Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

The Minister claims the heavy rail system is being revitalised and modernised. I doubt if those rail passengers who were stuck outside Mullingar for two hours last Sunday would agree. Nor would those who are obliged to stand regularly on the same Sligo service at least as far as Carrick-on-Shannon and sometimes as far as Sligo.

One of my main concerns in tabling this question is the operational difficulties that have arisen in regard to the new Cork trains. Their introduction was promised many times in recent years but when they were finally put in service, they broke down one after the other. I do not know the reason for this because the Minister will not answer questions about it in the House. The public has a right to know what the problem is because taxpayers have made a major contribution to their purchase. We were also promised an early service on the Cork line but there is no sign of that happening.

The breakdowns on the service are so regular that CIE was obliged to post an apology on its website. Some of these breakdowns last for hours, with people being moved from one train to another without being given any information. In one instance, passengers were moved successively onto four different trains, none of which would start. It is absolutely outrageous that such major investment has taken place but we are given no explanation for the operational difficulties.

The Government also undertook to refurbish 76 DART carriages and a contract for this purpose was signed in 2004. A problem became evident in 2005, however, and only four of them have been refurbished to date. The Minister told me in response to a parliamentary question that this delay has incurred no financial loss for the taxpayer. There is no doubt taxpayers are losing out, however, because the extra capacity that was promised has not been delivered. Passengers are paying high fares to stand in trains which are not running at either the capacity or frequency that was promised.

What is the problem with the new Cork trains and why is the early service that was promised several years ago not in place?

See this speech in context