Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have outlined the position on the amendments. The Senator makes some very valid points about the evaluation process. There was a different regime in place prior to the current Government taking office and it is probably an area that was not considered enough. There was not enough evaluation. It is a case of needs must now. It is no longer appropriate to just do good projects; we must do the best projects, and we must ensure we get the best value. Those evaluations are required and will be done. With regard to the signalling the Senator mentioned, it is a very comprehensive project. It is about increasing the volume of train paths around Dublin, which is a very important project as regards efficiency, volumes of trains, getting better and more efficient timetabling and so forth.

I must admit that when I first took office one of the things that surprised me was the amount of money that has been spent on the railway safety programmes. It is colossal. The Senator's point is valid. Much of it relates to line improvements and issues relating to speed, signalling, gates and the management of that.

However, the Senator needs to bear in mind a number of things. First, we need to meet certain EU standards that affect cost. Second, we are talking about the future of CIE and how to minimise costs. In order to do that it is necessary to make an investment in automation and other areas to minimise future costs. It is not all just going out and not coming in; there is also an improvement in quality. While it might be stating the obvious, safety is clearly paramount.

The European Commission is considering a new railway package, which will come up during our Presidency. This may have other impacts on us when it comes to railway safety. That is something we need to monitor quite strictly given that we are an island surrounded by water. While there will be issues with the requirement for the interoperability of trains across Europe, we will not need to address those given that we are isolated. That is a matter I have already started to address in Brussels.

I oppose the amendments.