Mr. Billy Gilpin:

I thank the committee for the invitation to attend today to discuss the impact on transport, as it relates to Iarnród Éireann, of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. Our chief executive, Jim Meade, apologises for the fact that he is unavailable to be here today. I will address our readiness for Brexit in the context of the operations of Enterprise services, and Mr. Carr will do so in the context of our role as port authority for Rosslare Europort.

The Dublin to Belfast Enterprise service is jointly operated by Iarnród Éireann and our colleagues in Translink in Northern Ireland. Since the committee last considered the impact of Brexit on transport services in 2017, we have continued to work jointly with Translink to understand the potential impact of Brexit on Enterprise services and to ensure, particularly as a no-deal Brexit has become a more likely possible outcome, that we undertake the necessary measures to mitigate that impact and to ensure we continue to offer a seamless service to Enterprise customers. This has been done with the support and guidance of officials of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and with the invaluable regulatory input and oversight of the Commission for Railway Regulation, CRR.

I am pleased to confirm to the committee that from a customer point of view, under all models of Brexit, Enterprise customers will see no change to the service we jointly provide with Translink. In terms of European Directive 2012/34, as reflected in SI 249 of 2015, the CRR is the regulatory body, licensing authority and independent monitoring body for the heavy rail sector in the State. In addition to the regulation of rail safety, its functions include the licensing of railway undertakings, more simply described as train operators, wishing to access the network. Currently, EU regulations allow Translink to operate south of the Border based on the UK’s EU membership and train drivers holding EU-compliant train driving licences. Translink is well advanced in the process of obtaining approval from the CRR to be licensed as a railway undertaking in Ireland should a no-deal Brexit materialise. If, for any reason, the licensing of Translink as a railway undertaking in Ireland is not completed by 31 October, we have developed proposals under which Enterprise services south of the Border would operate under Iarnród Éireann’s operating arrangements and licences, pending the finalisation of Translink’s status as a railway undertaking in Ireland. As detailed, this understanding and progression of the licensing arrangements could not have been achieved without the practical and solution-based approach taken by the CRR and Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and the partnership ethos between ourselves and Translink.

Regulatory matters will have been resolved in a manner that will protect the seamless service we provide with Translink, and which both companies have been proud to deliver.

Before I hand over to Mr. Carr to discuss Rosslare’s preparations, I would like briefly to reassure the committee on the issue of fuel supply in the event of a hard Brexit. Iarnród Éireann, on behalf of the three CIÉ operating companies, keeps defined minimum fuel supply levels, as provided for under the National Oil Reserves Agency standards, as part of the State’s fuel security measures. This equates to approximately two months' supply for the operation of all rail and bus services across the CIÉ group. We currently hold in excess of this level, with approximately three months' supply, and intend to increase these levels further to ensure security of fuel supply for rail and bus services as contingency for any issues that could arise in the early weeks of Brexit.