Debate contribution: All-island Rail Fares

Debate contribution by Mr Gerry Carroll on 3 December 2024.

MLA

Mr Gerry Carroll

Party at the time

People Before Profit Alliance

Date

3 December 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

All-island Rail Fares

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4691343

Read the official Assembly record

Text

In April 2022, the Irish Government cut public transport fares by 20% across the board in recognition of the cost-of-living crisis, and that included tickets for Enterprise journeys that originated in the South. In the North, Translink fares were frozen between 2019 and 2023, but fares have been hiked again, and more and more people are finding travel by bus and rail unaffordable and inaccessible. We need to remove those barriers immediately. During the debate, we heard that rail passengers travelling from Newry to Belfast are paying more than double the price of a ticket from Dundalk to the same destination, even though the journey from Newry is shorter. It beggars belief. The Infrastructure Minister said that the price difference is primarily due to the greater level of subsidy provided to Irish Rail by the Dublin Government. The obvious question to raise is this: why is the same level of investment not being provided by Translink? What is the point in spending over £350 million on a brand-new shiny centre, with £11 million wasted on consultation fees for it, if people cannot afford or are priced out of getting on trains? Train travel is the safest and cleanest, and it could be the cheapest, form of travel for everyone. We also have to recognise that we did not get to where we are now by accident. We got here as a result of government policy that was designed to thwart public transport along the policy of partition and to decimate border communities in the process. It is quite remarkable, if you think about it. Sixty or 70 years ago, you could travel by train from Belfast to Ballycastle and move from Derry to remote Gweedore by rail, but now, Donegal and much of the north-west is a wasteland when it comes to rail. Those areas were previously busting with steel lines, carrying cargo and people. We have to mention that the Beeching report also sped up the decimation of rail. It was stated, literal government policy to roll back on the availability of rail lines. Today, we are still dealing with the after-effects of that in Ireland, but so too are many, many towns and cities in Britain. The Government and their functionaries put a wager on the expansion of cars, and we are breathing the polluted air as a result of those aggressive and wrong decisions. It is totally unacceptable that we live on a small island, yet there are swathes of areas without proper access to rail and public transport. When car traffic piles up, as it did recently in Belfast city centre, rather than introduce more frequent buses and trains etc to get people out of their cars, we see DFI revert to type by allowing more cars to funnel into the city centre. That should be used as an opportunity to break old habits and patterns, not to repeat them. The volume of cars in our society today is having a harsh impact on not only our health but our roads, with repeated journeys, heavy traffic and wear and tear. It is questionable whether that is a wise use of public money year after year. Investing more in public transport is surely the better way. I also want to mention electric vehicles, and this is from somebody who was almost a convert to them. They are very carbon-intensive in extracting the resources that make up the batteries for them. They raise ethical questions about people in the Global South reshaping their communities and countries towards the expansion of the West and the economic model here as well. How Governments spend money reflects their priorities. Investing in roads at the expense of public transport means that we value unsustainable, polluting travel by private car above free and frequent public transport. We should also broaden the SmartPass criteria to include free travel for people with disabilities — I will tackle the sort of "Bah humbug!" points that the Member who spoke earlier made — students and asylum seekers, with a view to making public transport free for all.

I am happy to give way on that point if the Member wants to come in.

I thank the Member. Our position is that the Government should be investing in widening the SmartPass criteria, reducing fares and moving towards free transport. I will come on to how that should be funded in a second. The Minister said in September that, due to funding pressures, he will not be taking forward any of the options, which would increase the costs of the SmartPass scheme. In February, he said that he had no plans to provide free public transport to everyone. Those are both unfortunate and disappointing positions and statements. The cost of implementing the recommendations of the all-island strategic rail review is around £30 billion, but the benefits to society include reduced journey times, road decongestion, better health and a reduction in greenhouse gases. You cannot put a price on those. Not only is investment in rail economically sound but it is urgently needed in order to meet our net zero obligations. We need to reach net zero before 2050, and there is an urgency to reach it by 2030, if we are being realistic. Look at Valencia, where the warmer temperatures and the atmosphere mixing with warmer and rising sea levels caused a whirlwind storm, terrible weather patterns and death and destruction across the region. We need to put more pressure on the likely incoming coalition Government, who have the biggest surplus in the history of the Southern state. This should be a time to push them for proper investment in free transport and rail. There is a €13 billion tax windfall from Apple as well. If we want to triple the number of people who use the rail system across Ireland, we need to make fares consistent across the island, with the aim of making public transport free for everyone. It is not rocket science. We have already cracked it —.

Thank you.

1,004 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 01:20 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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