Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1040. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to the fact that since late September 2017, Irish Rail has had to halve the size of trains travelling to Longford in order to provide extra carriages on trains going to Drogheda; if his attention has been further drawn to the fact that Irish Rail has stated that these problems stem from the lack of funding to provide sufficient carriages; his plans to make more funding available to Irish Rail for extra rolling stock; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46448/17]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1068. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the known capacity constraints on rail services; the services and-or routes that cannot operate at full capacity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46986/17]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1040 and 1068 together.

The taxpayer makes a very large and recurring contribution each year to Iarnród Éireann. This contribution takes the form of both current, PSO funding and also capital funding under what is known as the IMMAC (infrastructure management multi-annual contract). In 2017 funding under both the PSO and IMMAC programmes has cumulatively increased by over 17% when compared with 2016, bringing total funding to over €300 million.

The Government's recently announced Budget 2018 provides for an increase in the multi-annual capital investment for public transport with a four-year capital envelope of €2.7 billion over the period 2018-2021 including an investment of over €400 million next year. This represents a 30% increase over the original Capital Plan allocations for 2018-2021 and includes increased funding for the heavy rail network. In Budget 2018 I also secured an 8% increase in the overall Exchequer funding available for PSO services throughout the country.

As the Deputy is aware, Iarnród Éireann is responsible for assessing rolling stock requirements for the heavy rail network in conjunction with the National Transport Authority. Noting the responsibility of the agencies in this regard, I have referred the Deputy's question to Iarnród Éireann for direct reply on the specific issues raised. Please advise my office if you do not receive a reply within 10 working days.