Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the representatives for their comprehensive overview and stating their ambitions for the future. The service has improved significantly. I use it and must say the staff are exceptionally good. They are always courteous and friendly and that is obviously important.

I have two questions. I am going to be parochial on this one. What is the position, what money has Iarnród Éireann expended and what does it intend to spend on the Nenagh to Ballybrophy line? That is a very underutilised line. This is because the timetabling is not conducive to people travelling on the line, especially to work. It is also very slow. Then there is the frequency of service. Down the years, it has always been said this service was not being used and for that reason there was not investment on it. It was not being used because it was not attractive to the commuter. We have put a lot of pressure on. The representatives have been forthcoming about what they can do. Will they outline to me what they have done and propose to do to make this line more attractive and make it easier for people to access their destination?

On the other side of that line, there is a need for a commuter service between Nenagh and Limerick. Many people are travelling from Limerick out to Nenagh on a daily basis. Many of them have told me they would use a service if one was available. Nenagh is a satellite town to Limerick and with its proximity to the University of Limerick there is a big demand there. Will the representatives tell me what proposals Iarnród Éireann has on that? How could they improve it and what kind of a timeframe are we talking about?

How is Iarnród Éireann is catering for people with disabilities? What improvements has it made? Yesterday we had a debate in the Dáil on people with disabilities and how difficult they are finding it to access public transport. The representative might outline what improvements have been made there and what its plans are to enhance the service for those with a disability.

On the PSO and the overall financial position of the company, its trading has obviously been severely impacted by Covid. Will the representative give us an overview of the company's current financial position? What do they expect the outturn to be for the year? What impact will the Government's decision to reduce fares have on it? I presume there is an arrangement in place whereby the company recoups that money from the Exchequer. What kind of cost is put on that particular measure from Iarnród Éireann's perspective?