Bríd Smith Questions Minister's Rejection of Free Public Transport
Bríd Smith challenged the minister's public response rejecting free public transport, asking whether that stance implies trips by those entitled to free travel are 'unnecessary'. She pressed for the unspecified research the minister cited and said she could provide several studies showing benefits of free public transport.
Main challenge
Bríd Smith asked whether the minister's widely publicised response - that free public transport would increase unnecessary trips - means that journeys currently undertaken by people entitled to free travel, such as those on social welfare and older people, would also be considered unnecessary. She asked why it would be provided to some and not to all if that is not the case.
Research and evidence
She requested the unspecified research the minister referred to and noted the minister had been asked by media to provide it but had not. Bríd Smith said she could supply six or seven pieces of other research indicating the climate and social benefits of free public transport.
Concerns about cost and capacity
Bríd Smith acknowledged genuine practical problems with free public transport - cost and capacity - warning that services could be overloaded if made free, which would be to no one's advantage. She emphasised that funding should focus on investing in additional services rather than only making existing services cheaper.
Fare reductions and uptake
She pointed out that reductions in public transport fares in Ireland have been successful in increasing passenger numbers, and argued that this success should be recognised in discussions about free fares.
Call for clarity on government position
Bríd Smith pressed whether the minister's response represents the government's position and sought clarity on whether the cited research is available, suggesting the minister may not have represented his case fairly.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
I want to ask you if the widely publicised response that I got from Minister Eamon Ryan on a question on free public transport is the government's position, in other words that you reject the idea of free public transport because it leads to an increase of unnecessary trips and would you therefore claim that the journey is currently undertaken by people who are entitled to free public transport, those in social welfare or older people, is also currently unnecessary trips? If that is not the case, then why provide it to one and not provide it to all? I also want to ask if the unspecified research that Eamon Ryan refers to is available to us, because he refers to the research, he has been asked by media to provide it, he has failed to do so, but I can give you six or seven pieces of other research that show the benefits of free public transport as a climate and a social measure. I would not be overly concerned about unnecessary trips, to be honest, I do not think many people are going around on buses and trains just for the crack, but there would be genuine problems with free public transport, cost and capacity, we could see capacity being overloaded, that would not be an advantage to anyone, and secondly there is an issue of cost, and we want to invest additional money in public transport, transport in new services, not just making existing services less expensive, but we have reduced public transport fares in Ireland, and it has been successful in increasing the number of people using public transport and that should be noted too. So Eamon Ryan's position is not your position? I have not read it, Deputy Mayor, I am sorry, I doubt you are. That is clearly what you are saying. You may not have represented it fairly.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
