Mr. Padraic Moran:

Regarding the lifts not working, members would be familiar with the boards one sees when one goes into a station that show the time of the next train to Howth or wherever else. They used to state, "The lift at such and such a station is out of order". It was Mr. Kenny's considered opinion that this was negative publicity, so such information was removed from the boards. I would much rather know I can get off at a certain station than have an article in the Irish Independentbecause the former would be much better than being splashed all over the Irish Independent. That is how that information was portrayed and that is why it has been taken down.

Regarding the mobile ramps, in theory it would be helpful if someone who is trained could be present at stations. The other issue Irish Rail now faces with the de-manning of stations is that it must lock the ramps into position because in certain stations there is antisocial behaviour and the ramps were being thrown down onto the tracks. Therefore, one needs a carriage key to open the ramp. In theory, the presence of trained people at stations is a good idea, but in practice I do not know whether it would work because the ramps need to be locked for safety concerns. If a ramp falls on the track, it stops the DART moving. It is a question of whether Irish Rail can do this and provide insurance for someone else to do it. However, why should an ordinary member of the public have to do a job that people in Irish Rail are paid to do? That is what they are there for. What I find interesting is that in Irish Rail's annual report in 2016, in one of the first lines on page 1, it was stated the company was looking to improve services for all its passengers. I would ask for which section of passengers it is looking to improve services. It is not improving services for people with disabilities.

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