Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is the Minister for everything tonight.

In July 2019, Irish Rail downgraded Bagenalstown train station to an automatic station. Since then, there has been no stationmaster on site and the maintenance of the station has been subcontracted out. In July 2017, this same station was deemed so beautiful that An Post captured it in a commemorative stamp. It was great to see the building on a commemorative stamp. The beautiful stone station, which was designed by the architect Mr. Sancton Wood who also designed Heuston Station, was the stationmaster's home for many years. It continues to be an important part of the fabric of Bagenalstown. To say that it is not busy enough to keep it manned is a slap in the face for this rural town and the people in it, who matter just as much as people in larger towns and cities.

Just last year, Bagenalstown station was added to the Waterford to Dublin early-morning commuter route because, as the Minister of State knows, Bagenalstown is an important town. The move to self-service for this station was a retrograde step. While an Irish Rail staff member can disembark at all stations to help with machine tickets and accessibility issues, there is nobody at the station before a train comes to help those who need assistance. What is worse, the toilets are rarely opened. Steps like these show that we are slowly but surely eroding the rural way of life. Around 140 commuters use the Bagenalstown station and now that restrictions have been lifted and working from home is being phased out, more and more commuters will be using this service.

Transport poverty and inaccessibility are social and environmental issues. More than one in four people living with a disability do not use public transport because of accessibility issues. Although there is the promise of a customer service operative on board to help commuters with mobility and other issues, this is often not the case and the driver has to get out to assist passengers which causes delays. This kind of reduced service will contribute to further reductions in the use of public transport at a time when we need to find more ways to cut our carbon footprint.

To have a train station without assistance or toilets in 2022 is scandalous. What can the Department do to sort this out? I welcome the fact that there will be a public consultation on the need for extra carriages from Waterford to Carlow and Bagenalstown to Dublin. It is my understanding that this will be advertised shortly and people will be encouraged to have their say. One of the biggest issues with the train that comes from Waterford is that by the time it gets to Bagenalstown and Carlow, it is absolutely full and people have to stand. I know that during Covid things changed and fewer people were travelling by train but we will need extra carriages now. I ask that when the public consultation process is being launched that it is heavily advertised so that people are aware of it. We do not want people to say they were not aware of it. We need to cut our carbon footprint, as the Minister of State knows well. I look forward to the response from the Department.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Murnane O'Connor for raising this topic which I am dealing with on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan.

I would like to clarify that while the Department of Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport, it is not involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services, including matters related to public transport facilities in train stations. I understand that the Deputy's question is specifically in relation to toilet facilities in Muine Bheag train station and I advise the Deputy that issues such as this are an operational matter for Iarnród Éireann. The Minister for Transport has no role in such matters.

Nevertheless, the Deputy may wish to note that as part of the overall ongoing investment in the rail network, the Department of Transport recently secured Government approval for additional funding for the infrastructure manager multi-annual contract, IMMAC. The IMMAC provides the funding framework for the protection and renewal of our railway infrastructure. Deputy Murnane O'Connor spoke about the beautiful building in Bagenalstown and the fact that it featured on a commemorative stamp and I agree that it is a beautiful building. With the increased funding secured over the five years of the contract out to 2024, just over €1.1 billion in Exchequer funding will be made available to support delivery.This funding will increase service reliability and punctuality, improve journey times and ensure continued safety of rail services across the network.

A new national train control centre is under construction, with completion and full commissioning by 2024. This control centre will completely transform the management of the rail network as compared with today and will allow for the future expansion of services in the years ahead. These investments are complemented by the 41 new rail carriages which are under construction, with expected delivery to commence in mid-2022. There is significant investment under way in the rail network and services to continually improve the attractiveness of rail transport to customers.

Regarding the Deputy's specific query on facilities at Muine Bheag or Bagenalstown station, Iarnród Éireann has advised the Department of Transport that the company's position over the past couple of years has been to move to online or ticket machine ticket sales. Almost 90% of tickets are now acquired digitally. In July 2019, Bagenalstown station moved from being partially staffed to a full self-service station. Iarnród Éireann has advised that it does not generally provide toilet facilities at stations which are unmanned as such facilities tend to be subject to a disproportionate amount of vandalism and incidents of anti-social behaviour. Iarnród Éireann is rebalancing its customer service provision with greater on-board services, including toilets and fewer facilities located in stations.

As regular customers on the Waterford to Dublin route will know, Iarnród Éireann now has dedicated customer service officers on board over 80% of services on this route to assist passengers. Furthermore, there are ticket sales available at the station via the ticket vending machine and the customer service officers will be able to assist people with Department of Social Protection tickets, seating, service information and more, on board. This means that there will always be assistance for wheelchair customers at Bagenalstown with the on-board customer service officers available to help with boarding and alighting.

Furthermore, in relation to facilities at Carlow, two new lifts have recently been installed at Carlow station, including a new footbridge in January this year. Iarnród Eireann is in discussions with the National Transport Authority, NTA, and Carlow County Council regarding a car park expansion, including bicycle parking, for Carlow station. Finally, Iarnród Eireann has advised that the fleet that operates the Waterford route is its newest and most modern fleet, the intercity railcar, and all trains serving Carlow and Bagenalstown stations have toilets on board for customer comfort.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for her response. I compliment Iarnród Éireann on the lifts at Carlow railway station. It was important that they were installed. It is now 2022 and they were a long time coming but I welcome that investment. I also appreciate that the car parking facilities at the station are being looked at but I am seeking clarity on Bagenalstown station.

It was wheelchair users who came to me about this. They felt it was unfair that they could not access the toilets in the railway station. We have to be very mindful about this. While everything is going online and that is understandable, we cannot shut down our rural railway stations or having them half-manned so that there is a situation where a person with a disability or a wheelchair user is not able to use it. We do not need to go there. I am mindful, as I am sure the Minister of State is, that we keep rural towns going. The railway station is part of Bagenalstown. It has always been there and has always provided a great service. When it closed it was a great loss to the people of Bagenalstown. While the service was going it was not what it had been. It does effect quite a number of people. I would ask that Irish Rail look at this. We should not set a precedent of concentrating only on large stations such as Heuston Station in the big cities and forget our little rural stations that have been the lifeblood of our communities and were there before time, giving great service. That is my greatest worry.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy raised a valid point. The decision to move to a self-service station in Muine Bheag in 2019 was part of a wider decision by Iarnród Éireann to rebalance its operations. The Minister suggests that as it is an operational matter for Iarnród Éireann, it would be very well placed for the Deputy to contact it on this issue.

The experience of Iarnród Éireann has been that toilet facilities in unmanned stations attract higher levels of antisocial behaviour as well as more incidence of vandalism. However, we all know, if someone is waiting for a train and they are short taken it is very important that the toilet is in operation and that it is available. I know the service from Waterford to Carlow to Dublin. It is all well and good that the trains are of the very highest quality. They are the newest and the most modern fleet. Deputy Ó Cathasaigh will know this very well. They have excellent facilities on board but I take the Deputy's point about anyone who is waiting at the station. It is a beautiful location. The Deputy would be well placed to raise this with Iarnród Éireann. I have no doubt that the Disability Federation of Ireland would also support her call.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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A toilet facility is pretty rudimentary service. If the toilet is already there, it is even more straightforward that it should be made available. It is all very well to tell Deputy Murnane O'Connor that she should follow up on it. Given the millions, indeed, billions of euro that we are now spending on the rail service it would be no harm if the Minister asked Iarnród Éireann to cop itself on and tell them that customers cannot go to the toilet online.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I totally agree with you, a Cheann Comhairle.