@Nomad: walking is Greta approved

@John Black: Perhaps the government should make the banks pay for it through taxation, as the banks with the blessing of the government will pay NO Corporation Tax on their profits for the next 20years.

@Donal Desmond: while I do agree they should pay corporation tax, they do pay a good chunk of tax through the banking levy and what also must be considered is that the government is a significant shareholder in these banks so they already get a significant share of their profits.

@John Black: After what the ordinary taxpayers were forced to endure after bailing them out they should repay a lot more . While free public transport is to be welcomed , ( can’t see it happening).Bigger problems are facing this country at present.

@John Black: Less cost than letting billionaires pay no tax

@Donal Desmond: I do agree they could repay more but I think a lot of people don’t factor in that when banks pay low tax and have high profits, the government is a large shareholder so the government are reaping the profits from there. Just because they pay low tax doesn’t mean they aren’t paying anything back. Paying low taxes allows the banks to grow and the governments shares become more valuable and then eventually they can cash them in also. I reiterate that I agree they should pay more but I also think people who slam them for not paying more tax don’t have the full story.

@Brian Flavin: is it not free already…who buys a ticket for the Luas?

@Donal Desmond: hiw do banks make their profit? From Joe public…so taxing the banks will just make them increase charges to pay the tax…

@John Black: Exactly, unions holding the country to ransom is a massive contributing factor to the cost of services. They also near sunk the country when refusing to give up a dime when we were bankrupt after being benchmarked against the peak earnings of the boom. Parasites.

@John Black: we don’t need to make it free we need to make it better. If we made it free people would still use there cars because public transport here is Sh(te.

@John Black: Would disagree with you. The government as a shareholder have again allowed the banks to be a law onto themselves. Selling off housing portfolios to vulture companies who pay minimum tax on their vast profits, and the suffering they can cause to families. The tracker mortgage scandal, Yet not one banker or bank was held accountable for the economic crash that brought this country to it’s knees.

@Donal Desmond: the bankers that brought this country to it’s knees all live in America, it was a global recession and Ireland being a small economy that benefits greatly from globalisation, it means Ireland gets very rich during economic prosperity and similarly is hit hard during downturns. It would not have mattered who was in government or what we did, the ship was sinking regardless. Granted, there are things the country and its bankers could’ve done better but we were going deep in a recession regardless of what we did. Nobody within Ireland brought this country to it’s knees, it was a global event, we just got hit particularly hard because we are so dependant on other countries but this is one of our strengths for the majority of the time and why we perform well for a small country.

@Sean Fahey: do fock off.

@Sean Fahey: The ordinary people and the unions did not cause the economic destruction of this country it was the banks and developers facilitated by politicians. Yet it was the ordinary citizens who were forced to repay for this gangsterism. It is estimated over €60 BILLION has already left the economy, and Billions still to be paid. The Parasites were the likes of Sean Fitzpatrick and his gang whose criminal trial collapsed because of shredded documents by the state. There are your paracites.

@SFAnkleTapper: The taxpayer was forced to bail them out, the taxpayers technically through the government are shareholders, Yet the banks through the same government go unchecked . All the systems that were supposed to be in place such as the bank regulator failed , the central Bank were part of a corrupt system that brought this country to it’s knees.

@John Black: I’m sure the golden circle, the likes of Fingelton, Fitzpatrick, the political system that allowed their gangsterism to flourish will be delighted with your version of events. Yes , their was a global economic disaster… The so called free markets were the cause. Yet it was the greed and gangsterism of the likes of Anglo Irish bank support by the likes of Ahern, Cowen, Kenny, Varedkra, and their predecessors who willing but the profits of banks and big business before the welfare of it’s citizens.

@windbag: totally agree with you. The public transport outside the 3 major hubs of Dublin, Cork, and Galway are utter sch(te. There’s a huge need to improve the local public transport in small and medium towns too. Take Ennis as an example. The estates at the furthest ends are nearly 5 km away from town centre. And no way to get there by public transport. Imagine you’re an elderly lady without a car…. you’re either constantly relying on the good will of others or you pay nearly a tenner for a taxi one way.

@John Black: ribbish. Total rubbish.

@john: Can You point out where the Free travel is?

@Gerry Caden: Stall the Bus there. People of Pension Age are awarded a free Travel Card, great yoke if you happen to reside on or very near a Main thoroughfare that has good Service,- like N3 Cavan to Dublin, a bus every hour- , great yoke , BUT if you happen to live some distance from that Road, not worth a dam . Maybe you would have to travel into Cavan town, a distance of 12 to 20 miles to gain access, or to Virginia , similar distance. How do aged People do this when they are trying to make Hospital Appointments in Dublin?? About 75% of the people entitled to Free Travel have never availed of it, even once. Just think, how many of them were ever on a Train??

@Oleksandr Savitskyy: the only problem is most of us would not be welcome to live there, unless you are a millionaire banker.

@wanted to talk science, not politics: my wife works in financial company, many of her former colleagues went to work there.

@Mickomacko: half a million residents. During the daytime the population balloons to nearly 850,000 as travellers pour in and out for work, studies, shopping and other leisure activities.

@Mickomacko: Dublin City is only just over half a million, so what’s your point?

@Ian Breathnach: Dublin city, like the city of London is a tiny administrative term. Dublin as an actual city is far bigger than “Dublin City” with a population of at least 1.3m and closer to 1.8m really.