Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Irish Rail has been the poor relation for many years, and there have been many cuts to the rail network, in particular to the subvention. I am pleased to hear the Minister say he is at least maintaining funding at 2014 levels, but that is still a cutback because of inflation and other issues. We are not supporting the network and we need to put more money into it. What plans does the Minister have to improve and increase the rail service in future? Parts of the rail service to the west need to be improved. Is the Minister planning to expand on the service?

The EU directives are a further drive towards privatisation. The Minister said he plans to opt out of the mandatory impositions that have been introduced by Europe. If the Minister reaches a compromise, it is very likely that we will see a further drive towards privatisation because that seems to be the direction in which the EU is moving. There is much friction with workers in Irish Rail. I urge the Minister to take a hands-on approach when it comes to many of the issues I have outlined.

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