Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for selecting this issue. People who woke up yesterday morning, particularly those who rely on Irish Rail, and read the lead story by Paul Melia in the Irish Independentwould be concerned and anxious about the potential closure of rail lines. The Taoiseach tried to downplay that yesterday and said the report was two years out of date. That is factually incorrect. This report was given to the Minister with updated data as of November 2017, albeit the third review of the Irish rail network. The Minister sought submissions for the review of the rail network two years ago and my party made one at that time.

We have yet to have a meaningful debate in this House on the future of the Irish rail network. What we do know is that this year, Irish Rail is €43 million below what it needs to maintain the condition of the rail network. Certain rail routes are at absolute capacity; they are bursting at the seams, so to speak. The condition of certain rail tracks is impaired requiring reduced speeds, which means longer journey times.

Earlier today, at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport, the Minister said he wants Irish Rail to be more efficient and more profitable. The simple truth of the matter is that we will not have any new carriages - additional capacity - in Irish Rail for a minimum of 18 months. I refer to the 28 reconditioned carriages that are due for delivery at the end of 2019. To date, funding has not been allocated to order new carriages and even if new carriages were ordered today, we would not see deliver until late 2022. There is insufficient funding for rail tracks. There has been investment in recent years, however, and the opening of the Phoenix Park tunnel in late 2016 demonstrates that where we provide an adequate service and connectivity, passengers will respond.

How does the Minister intend to increase the revenue? How does he intend to increase the number of people using our train lines? How does he intend to reverse the disastrous decisions taken in recent years in terms of under-funding a critical piece of infrastructure? This morning, I was contacted by commuters on the Mullingar to Dublin line. There was no heating on the train despite the fact that the temperature outside was minus 2° Celsius. That will not encourage more people to use the service in question.

First, can the Minister confirm that there will be no rail closures whatsoever? Can he confirm, here and now, how he intends to ensure that we can increase capacity, increase passenger numbers, reduce journey times and increase frequency to attract people to use Irish Rail?

Second, another important point for Irish Rail is the tens of thousands of CIÉ pensioners who are facing huge uncertainty. My colleague, Deputy O'Dea, raised that issue with the Minister in December and was complimented by the Minister for bringing it to his attention.

He was unable to give further answers at that time without engaging again with the board of CIÉ. What action has the Minister taken since and can he update the House in his reply as to how these people who paid into a defined pension scheme can have their legitimate expectations met by CIÉ?

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