Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for including this item and the Minister, Deputy Ross, for taking the time to come to respond.

Like so many commuting families, particularly in the greater Dublin area but also in the larger urban centres, I despair. We all are aware of the lady who tweeted about standing and watching eight trams pass by and the fact that when one did stop, she would have required assistance to push her in to a tram to allow her to get on and make her journey. We do not need to remind anybody because he or she is suffering twice daily for five days a week the commute misery.

Over the weekend, to my amazement, when I was looking at the eTenders website, I read the following: "Irish Rail has a requirement for a transport and economic consultancy to prepare a robust and comparable detailed business case for DART expansion for submission to Government for securing capital expenditure approval". Hello. Do we need a business case to prove and underpin the fact that there is a need for additional rail capacity? We are throwing good money after bad in going to eTenders to have some third party bill us for a couple of hundred grand or more to do this job. What is more, when this was first mooted on 18 July 2013, the then CEO of Irish Rail announced and sought the committee's support for this wonderful proposal for DART expansion. Later, on 9 December 2014, in responding to a parliamentary question from my colleague, Deputy O'Dowd, the Minister for Finance gave further assurances about this great plan. On 18 May 2016 he Minister, Deputy Ross, our newly appointed saviour from the public transportation nightmare, gave detailed information to Deputy Lawless on the great expansion. In that debate he made reference to July 2015 and something being based on the outcome of the updated business case, presumably the second one. The call on eTenders for the making a third business case was made last Friday and it will be received in one month. When it comes in at whatever cost, however long it will take, will we have a fourth updated business case?

The stones on the road know. Is there a total absence of common sense that we have to throw good money after bad? Is the Minister honestly telling me that, given the competence and capacity of its expert team, Iarnród Éireann is not capable of putting a business case together? If it is not, what about the National Transport Authority or Transport Infrastructure Ireland? If they are not capable of doing so, what about the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport?

While the Minister is between photo calls with sport stars at Dublin Airport and given that the festive season is fast approaching - no doubt the Santa hat will be donned once again for photo calls outside Stepaside Garda station - people are suffering commute misery on a daily basis and we continue to have promises about great ideas in respect of what we are doing. At his press briefing to announce the construction of the Adare bypass, a project which has yet to proceed to planning, the Minister was also telling people once again about the greater Dublin area and DART expansion. It is great to know that following the making of a business case, the great idea the NTA described, and the making of an updated business case in July 2015, tenders are being sought for a further business case. Who is driving the bus?

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I thank Deputy MacSharry for raising what is a serious issue. I can assure him that Iarnród Éireann and the National Transport Authority, NTA, have my full support as they seek to improve capacity and increase services on the rail network. That support is evidenced by the increased funding made available in recent years and the increased investment planned in the coming years. Equally, I assume I have the Deputy's full support and that of everyone in the House in ensuring that proposals to spend massive amounts of money are properly considered. Nobody should consider it to be a burden, as the Deputy has alleged. It is instead a duty on all of us, as public representatives, to ensure the taxpayer is protected. I agree that scrutiny and oversight must be proportionate. However, it must occur.

In recent months, as the Deputy probably knows, I have secured Government approval for the development a new national train control centre and the purchase of 41 additional rail carriages for the greater Dublin area. Together, that represents an investment of approximately €285 million in the rail network and is no doubt welcomed by everyone in this House who is worried about commuters, as I know the Deputy genuinely is, as coming from where he is he has reason to be so worried.

Individually, each of those projects costs over €100 million and therefore each was, of course, subject to scrutiny in line with the requirements of the public spending code. Let me assure the Deputy that there was no undue delay or administrative burden associated with either project. Nor will I apologise for ensuring appropriate oversight of hundreds of millions of euro, or indeed apologise for complying with Government guidelines. In the coming years Project Ireland 2040 commits billions of euro towards sustainable mobility. I can assure the taxpayer that my Department takes its responsibilities with regard to the oversight of expenditure very seriously.

Given the sums of money involved, I would expect all of us in the House to take those responsibilities seriously too. I will shortly seek Government approval for a €1 billion investment in our heavy rail network over the next five years. This investment programme will deliver better journey times, improved reliability and continued safety across the network. It represents an approximate 40% increase in funding as compared to the last five year programme over 2014 to 2018 and is hugely significant.

Next year I expect to receive a business case in relation to what the Deputy refers to as the DART expansion programme, which is a multi-billion euro programme, to increase massively the rail network and services across the greater Dublin area.

Each of these investment programmes will be properly assessed. That is required under the public spending code, but importantly it is also the right thing to do.

On the most recent decision to expand the commuter rail fleet in the greater Dublin area, the Deputy may wish to be aware that the business case was originally submitted at the end of August, with a final version submitted on 24 September and Government approval secured on 30 October. There no undue delay nor was there any unnecessary administrative burden. I welcome the fact these new carriages are on their way and I look forward to their entry into service.

The Deputy refers to the commuter misery crisis, which continues to deteriorate. I have listed some of the things that the Government is doing in the short, medium and long term to relieve a critical situation, which we all agree is not entirely satisfactory. It is being seriously tackled and I do not want to trivialise it in anyway in this House this evening.

Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I do not want to trivialise this matter either. None of this debate is personal. I learned this from the master in the Seanad. He would not tolerate this kind of response in those days and I certainly cannot tolerate it today. The Minister's new-found interest in value-for-money is admirable, but how many business cases does one need? Who is prepared to take a decision and back the facts and say, look, the issue is clear, a blind man can see and experience the compute misery of all of us. We are kicking it around the administrative merry-go-round time and again. What it boils down to is that Ministers have become non-executive directors. They turn up at the ceremonial occasions to say a few words, to cut the tape and be in the photograph but when it comes to running the country, it is on e-tenders. The Minister was referring to a business case on such a date. Which one is he referring to? Was that the one three years ago, the updated one, or is it the one that has not been replied to yet because the closing date is not until 9 December at 12 o'clock?

We have had this with the ordering of carriages too, with these 41 mythical characters. The Minister must be expecting the polar express to pull into town over Christmas because the reality is that I do not even know if the 41 have been ordered yet. There are 60 to 80 used ones to be leased and are supposedly to be arriving next February and I have not heard much about that lately. It must have run aground too.

We are back to value-for-money and the business case. We need a third business case. Is it third time lucky? Do we need three business cases before we take a decision to do what any five-eight person knows needs to be done? We need to expand this. Have we not got the money? Who is taking the decision? Why is he putting this out to tender? How much will that cost? That is more money wasted that could be much-better spent elsewhere.

Returning to value-for-money, I apologise and I know this will annoy the Minister, but I have to give him the kick on this. I do not remember the business case on Stepaside Garda station when I was down at the Committee of Public Accounts, as the assistant commissioner responsible for Dublin said, no, that was not a priority for them. Other matters are. We know that we are coming into the season when the Santa hat will be donned and the Minister will be waving to the traffic with the lights turned on in Stepaside.

Meanwhile, those people getting the bus, if they manage to get stuffed on and have enough assistance to get pushed into it, will now leave it to the Minister. We are going to get value-for-money and in 100 years time we may have a public transportation system that we deserve, when we have people who are prepared to take decisions, based on the facts rather than being put around the administrative merry-go-round with no solutions.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The train needs to leave the station. I call on the Minister, Deputy Ross, to reply.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I do not want to trivialise this issue, which is insulting to commuters. I am very keen that the commuters of the entire country, including the commuters in Deputy MacSharry's constituency, are listened to and catered for. One of the things that has happened here, and I am sure Deputy will admit this as well, is that the rail network is a victim of its own success. The numbers pouring onto the rail network are absolutely phenomenal and the increases are likely to continue. I have to attempt to meet current and to anticipate future demands. The idea that anybody has sat on his or her hands or has been ignoring this problem is completely and utterly untrue. The NTA and Iarnród Éireann have been working on options to increase capacity, both in terms of service improvements introduced and in exploring the best way to increase fleet size.

One option was to refurbish the older fleet and bring them back into service. That option was actively explored until the costs come back. Deputy MacSharry is very genuinely and sincerely concerned about costs. These costs came back at about three times the estimate. People advocating this option as the panacea need to reflect on whether they think that spending two thirds of the cost of a new fleet on carriages with around one third of their lifespan is good use of taxpayers' money. It obviously is not.

Another option was to consider whether to buy or lease second-hand fleet. That option was similarly explored but it was ultimately not the best option, either due to things like uncertainty around availability, costs, age etc.

At the very end of the summer, a business case was presented to the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport on what is the preferred option, to which Deputy MacSharry also referred, which was buying 41 additional carriages. Those who urge quick decisions and multi-billion euro projects are often the first people to criticise when things go wrong.

The Government is doing a great deal in the short, medium and long term on rail and I am pleased to say there is progress underway on each time horizon. On the fleet, I have brought a memorandum to Government on the business case for the purchase of 41 additional intercity railcars. It is expected that this new fleet will be delivered by 2021.