John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is real genuine concern among people right across the east coast who use the DART service that the downgrading of stations seems to be going ahead. It is certainly going ahead in my constituency. I am aware the Minister is also a resident of the Wicklow constituency. To use a terrible pun, it is full steam ahead for the downgrading of Greystones DART station. Iarnród Éireann has put out tenders to let the train station out as a commercial premises. The station will move to an unmanned service, which will have detrimental impacts on the people in Greystones, young and old, but on disabled users in particular. I have been hearing from staff within Iarnród Éireann that there are broader, larger plans to move towards a greater number of unmanned stations. We know this is not only being rolled out on the DART line but throughout the rail service across the State. To date, 34 train stations have moved from a manned service to an unmanned service. As I touched on, this will have an impact on people and communities. It will affect elderly people as no one will be available to help them to purchase their tickets. It will also affect our disabled citizens. There has been some positive progress in respect of access to public transport for people with disabilities.

At this point I want to put on record my sincere condolences to a constituent, friend and colleague of mine, John Doyle, who during the course of his life was a disability rights campaigner who campaigned for independent living.

He passed away on Sunday night and his funeral took place this morning. Throughout his life, John, along with others, fought long and hard to try to make our public transport system accessible to people with disabilities. He and others were fundamental in forcing Dublin Bus into acquiring the new bus fleet, with low floors accessible by wheelchairs, that was rolled out in the 1990s. There has been progress on that, and also in terms of the 24-hour notice which wheelchair users and people with disabilities have to give to train stations and Iarnród Éireann. A trial programme will be rolled out in the new year and this will reduce the notice period for people with disabilities who want to use public transport to four hours. That is not acceptable. There should be total equality across the board. People with disabilities should be able to use our public transport services at any time without having to give notice. Reducing the notice period to four hours is welcome, but it should be zero hours.

The downgrading of DART stations is going to have a major impact and will destroy any progress that has been made. I am informed that a plan for Greystones, which will see it become an unmanned train station in the new year, is due to be rolled out. Is the Minister aware of any other plans? Has he been speaking to the NTA or Iarnród Éireann about plans to have other unmanned DART stations in Dublin and Wicklow? What consultation has taken place?

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