation (PSO) services. There have been reductions in subvention in recent years due to pressure on the public finances but I will be proposing that there be no further cuts to the PSO subvention from 2015.
Through the NTA, my Department is also funding the use of smart technology to make public transport easier to access and more reliable for the user. Significant progress has been made with the Leap card, Real Time Passenger Information, and the National Journey Planner which maps all public transport services across the country. The use of Wifi on trains and buses has also improved the transport experience. The NTA will continue to progress these consumer friendly initiatives which make using public transport more attractive. The public transport experience has improved significantly and that is where we must target our efforts in future. I hope that no further reductions in subvention, a stabilisation of passenger numbers as the economy improves and cost saving measures in Iarnród Éireann will mean that future fare increases can be minimised.
