Mr. Barry Kenny:

I thank the committee for the invitation to attend today to discuss the topic of the impact on transport of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union as it relates to Iarnród Éireann. Our chief executive, Mr. David Franks, apologises that he is unavailable to be here today.

The chief executive of the NTA has detailed the regulatory environment for cross-Border transport services, including for the Belfast-Dublin Enterprise service. As detailed, Iarnród Éireann operates the Enterprise on a joint-basis with Translink, Northern Ireland Railways, and the agreements between the two companies are expected to be unaffected by Brexit. European regulations for passenger rights for international services, EC 1371/2007, govern Enterprise services under a number of categories, including compensation for delays, information, sales channels and assistance. As the Enterprise passenger charter agreed between the two companies predates these regulations, and the current charter exceeds the minimum standards set out in EC 1371/2007, customers will be unaffected should Brexit impact on the applicability of these standards. However, there exists the potential for very real and negative impacts on the operations and future of the Enterprise subject to the model of Brexit the UK chooses to pursue. As detailed by Ms Graham, a hard border impacts on journey time and service reliability negatively. As well as the weekend, leisure or business traveller or tourist, this impacts also on daily commuters. Iarnród Éireann operates a daily commuter service from Newry to Dublin, in addition to the Enterprise service, and demand for such cross-Border travel has increased in recent years.

Looking at hard border arrangements internationally is instructive. At the EU frontier between Bulgaria and Turkey, passengers are required to exit the train and visit the passport office for entry into Bulgaria and vice versa. Passport control is then conducted on board the train, following which there is a customs inspection. Russia to Finland sees passport control and custom checks carried out while the train is moving, although the return leg sees the train stop at the Finnish passport control and customs station. Passengers cannot leave the train until they have cleared customs. In North America, Amtrak services which cross the US-Canadian border are subject to inspection by US and Canadian law enforcement officials. Delays can occur due to customs and immigration procedures. Inevitably, therefore, a hard border will lead to a worsening in journey time, service uncertainty and restrictions which will impact on cross-Border travel and commuting and the all-island economy. There is also the potential for a requirement for station modifications to accommodate any customs or immigration activity.

A second consideration is the ambition of Iarnród Éireann and Translink to continue to improve the Enterprise service and the role European Union funding could potentially play. The decision in the 1990s to invest in the Enterprise service by both Governments, and supported generously by the European Union, predated the Good Friday Agreement, but represented a statement of intent by the EU and Irish and UK Governments in the strengthening of cross-Border links. Over the past two years, the mid-life refurbishment of the original Enterprise fleet and the upgrade of the Boyne Viaduct in Drogheda were both financed through the European Union’s INTERREG IVA programme, which was managed by the Special EU Programmes Body, SEUPB, with support from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, DTTAS, in Ireland and Northern Ireland’s Department for Regional Development. Both Iarnród Éireann and Translink have ambitions to enhance the Enterprise service further, through fleet expansion to increase the service from every two hours to hourly, and by investing in infrastructure to improve journey times. The EU’s INTERREG and PEACE funds have supported cross-Border programmes in the past and it was anticipated that support would be sought from the EU for further enhancement of the Enterprise. While a hard border does not automatically imply that the UK could not continue to support such programmes, it would be complacent not to be aware of, and to alert the committee to, the potential risk to our ambitions for the Enterprise.

While there will be one land border between the EU and the UK post-Brexit, there will of course be two railway land borders, with the Channel Tunnel also providing a land link. At a European level, there are also technical considerations on interoperability, market access and technical standards, as well as passenger rights and funding, governed by EU regulations. We have liaised, and will continue to do so, with European colleagues to understand and address areas of common concern as the model of Brexit emerges.

I would also draw the committee’s attention to the fact that Iarnród Éireann is the port authority for Rosslare Europort. Rosslare Europort is the closest point from the southern part of Ireland to the UK and the European Mainland. The port is a hub for all the major RORO passenger and freight services operating in the southern Irish Sea and continental routes. Rosslare Europort is Ireland’s second busiest in terms of ship visits and unitised freight and is designated as one of only five ports of national significance in the national ports policy. A hard Brexit will impact on the operation of the port. It is likely that dwell times in ports will be longer for both passenger and freight traffic. We expect we will need to redesign port layout and traffic flows to deal with longer queues. For example, the distance between the berth and the immigration and customs post for incoming traffic is crucial. It is likely they will have to be moved further away so that traffic backed up onto the ship does not prevent us from loading the ship as quickly as possible to facilitate a quick turnaround for shipping customers. Funding is essential for any physical changes. There is concern that under current TEN-T designations, Rosslare Europort may not qualify for infrastructure funding. We would hope that given the unique circumstances arising from Brexit provision could be made to support affected European ports requiring modifications, including Rosslare. There is also the potential for an impact on traffic flows, with an increase in freight movements direct to-from continental Europe, rather than via the UK land bridge. This may result in changes to ferry service patterns to-from Rosslare Europort and we would work with our ferry customers to provide for this.

My presentation is a brief overview of the issues we in Iarnród Éireann are facing and considering in the context of Brexit and I welcome any queries members have on these matters.