Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Moran for his address. Once again, it highlights the difficulties he faces. I am a bit perplexed that Irish Rail has carried out so much work on all the railway stations and platforms and now finds that Mr. Moran has obviously seen a glitch in its planning of the detail of the platforms such that it cannot seem to fit his requirements. Mr. Moran can elaborate on that in a few minutes. It seems Irish Rail has spent millions over the past ten, 15 or 20 years on platforms but Mr. Moran is saying there is an issue regarding his requirements as a user.

Regarding Mr. Moran arriving in Bray with no staff member waiting to assist him, this is happening far too often.

Mr. Moran said that the staff sometimes forget he is on board. A system must be put in place that imposes a penalty if that happens. People can apologise in a letter and so on but there has to be some penalty imposed. I understand staff members are extremely good and go beyond the call of duty but in some cases, management and staff are not delivering on the requirements the witnesses need. That is not good enough.

Mr. Moran referred to isolated incidents. He seems to have been involved in many isolated incidents, which I find humorous but worrying also. I note that on three occasions since last August he has requested a meeting with the chief executive officer, CEO, of Irish Rail. I know Barry Kenny but Mr. Moran wishes to meet the CEO of Irish Rail and I believe the committee should request that such a meeting take place.

I thank the witnesses for their submission. I will not thank them for their patience because they have run out of patience and this issue is enduring. They say they are a voice for other people, which is a laudable quality. I hope we can get this matter sorted out.