'We need it now' - 13 year old boy tells Oireachtas committee to get more trains running

A 13 year old boy from Mayo has told an Oireachtas committee to get more trains running across Ireland. 

David made the comments at the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action, alongside five other children - Niamh, Elsie, Oisín, Eleanor and Conor, who range in age from age 9 to 16 - from the Children and Young People's Assembly on Biodiversity Loss. 

Senators and TDs listened as the children explained their views on climate change and biodiversity loss. 

According to David, there needs to be "more emphasis" on trains and fostering a better public transport system both in cities and rural areas. 

He said, "[Public transport] is good but it could be so much better. If you look at [sic] Italy, England and France, they all have metros in their large cities. We don't. 

"Yes, we do have the Luas in Dublin but it's only in Dublin and it's slow and unreliable. It's not great." 

"We really need to have more trains up and running. And I know there are plans for it can't be planning for the next ten years. 

"We need it now." 

David also acknowledged that although cars are responsible for high emissions, they cannot be done away with completely. 

He said, "Buses are great but they can only hold so many people and they're not going to be everywhere. Some places in rural areas are so disconnected from towns and where people go to school. It's not possible for these people to cycle to school. 

"Even when I go to school I have to travel in my parents car from my house to town and then from town I have to get a bus [because of] where my secondary school is and where we live as well, we live right on the coast." 

He continued: "We still have to keep cars, and maybe they can be electric, but we have to keep cars for certain people. 

"Public transport is important and needs to be improved but it won't help everyone get everywhere." 

During the committee meeting, he also recommended a focus on conserving biodiversity. 

He said, "The media generally focuses more on climate change and global warming and not as much about biodiversity. 

"It can happen in your back garden, you can see if there are less bees or if you're by the coast, less of a certain type of fish." 

You can watch the full committee meeting here.