Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

In accordance with Directive 2004/51/EC the market for international rail freight services will be opened from 1 January 2006. This will enable any railway undertaking established in the EU, whether publicly or privately owned, to provide international freight services on the existing Irish rail network. From 1 January 2007, the domestic freight market will be opened. Under the proposed arrangements CIE, as the owner of the rail network, will be entitled to recoup the costs associated with allowing access to its network. In preparation for market opening, my Department is open to discussions with any interested operator.

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