Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The "live horse and get grass" approach is not working for us. The Minister says he expects a business case shortly. There is an administrative merry-go-round from the board of Irish Rail to the NTA, the Department, the Minister and Cabinet. What sort of timelines are we looking at? It will take 18 months to make rolling stock available for use after it is ordered. My understanding is that the business case for the 41 vehicles to which the Minister referred has gone from Irish Rail to the NTA. Is there any way to take account of the families suffering all over Ireland, in particular those commuting to the cities and in respect of the intercity service? What are the timelines in respect of the ordering of the 41 carriages? After that, we will be into the 18-month countdown. In the meantime, what has the Minister done in co-operation with his colleagues in other Departments to alleviate some of the pressure by encouraging flexible working hours or other arrangements by way of additional bus services?

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