Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad that the Deputy acknowledges that I am not expected to micromanage every railway route in the country, which is something I cannot do. I think it is the first such acknowledgement I have had in this House from anybody. What I can do, and I obviously do, is monitor new projects of this sort very closely when they are introduced to see if they are successful, and to see if passengers are being discommoded generally or in specific places.

In the cases raised by Deputy Troy and by Deputy Clare Daly, I have been struck by the fact that the National Transport Authority, NTA, has reacted very positively and very quickly to the inevitable difficulties. We have seen difficulties in north Dublin with the DART expansion scheme, which is inevitable when a large scheme of this sort happens. We have seen similar difficulties with the Luas in south Dublin. These instances have been marked by the fact that where there were difficulties, the trains were switched back and restored. In fact, the overcrowding which Deputy Clare Daly has addressed has in fact been sorted. That is what a good train or bus operator should do. It should be prepared to make radical changes, and when it has miscalculated - it is not an exact science - it should adjust accordingly. I suggest that is what it has done in Portmarnock.

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