Mr. Philip Gaffney:

Deputy Harrington asked about options for closure. We are carrying out a very detailed review, line by line, and will have a range of options. Closure of a line is the absolute last option. We have nothing of that kind on the table. We are considering reducing services if the public service obligation, PSO, does not match what is required. I have said, and it has been agreed, that it would be done in an integrated way, particularly with Bus Éireann. If a gap is created, we should work with our colleagues in Bus Éireann to try to improve that. There is nothing on the table regarding any options for closure, but if we must proceed to considering adjustments, we should do so in an integrated way.

Deputies Harrington and Griffin mentioned decreasing fares. We are not in a position to consider reducing our revenue. Total revenue is a combination of volume and price and we are very actively trying to get that balance right. There is quite a difference between the DART and commuter lines and inter-city services. The DART and commuter line fares are relatively inflexible. Many people using them have significant benefits arising from the tax saver option. We have been very aggressive in setting fares for inter-city services. The €9.99 promotion is a good example. One area of investment is the customer first programme which will give us much greater ability to adjust fares to meet demand and to be more flexible in how we price our fares, which will answer some of Deputy Griffin’s questions.

While it is of no comfort to those who have to shell out the money, our fares are very low by European standards. When one compares similar journeys, for example, Drogheda to Dublin and Luton to London, our fare is one-third of the UK fare, when one takes tax saver into account. We could be much smarter about how we structure our fares. The customer first programme will give us more tools to do that.

Industrial relations are not particularly challenging. In my time as chairman we have had a very committed workforce which generally enjoys coming to work every day and doing its best for the company. It has taken a hit on take-home pay, as has management. In all our discussions with staff and unions we have insisted, and I encourage it at board level, through the work of directors, that we continue the dialogue and that we never stop talking. We have a cost containment committee chaired by the chief executive, and the unions are members of that. That committee examines every single line of expenditure, except payroll.

We analyse every major incident that happens overseas, such as the Spanish derailment, get what information we can and consider it in respect of Iarnród Éireann. We require investment. A programme has been identified for automatic train protection, which would have prevented that accident. A pilot scheme for that will take place later this year. This is one of the areas of capital funding which I hope will come through in the years to come.

We treat special events as windfall, and they are not, thank God, factored into our budget. I thank the Deputy for his comments on our response, which was entirely appropriate to the cancelled concerts and the refund.

We have reduced inter-city journey times and are trying to reduce them further. We hope that within this year we will be able to introduce at least one express train, a morning train from Cork to Heuston which will do the journey in two hours. We do not require any investment in trains or signalling, but to sustain a two-hour journey, including the current stopping pattern, would require investment in track to get it up to the level required for higher speeds.