Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I with to make two points on Mr. Meade's response, one of which is on communication. It was alleged by a number of people who communicated with me that on-board communication about delays, etc., was patchy at best. I appreciate that was not universally the case and that statement does not capture all trains or drivers but gaps were reported to me. I have had over communications from more than 100 people from all over the place, not just my constituents, undoubtedly because I am the Chair of this committee. I found the number of communications interesting. Perhaps Irish Rail can look into that. It is not necessary for me to get a reply today.

I asked specifically about DART+ Coastal North and how this future integration will work. Deputy Duncan Smith and I are very interested in what happens in Donabate. The Irish Rail website states that the increase in capacity envisaged means that capacity at Portmarnock, Malahide and Donabate rail stations will increase from about 23,300 to 33,800, with the number of services in the three-hour peak window set to increase from 20 to 30. That goes to the point I made at the start of this process a number of weeks ago when I was asked about this. It does not bode well for DART+ Coastal North that a change in the timetable for existing services and the addition of a couple of extra services had this level of reaction by the system and these consequences for the travelling public.

Notwithstanding Mr. Meade's opening statement, which was very helpful and lengthy and I thank him for it, I would like some reassurances. However, there are important considerations for us, as a committee, to take into on the direction we would like to see the Department of Transport, the NTA and Irish Rail take. Are sidings the answer in the short term? Can they be delivered any quicker than three-tracking or four-tracking at certain locations? Can we get over the hump that is the bottleneck at Connolly? What can Mr. Meade say to commuters coming from Dundalk, Balbriggan and places like that who do not want to go to Connolly? They want to go to Pearse or Grand Canal Dock, say, and their option is to get off a train at Connolly. If they are mobility impaired or whatever, they have a bit of journey to get to platform 6 or 7, as is usually the case, and then they have to wait in an area that is congested. That is a regular occurrence. That is morning rush hour. It is not unusual. It has been the case for a long time. I started commuting on the northern commuter line when I was 17 in order to travel to school. From my perspective, it is important that we have a plan. It is 30 years since I did that. There has not been an expansion of the line in the interim. When are we going to do that? What measures should Irish Rail, in conjunction with the other partners in this process, implement?