Government has failed on public transport, says Smith

Labour TD Duncan Smith has raised concerns over Dublin’s public transport system suffering from over-capacity issues since the lifting of pandemic-era restrictions.

In a Dáil debate, Smith said “we have packed buses, packed train carriages, chronic delays and congestion and poor driver behaviour on the road as a result.”

“Since the return of full-capacity public transport routes after Covid-19 we have seen growing demand for public transport, but the Government is failing those who want to choose the sustainable option,” he said.

Smith, who also serves as the Labour spokesperson on Transport, said NTA’s statistics from September recorded a 10% growth in people using bus services with 900,000 people availing of bus routes in Dublin.

The Northside TD asserted that Government has “failed” on public transport, and has called for more funding of public transport.

Citing figures from the Exchequer, Smith noted that the Department of Transport has failed to spend €209 million in approved capital expenditure up until the end of October.

He said that the recent Budget committed for projects has not kept up with inflation as well as Ireland’s growing population and economy.

“The Government is dragging its heels on delivering the type of transport infrastructure projects we need by failing to commit enough spending and the hole in the accounts will build year on year if this is not addressed.”

“It will affect critical transport projects such as MetroLink, which my constituents have been waiting decades for, not to mention the millions of passengers using Dublin Airport.”

Defending Government’s record on the issue, Minister for Finance Michael McGrath said there was an overall allocation of over €3.5 billion to the Department of Transport for the coming year—an increase of €90 million from 2023.

McGrath touted the coalition’s 20% reduction in average public transport fares and a 50% reduction for younger passengers, which has contributed to the significant uptick in public transport usage.

McGrath said that while there were challenges caused by inflation, he said his department was prepared to increase the public capital program, tapping into the windfall corporation tax receipts of €2.25 billion.

“I am happy to defend the Government’s record on investment in all forms of transport across the country over the last number of years, that is evident for anyone to see when looking at the investment in active travel, the expansion of public transport services and the investment in our road network to name a few examples.”

“We are investing €360 million a year in active travel and I think all of us as constituency Teachtaí Dála have seen examples of fantastic greenway projects, improved pedestrian facilities, cycling facilities and infrastructure in our communities which have given a huge tourism boost as well and enhanced the leisure amenities available in communities throughout the country.”

McGrath added that a wide range of “major” public transport projects are in the process of moving through the planning system, and said that “the need is clear” to improve transport around Dublin and Ireland as a whole.

While Smith said the fare reduction is “welcome,” he said the scheme is “useless” if public transport does not exist or is bringing people on a route that is already congested.

“Giving increased funding to the Department of Transport when it is not spending the money it already has is more or less pointless,” he remarked.

Smith asked McGrath about Government’s commitment towards funding major transport projects, saying “the Minister says the Government is committed to MetroLink. Is it going to commit the funding to deliver MetroLink, the funding to deliver BusConnects and the funding to deliver the Luas connections in Dublin?”

McGrath said Government was “fully behind the public transport projects that are a fundamental part of the NDP.”

“Of course, we acknowledge the impact of inflation in recent years. We have all seen the inflation in tender prices and we are well aware of the impact of the war in Ukraine on inflation in the cost of construction materials, and that has had an impact.”

The decision to use windfall corporation tax receipts to fund projects, according to McGrath, is proof that Government is committed to developing infrastructure in Ireland.

“The Government is fully committed to the projects the Deputy has highlighted and looks forward to implementing them as soon as they are fully approved and have gone through the necessary procurement processes.”