Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is a broader picture in this regard, which Deputy Flanagan touched on. To consider the issue from the point of view of Irish Rail alone, it has accumulated losses on its balance sheet of over €200 million. That is the scale of difficulty that is being faced, which feeds directly into the point Deputy Flanagan put to me regarding the need for investment in the future. There is a very clear need for investment levels not just to be stabilised, as I have done for next year, but to be increased in the future.

A point I want to make very clearly in response to the different issues that have been raised with me is my hope that, due to the current economic growth, we will see our public transport companies increase their revenue because more people are using bus, tram and rail services. My hope and ambition is that during my time in office I will be able to increase the investment these companies need, particularly within rail, to deal with the capital needs that exist.

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