Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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512. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the funding provided to Iarnród Éireann under the infrastructure management multi-annual contract in each year since 2006. [4332/19]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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As the Deputy is aware, the Infrastructure Manager Multi-Annual Contract (IMMAC) provides the funding framework for the maintenance and renewal of our railway infrastructure. Funding is provided to the Infrastructure Manager (or IM) division of Iarnród Éireann and that funding is derived from two sources:

- an annual Exchequer contribution; and

- access charges payable by railway undertakings which make use of the railway infrastructure.

The vast majority of the funding is provided by the annual Exchequer contribution, while the smaller amount provided by railway undertakings’ access charges is largely comprised of fees paid by Iarnród Éireann’s Railway Undertaking (or RU) division, which is itself in receipt of significant Exchequer funding under its Public Services Contracts with the National Transport Authority.

The IMMAC was established in 2014 and succeeded the Railway Safety Programme which ended in 2013 and which was a different funding programme.

Details of the Exchequer IMMAC contribution made in each year since 2014 is provided in the following table.

A new IMMAC is currently being finalised to provide for the next multi-annual period. However, I can inform the Deputy that the increases I secured in Budget 2019 mean that the Exchequer contribution will increase this year by approximately 23% to €197 million. This means that the steady state funding requirement (as measured on an annualised basis) is met for 2019 and represents significant, and very welcome, progress.