Kathleen Funchion: Urges inclusion of private buses in travel card
Kathleen Funchion spoke about gaps in rural public transport in her Carlow–Kilkenny constituency, urging that the young adult travel card be extended to private bus operators and that local services be improved. She criticised timetable gaps, delays to a Carlow bus tender and argued better options are needed to reduce car use and support students.
Main concerns about rural transport
Funchion said her constituency mixes urban and rural areas but is "certainly lacking" in public transport. She framed public transport as integral to a functioning rural community and important for reducing emissions.
Young adult travel card and private operators
She welcomed the budget announcement of the young adult travel card but argued it excludes private bus operators in rural areas. Funchion described this as a missed opportunity for students, particularly with the recent amalgamation of Carlow and Waterford IT into a technological university for the South East.
Local service gaps and timetables
Funchion criticised specific service gaps, saying the last train to Kilkenny in 2021 forces early departures from Dublin and that Carlow still lacks a bus service. She noted a Carlow bus service has been put out to tender but will not launch until autumn 2022, and that Kilkenny only recently gained a proper bus service.
National messaging versus local reality
She highlighted the irony of the Minister for the Environment attending COP to promote moving people out of cars, while rural constituents face limited public transport options. Funchion urged colleagues to support the motion and stressed the importance of providing real alternatives for rural communities.
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Thanks very much, Cathaoirleach. First of all, I just want to count my own colleague Deputy Darren O'Rourke for bringing this important motion forward today. Obviously, the Constituency I, representative of both Carlow and Kilkenny, is a good mix of urban and rural, and while it is a fantastic place to live and work, we are certainly lacking in terms of public transport, and it is obviously an integral part to a functioning rural community, and it has an important role in reducing emissions, which we are all apparently in favour of, but when it comes to actual practice, it is hard to know if we actually are. The recent announcement of the budget of the young adult travel card, which I thought was welcome, I thought that was a positive move, however, for rural communities where we actually do not have very much public transport, it excludes private bus operators. I am obviously an advocate for public transport, but in some of our communities where we do not have that in the interim, I think it is a missed opportunity not to roll it out to those operators, and I think that we would really benefit from that, and students in particular would benefit from that in Carlow and Kilkenny, as we have had a recent announcement about Carlow and Waterford IT's amalgamation to a technological university for the South East. It would be hugely beneficial for students if they could, you know, avail of this, but it is just really private providers in the most part in our constituency at the moment. It is ironic that our Minister for the Environment is currently at COP, flying the flag for Ireland, and all that we are going to do to encourage people out of their cars and onto public transport, yet, as I said, we are certainly lacking in this constituency. Just to say that somebody that travels to Kilkenny the three days that were up here, if I was to rely on public transport, I would have to leave here at 6.30, actually leave here at probably 6pm to get the 6.30 train, that is the last train to Kilkenny in 2021. It is actually incredible to think that is the situation. I want to briefly mention the situation in Carlow in relation to the bus service. Finally, there has been some announcement that it is going to go out to tender, but it is not going to launch until the next autumn 2022. Imagine a town like Carlow still has no bus service, and we have only recently got a proper bus service in Kilkenny City. I am going to run out of time very shortly, so I again just want to commend my colleague and I would urge everybody to support the motion. In relation to rural communities and Minister, you are in a rural community yourself, it really is important that we have good public transport and that there are options for people. Thanks.
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