A strengthened bridge that is capable of carrying the heavy freight traffic on the line needs to be put in place as expeditiously as possible. It is not just a minor passenger line. I travelled it twice in the past 15 months and the bridge was probably the weakest place on it. If a strengthened bridge is put in place, it may enable the capacity to be improved. I presume the Waterford to Rosslare part of the line will continue to operate. It has some commuter traffic, but obviously the beet traffic will be disrupted. A recent container contract was announced between Cork and Waterford and that obviously will be disrupted.

I am glad that the Minister has clarified that there is no question of using this incident to close the line. I cannot stress more strongly, and the Minister of State will have seen this when he went to Sligo, that the people want a joined up transport system and railway network. This line is a key part of the network, especially from the point of view of freight and, in the longer term, the corridor from the south-east through to the west. It is important that the Minister uses this opportunity.

The accident is a salutary warning. The Rosslare-Waterford-Limerick junction line is not the only such one in the country. For example, there is the line through north Tipperary. The second phase of the rail safety programme needs to be undertaken and completed. I hope the line in question will be repaired and put back into service on a long-term basis over the next few months.

The chief railway inspecting officer of the Department of Transport attended the scene of the incident yesterday. The Minister has asked that he report to him on his observations. The Minister will then decide if he should direct that a statutory inquiry be carried out in accordance with section 7 of the Regulation of Railways Act 1871. The Minister has already asked Iarnród Éireann to furnish him with the findings of its inquiry board when its investigation is completed.

We cannot be complacent about safety, whether it is on roads, railways, in the air or at sea. The Minister, having responsibility for roads and railways, has striven to ensure that transport safety remains at the top of his agenda. The Railway Safety Bill, which is before the Dáil, will establish an independent railway safety commission with a wide-ranging remit and powers to monitor and enforce railway safety. The Bill also establishes a functionally separate railway incident investigation unit within the railway safety commission with powers to investigate railway incidents such as that at Cahir yesterday. The Minister hopes to be in a position to progress the Bill through the Dáil during the current session.

As regards reviewing the safety of the railway, a wide-ranging review of railway safety was carried out by independent consultants led by International Risk Management Services in 1998 on behalf of the Department of Transport. A high level task force was established to prepare a report with prioritised recommendations to address the issues identified in the IRMS report.

Following the recommendations of the task force, the Government in 1999 approved the first railway safety programme to cover the period 1999 to 2003. Total investment under the programme in 2003 will be in the region of €136 million. Over the full period of the programme, some €650 million will have been invested in improving Iarnród Éireann's infrastructure and safety management systems by the end of this year.

By the end of the programme some 400 miles of track will have been renewed and more than 440 level crossings will have been improved or closed altogether. In addition, many miles of new fencing will have been erected and new bridges and coastal defence structures built or improved. Safety management systems have also been greatly enhanced over this period.

The high level task force was reconvened in March of this year and is in the process of preparing recommendations for Government for the next five year programme. The work of the task force is expected to be completed by the end of 2003.

The incident at Cahir yesterday serves as a warning that we can never take safety for granted. The current high level of investment in railway safety is making a difference. The Minister is committed to ensuring that investment continues into improving railway safety further into the future.