Ms Mary Considine:

I thank the committee very much for its invitation to attend today to discuss the items outlined on the agenda. It is a timely opportunity, as this is Iarnród Éireann’s first official engagement with the committee since the Dáil and Seanad elections, and my first engagement with it as chief executive, having taken up the role this week. I know from my predecessor, Jim Meade, the really positive and constructive engagement the organisation has had with the committee and its members in the past, and the support we have received for our ambitions for Irish Rail to develop and grow capacity.

I give the committee my personal commitment that as a company we will continue to engage with it and all Members of the Oireachtas to detail our plans and ambitions, and to engage with it on its priorities and queries and those of our customers, who are the members' constituents, as we work together to ensure that we develop rail to be the backbone of Ireland’s sustainable transport network.

In the document we have submitted, we have included a graphic depicting the activity in Iarnród Éireann. The graphic shows that at present we are carrying over 1 million passengers a week. Last year was a record year for Iarnród Éireann as we carried 50.7 million passengers. This year, we will surpass this and we expect to have carried approximately 55 million passengers by the end of the year.

We will record our highest ever demand across all services - intercity, DART and commuter - with the full-year benefit of the introduction of 41 new intercity railcar carriages to our fleet and service expansion on many of the really popular routes, including Waterford, Galway, Cobh, Midleton and the hourly Belfast service we operate with our colleagues in Translink.

The continued growth in demand demonstrates how crucial our investment is in a range of programmes, such as DART+, the Cork area commuter rail programme, Galway Ceannt and Oranmore stations and other national and regional projects, to build the capacity of our network and frequency of our services. This investment will facilitate wider national strategic imperatives, including unlocking potential for greater housing development along major transport corridors, addressing the needs of the climate action plan and aligning with the national planning framework, NPF.

It is within this context that the all-island strategic rail review, AISRR, has been developed by the Department of Transport and Northern Ireland's Department for Infrastructure. The AISRR is a strategic, ambitious framework to develop rail for the long-term requirements of the country, the environment and the economy. It is the first time such a framework has been developed by the State on an all-island basis and taking a strategic outlook over a 25-year period.

Today's rail network began to be constructed more than 190 years ago. It is an incredibly strategic asset for the country that must be planned for beyond short-term economic cycles. What we build today, and what is outlined in the review, will benefit us for centuries through three key areas. First is balanced regional development, aligning with the national planning framework. The second is about unlocking land for housing through transport-oriented development and facilitating sustainable development that will be supported through the planning system. The third area is about transforming the capacity of our rail network for passenger and freight services, allowing people and goods to travel and be transported in a more sustainable manner.

The strategy will deliver a more extensive and resilient network, with new rail routes and double-tracking and four-tracking of key locations, to enable improved speeds and a higher frequency of services. We will move from 2025 levels today of approximately 55 million journeys to 180 million journeys per annum by the end of the strategy. The network interventions that are planned, as outlined in my statement, will deliver faster and more frequent services to make rail the mode of choice for interurban rail travel. An important point is that this will really support and underpin the sustainability strategy through decarbonisation of rail, electrification of the core lines and emerging fuel options on other lines, including battery-electric, hydrogen and biofuels.

We are already working to progress the strategy. The pipeline of projects leading from the national development plan to the AISRR is being confirmed. We are working with the Department of Transport to identify priority projects to support the delivery of the AISRR vision. We are also working closely with our colleagues in Translink and their counterparts in the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland to harness and maximise the all-island benefits from the strategy. Again, this will build on existing improvements, with the shared island fund supporting the hourly service introduced last October. We are progressing the tender process for the new Enterprise fleet, which, subject to funding approval, we hope to order by the end of this year for delivery by 2029.

I know the committee is keen to discuss the issue of disability and accessibility. Core to our current and future investment programmes is to ensure that all who want to use our services can do so. To that end, supported by the National Transport Authority and working with our disability users group for direct input and guidance from the planning stage, all elements of our investment programme have, as a priority, accessibility for persons with reduced mobility. Additionally, we are investing in training and resources to ensure our people have the insight and tools to deliver the best possible service to customers who require assistance.

I will outline some of the measures we are putting in place. We have customer service officers on all our intercity trains who ensure assistance is available to customers. The new DART+ fleet has a retractable step at every door to address the gap between train and platform, which will facilitate independent access for many customers with disabilities. A total of 185 carriages are on order, with further orders planned for the DART+ programme. The requirement to support independent access will be incorporated in all future fleet orders by the company, including the new Enterprise fleet. Platform modification works will take place at 13 stations to support independent access at stations served by the DART+ fleet. As we work towards independent access network-wide, a reduced advised notice period for assistance of one hour has been implemented at 15 major stations. That measure alone addresses some 60% of all assistance requests we receive. There is continuing investment in stations with one or more inaccessible platforms, introducing new bridges with lifts to ensure all platforms are accessible. Works are being completed this year at stations to include Rathmore, Maynooth, Athy and Rathdrum, with planning under way for Boyle, Claremorris, Dromod, Longford, Rushbrooke and Wicklow stations. Preplanning has already commenced for a further 15 stations. The big lift programme saw investment in existing lifts at 52 stations across the network between 2020 and 2024, significantly improving lift reliability. The LiftCall system is also in place at most station lifts, ensuring live monitored access and preventing vandalism and antisocial behaviour. Three stations - Connolly, Heuston and Limerick Colbert - have been equipped with changing places welfare facilities.

In addition, we are engaging with representative bodies and enhancing training for rail staff to ensure a better understanding of the needs of our customers with disabilities, including hidden disabilities, and to improve customer service for all who travel by train. There are many such initiatives in place. All our customer-facing colleagues are receiving new accessibility training with Vision Ireland through its Wayfinding Centre. That training has been configured with the use of a disused DART carriage provided by us to support practical training development, delivered in collaboration with users of public transport who have disabilities. Sign language training has commenced with our on-board customer service staff. Other initiatives such as dementia awareness training and epilepsy training are being rolled out to ensure our staff are trained to work with people with those disabilities. More than 5,000 sensory packs have been distributed to customers with additional needs to facilitate a more comfortable journey. Training on a new just a minute, JAM, card initiative has been provided to 1,600 of our front-facing staff. We have also introduced wayfinding solutions to improve the customer experience for customers with a disability.

The committee also asked us to address the matter of catering on our services. Like all our customers, we wish to see catering services restored, particularly across our intercity network. We are working to resolve the issues and expand the service beyond the current offering of Dublin to Cork and Dublin to Belfast. I will give the committee a bit of background on the issue. Back in 2020, with the emergence of Covid-19, restrictions were put in place that meant we were not permitted to provide catering on trains for a two-year period. Upon the easing of those restrictions, in May 2022, our then supplier, Rail Gourmet, withdrew from the contract. There followed an extensive market engagement, both in respect of interim service provision and, more recently, by way of a national tender process. Disappointingly, the results mean we are looking at a significant cost to the Exchequer of providing that service. Given the funding constraint represented by the amount we currently receive under our public service obligation, PSO, from the National Transport Authority, we are only in a position to provide two services. One is on the Dublin to Cork route, which also covers some services for passengers changing at Mallow for Kerry and those changing at Limerick Junction for Limerick.

They resumed in March 2023. We also have the Translink service to Belfast provided by the Enterprise fleet.

From our perspective, we know that it is the customer expectation to have catering, particularly on those longer distance services. I have asked our train operations and procurement colleagues to re-engage with the existing providers in the market, albeit they are limited in number, and with those that are not currently in the market. We are asking potential suppliers to be creative and innovative in identifying solutions that will allow us to expand our catering offering in a cost-effective manner. Separately, we will continue to work with our CIÉ group property to enhance in-station retail facilities. That ranges from high-street brands in the bigger stations to give a choice of offerings to mobile units in the smaller stations around the country.

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach and committees members for their attention. I am more than happy to take any answers that they may have.