Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

Issues arise from the accident at Malahide, where 20 m of railway line fell into the sea. I am thankful that due to the action of Keith Farrelly, the train driver who spotted the collapse of the tracks, hundreds of people did not face their death in over 3 m of water. This is a fact and everybody acknowledges it.

Were it not for the sea scouts, nobody would have walked the line at all. Evidence has shown that for ten days prior to the collapse, the line was not walked, as required, three times per week. Following the call from the sea scouts, the engineer who examined the scene looked at the track only but did not examine the structure at the base of the viaduct. The photograph the sea scouts show depicts them on the water at the base of the viaduct supports. Iarnród Éireann never examined these in the week in question, notwithstanding the fact that a track movement detection vehicle passed over the viaduct the day before the accident. I am deeply concerned about the standards in Iarnród Éireann in this regard. I challenge the Minister to challenge Iarnród Éireann on this issue. It is a very serious matter.

It is not acceptable that the accident happened in the way it did when significant issues were raised by the sea scouts. It is not acceptable that the engineer did not look at the structures underneath the track and that the track was not walked at all, as required.

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