Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State with responsibility for public transport, Deputy Alan Kelly, for being in the House this evening to take this important debate. Irish Rail stated that it needed to save money on energy costs and therefore it intended to reduce the capacity of DART trains at off-peak times. Unfortunately for commuters in Greystones and Bray and those along the DART line, the company has not kept to that commitment. We have seen commuter chaos in Greystones and Bray as Irish Rail reduces capacity at busy peak times.

The Minister of State is not responsible for minding Irish Rail on a day-to-day basis but I call on him to hear our concerns and take note of these problems. I also call on the Minister of State to ask Irish Rail to fulfil its commitments, adhere to some quality of service for commuters, who are already paying through the nose for the service, and to adhere to safety standards.

I will use the brief time available to me to put on the record excerpts from a diary I have received from a constituent who has been using the DART service. On 26 September, the constituent got the 6.30 p.m. DART train from Pearse Street station to Greystones, which was a four-carriage train. People were left on the platform as they could not board the train due to overcrowding. On 30 September on the same service, the 6.30 p.m. train from Pearse Street station to Greystones, again it was a four-carriage train and people were left on the platform. On 1 October in the opposite direction, the 7 a.m. DART train from Greystones to Malahide had four carriages and there was not enough capacity. On 2 October in the case of the 7 a.m. Greystones to Malahide train, on arrival passengers were told the train had been cancelled due to a problem with overhead lines. Then they were told to change platform and take the Rosslare train to Dublin. Only five minutes later they were told to get off the Rosslare train because all trains between Bray and Greystones were cancelled due to a problem with overhead lines. The commuters were told to use Dublin Bus services instead. On 14 October due to a DART dispute there were two-carriage trains. The diary goes on and on up to yesterday, when the DART train was delayed by eight minutes up to 10 a.m. The chaos is clear.

We need people in Greystones and Bray to use the DART service. It has been remarkably successful. People campaigned hard for the service. However, at the moment Irish Rail must get a grip on this. It should stop telling us one thing in its press releases and doing another in reality. The company must ensure that there is proper capacity and safety standards at peak times.

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