I have been informed by the Chairman of CIE that Iarnród Éireann has placed a contract with the Japanese manufacturer Mitsui and Company Ltd., Toyko, for the design and building of 17 new railcars at an estimated total cost of £18 million to be operated on the suburban rail network. Iarnród Éireann expect to take delivery of the new railcars early in 1994. EC Structural Funds are not being used for the purchase of these railcars and the company are funding them in the normal manner from their own resources including borrowings.
With regard to future investment in rolling stock by Iarnród Éireann, I would again like to take this opportunity to advise the House that I intend to pursue the possibilities of EC assistance from the next phase of the Structural Funds and the proposed Cohesion Fund for a major investment programme in the railways. At present I am awaiting the outcome of a strategic study on the future of the railway which will form an integral element in the formulation of an investment programme for the network. In this context, I am determined to ensure that public transport secures a significantly greater share of available EC funds for future investment than in the past.
