Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9, 15, 19, 25, 39 and 98 together.

The licensing and allocation of track access for rail operations are governed by two EU directives which have been transposed into Irish law: SI 537 of 2003, the European Communities (Licensing of Railway Undertakings) Regulations 2003 which transpose into Irish law EU Directive 2001/13 establishing a mechanism whereby an operator can apply for a licence to operate as a railway undertaking; and SI 643 of 2004, the European Communities (Allocation of Railway Infrastructure Capacity and the Levying of Charges for the use of Railway Infrastructure and Safety Certification) Regulations 2004 which transpose into Irish law EU Directive 2001/14 providing for the allocation and charges for track access.

These regulations establish a fair and transparent system for granting licences and allocating track capacity and set out the criteria to be considered in awarding a licence and in granting track access. These regulations are to be used where member states decide to open their market. However they do not create an obligation on member states to liberalise services by having more than one railway operator.

Directive 2004/51/EC on the development of the Community's railways creates an obligation on member states to open their rail freight markets to competition from 1 January 2006 in the case of international freight and from 1 January 2007 for domestic freight operations. Significant progress has been made on the transposition of this directive and it will be finalised in the coming weeks.

As Minister, I am the regulator and I am responsible for granting licences, while Iarnród Éireann, as the operator of the railway infrastructure, is the infrastructure manager and is responsible for the allocation of track capacity. The provisions of the directive will guide me in considering applications for licences. An intending freight operator dissatisfied with the terms and conditions offered by Iarnród Éireann for access to the rail network has a right of appeal to me as the regulator.

While no formal applications have been received for a railway undertaking licence or track access, my Department has received a communication from an operator stating its intention to establish itself as a freight operator. My Department has been in touch with the operator and a formal application is expected in the new year.

I welcome the development of a liberalised rail freight market, as the emergence of alternative fright providers has the potential to increase capacity and choice for freight users. It will also increase choice for Irish exporters moving goods by rail within the rest of the European Union.

With regard to the subsidisation of rail freight, as I said in reply to Question No. 5, my policy priority remains that additional Exchequer funding should be focused on the expansion of passenger services. However, I am open to considering proposals from interested parties on innovative or new approaches to rail freight where a tangible return on Exchequer investment can be demonstrated and which compares favourably with investment in passenger services.

Iarnród Éireann's decision to stop proving a single unit container service was a business decision made by the company. Container freight levels had dropped to about 35 containers a day when the service ceased in July of this year. Container freight traffic is only commercially viable on a large scale. Iarnród Éireann estimates that 18 40-foot containers are needed for a commercially viable train load. The company would welcome proposals for full train load container freight services from any quarter.

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