Mike Kennelly (Fine Gael)

Today, I will follow on from my colleague and congratulate each of the four senior inter-county men's teams leading into their All-Ireland finals. I wish them all the best - to Cork and Tipperary in the hurling, and Donegal, but primarily and particularly Kerry as well, in reaching the All-Ireland final. I really want to wish all four teams competing the best. We have seen a resurgence in our national games this year with unbelievable hurling games and, thankfully, Gaelic football is back, which leads me on to the issue I need to raise today regarding Irish Rail.

With such a resurgence and with supporters backing their county teams now because it is a level playing field on the pitch, everyone in their own county is starting to gather at train stations and bus stations or whatever to get to Dublin to support their teams. I am, therefore, raising a very serious matter and calling on Irish Rail to urgently provide additional train services and proper facilities for Kerry supporters travelling to Dublin for the upcoming All-Ireland football final. With thousands of fans set to make the journey, unless action is taken now, supporters could face the same unacceptable conditions that occurred last weekend when fans were left with overcrowded trains and insufficient services. Indeed, it was Kildare and Limerick in the Tailteann Cup final when Kildare and Limerick supporters found difficulty in getting to Dublin. There were three trains from Kerry but, unfortunately, one of those was leaving at 7 o'clock. The game started at 5 o'clock, so everyone came to Heuston Station for the 9 o'clock train. It was uncomfortable and people stood for four hours on a train trip to Tralee. It was totally unacceptable.

I am calling on Irish Rail to add more trains both to and from Dublin to match the expected demand; ensure all passengers have seats because no one should be standing for their four-hour journey; provide onboard customer service staff for assistance and safety; and very importantly, something that has broken down as well, communicate clearly and early with the public about finalised schedules. With the two biggest days in the GAA calendar fast approaching, the call is clear: supporters must be treated as a priority. I am calling on the Minister for Transport or the National Transport Authority, NTA, to do whatever it takes to sort this. I tried to raise a Commencement matter on this yesterday but due to the day-to-day runnings of Irish Rail, it could not be communicated here. I call on the Leader to get whoever we can get to debate this before the week is out to make sure that every supporter who gets to Dublin in the next two weeks does so safely.