Rail Users Ireland have called for pet owners to be charged extra for bringing their animals on board. 

The NTA has announced that pets will soon be allowed on Darts, buses, trains and the Luas. 

However, there are concerns about the extra constrain this will place on public transport. 

On Newstalk Breakfast, Mark Gleeson of Rail Users Ireland said the Republic is “out of step” with the rest of Europe by not allowing pets on board. 

“They're proposing right now, basically you can bring anything you want on board,” he explained. 

“Large animals will need to wear a muzzle - that is the only exception - and there doesn't seem to be any controls whether[it’s] peak hour [when] trains are packed or buses are packed or trams are packed.

“It seems unreasonable and not sensible to allow pets to be brought on board during the rush hour.”

Mr Gleeson added that this “that wouldn't be the most sensible thing” during rush hour. 

“I think there's an element of sense and we need to kind of consider the safety and well-being of the animal as well because if it's trapped on a train,” he continued. 

“It's overheated and full of people; we often say that the trains are in a state right now [that] they're actually not suitable for humans to travel on.

“We need to be sensible here and provide a balance.”

To address this problem, Rail Users Ireland believes that pet owners should be charged a small fee if they bring their animal on board. 

“We made an 11-point submission and one thing we identified is that most of central Europe, larger animals, a nominal charge is applied,” he suggested. 

“They are taking up space on the train; they can't sit on your lap, they can't sit in the luggage rack. 

“Public transport is grossly underfunded; if they are taking up space, that is space someone else could be standing or sitting in.”

Main image: A woman with a dog travelling on a train. Picture by: Alamy.com.