Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Question 41: To ask the Minister for Transport the number of tonnes of goods transported by rail to date in 2006; the estimated annual total for 2006; and his plans for the future regulation and development of national rail freight. [35864/06]

Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Question 77: To ask the Minister for Transport his views on the termination of freight services by Irish Rail; his Department's response to such a scenario; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35823/06]

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 79: To ask the Minister for Transport his views on the moving of freight from rail to road; and the discussions he has had with Iarnród Éireann on this issue. [35840/06]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 41, 77 and 79 together.

Iarnród Éireann informs me that the company has carried over 1.07 million tonnes of rail freight in 2006 to date and estimates that 1.2 million in total will be carried in the full year.

Iarnród Éireann's goal is to return the rail freight business to profitability. To help achieve this turnaround, Iarnród Éireann has withdrawn from loss-making groupage, palletised and single container rail transport. However, Iarnród Éireann continues to pursue a policy of growing its rail freight business where opportunities present such as in bulk and trainload traffic.

Iarnród Éireann has made progress in growing the rail freight business in areas where it holds a competitive advantage over road haulage, including mineral ore and pulpwood. For example, Iarnród Éireann:

has increased the trainload pulpwood business by modifying surplus wagons and providing additional services for Coillte between the West of Ireland and the South East;

is currently providing three additional trains per week for Tara Mines with a potential to carry an extra 85,000 tonnes of lead and zinc between Navan and Dublin Port per annum; and

has modified surplus platform wagons to provide a trainload service for containers between Ballina and Waterford Port.

I should add that Iarnród Éireann has undertaken extensive engagement with industry and transporters around the country to try and identify long-term sustainable business opportunities. They have had genuine difficulty in identifying business opportunities that offer reasonable volumes of business on a regular basis. It is not feasible to run trains with one or two containers and Iarnród Éireann has not identified sufficient business to group a number of separate activities together to form a viable trainload. Most Irish industry is focused on 'just in time' transport and as our road network continues to expand and improve across the country, the role of rail freight becomes more problematic because all rail journeys involve road movements at each end of the logistics chain. Furthermore, in Ireland distances are short. The experience across Europe is no different. Rail freight activities are most economic where distances are long, where there are large volumes to be transported and where the freight to be carried is not time sensitive.

As part of the engagement with industry, Iarnród Éireann works closely with port authorities, such as in Dublin relating to transport of lead and zinc and Waterford relating to container traffic, to increase rail based freight. The Government's Ports Policy Statement recognises the need for the integration of ports as a fundamental link in the supply chain, with other transport modes, including rail.

As regards the regulation of rail freight, I have introduced the European Communities (Access to Railway Infrastructure) (Amendment) Regulations 2005 (S.I. No. 780 of 2005), implementing EU Directive 2004/51 on the development of the Community's Railways. These Regulations open the freight market to competition from both domestic and foreign operators, from 1 January 2006 in the case of international freight, and from 1 January 2007 in the case of domestic freight operations.

I am open to any views on how we can expand rail freight. The market for rail freight will be fully liberalised in a matter of months and if there were opportunities I would welcome expressions of interest.