Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this Topical Issue which I tabled with my colleagues, Deputies Simon Harris and Terence Flanagan. As Deputy Harris stated, this has become something of a saga in recent weeks. When Irish Rail announced the changes at the outset some months ago it was with the intention of saving money and shortening the carriages during what were termed off-peak times rather than cut down on the frequency of the service. That seemed absolutely sensible.

We do not seem to be able to get a straight answer on the matter but it seems the company did not assess what constituted peak times when it was setting out the new arrangements. Furthermore, any efforts to address that seem to have been met with resistance. It appears some form of industrial dispute is ongoing and this is compounding the problem.

The fact is that overcrowding is now regularly occurring and causing significant inconvenience for commuters. Previously, Irish Rail undertook to monitor the changes to ensure this sort of congestion did not arise. On one or two days the overhead lines have been inactive and that probably would have occurred anyway but it is happening every day and has happened every day for the past two weeks. The sight of four carriages and sometimes two carriages now when six and eight carriages were the norm is perplexing. This is a public service which has been very efficient and proven to alleviate traffic. It has also proven to be a reliable service and has improved over the years, but these difficulties are undermining it.

While the principle of not being obliged to use full-length trains to save energy off-peak is good, Irish Rail should now re-evaluate the decision. It should consult the organisations representing all the staff and ensure this can be done in a way that saves the money and improves the service.

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