Rail Network

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 March 2024

Wednesday, 20 March 2024

Ceisteanna (177)

Mairéad Farrell

Ceist:

177. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Transport in relation to a recent reply to correspondence from a person with a disability (details supplied), where the NTA confirmed that 42,000 booked a seat on Irish Rail and that a charge exists to book a seat to mitigate against some customer behaviours that impact everyone; how much were the 42,000 disabled customers charged in fees; exactly how many incidents are there of those with disabilities 'behaviour's impacting other customers; and is he aware that the use of data collected using the public services card free travel pass in the manner described by the NTA is not the purpose for which this data was collected in the first instance. [12617/24]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Transport

As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport.

The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally, and for decisions in relation to these services in conjunction with the relevant transport operators, in this case Irish Rail.

The issue raised by the Deputy in relation to the fees charged and the number of incidences that occurred are an operational matter for Irish Rail. Therefore, I have referred the Deputy's question to Irish Rail for direct response to the Deputy. Please advise my private office if you do not receive replies within ten working days.