Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I apologise. I have a note on the issue which might have been circulated to the Deputy that I will read out because we anticipate the issue will be addressed.

As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for policy and the funding of public transport. I am not involved in the issue the Deputy addressed, which is the day-to-day operations of public transport, but I will try to reassure him in that regard. Both the NTA and TII have statutory responsibility for the provision and oversight of Luas services, while the action services are operated by a private company, Transdev, with which the Deputy is familiar.

The issue of driver training for services on the new cross-city line is a matter for Transdev. The Commission for Railway Regulation, CRR, is the independent regulatory agency charged with oversight of the safety of all railway activities in the State. The regulatory process operates independently of the Minister and the Department. The CRR as safety regulator ensures that a safety management system is in place for the operation of Luas cross-city. The role of the CRR is to assess safety management systems to ensure they conform to all requirements prior to awarding safety authorisation or safety certificates and the assessment of new or significantly altered railway infrastructure and rolling stock to ensure safety compliance prior to placing in service. It has the necessary powers to deal with any risk to safety that may arise.

I made inquiries on the issue this morning because it was anticipated that a Deputy would raise it. The Department is utterly confident that there are no safety issues that will in any way delay the launch of Luas cross-city on 9 December.