I wish to share my time with Deputy Naughten.
Adjournment Debate. - Mullingar-Sligo Rail Service.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
The Minister stated the punctuality rate on the Sligo line is 94 per cent on average. This is not disputed but she ignored the fact that travel times can only disimprove because of deteriorating track quality. She has not disputed the assertion that the track is reaching its expiry date. This has led to speed reductions. An investment of £30 million is required to upgrade the remaining 80 miles of track.
The target travel time specified in the operational programme of two hours 45 minutes on the Sligo-Dublin line will not be achieved by 1999. It takes the same length of time to travel from Mullingar to Sligo as it did in 1863.
The Minister indicated that £12.5 million is being invested in track work on the Sligo line but this is confined to the Dublin-Mullingar section with the bulk being spent on the Dublin-Maynooth section. The Minister stated that between 1991 and 1996 sections of the track between Sligo and Mullingar which were becoming dangerous were improved. That was a fire hosing exercise. There are speed restrictions on two thirds of the line.
The Minister stated that over £800,000 is to be invested per year in track renewal in the period 1994-8. At this rate of investment, it will take 40 years to improve the track in line with modern standards.
I would like clarification from the Minister on the £800,000 fund. My information is that a considerable portion of this fund is spent on areas other than track and that of the £800,000, only £200,000 will be spent on track. That is of major concern and I would like an assurance that the £800,000 will be spent on track.
I welcome the provision of new carriages on the east coast but we have two carriages on the Sligo line which are past their lifecycle. They require complete internal refurbishment and repainting but preferably replacement. The investment on the overall rail network is £275 million but sadly on the Mullingar section we are only receiving 2.5 per cent of that.
The proposed curtailment of the number of people who can travel on a Friday is of concern. No encouragement is given to people to travel on a Friday and this will result in a major loss of tourism to the region.
I welcome the Minister's categoric assurance that the line will not be closed but that is not sufficient. The Minister must ensure we get some funding from the Exchequer. We depend too much on the Cohesion Fund and I understand from a report that the possibility of obtaining funds from the Cohesion Fund is very much under question. I appeal to the Minister to allocate some funding from the Exchequer because Iarnród Éireann has indicated it cannot afford the investment on the line. We have all heard about the Celtic tiger but it is not on the Mullingar-Sligo line, not even the cub. I ask the Minister to allocate some Exchequer funding at this time.
I thank Deputy Perry for sharing time with me on this important issue. Industrial development in tourism in Sligo, Leitrim, Longford and Roscommon is being seriously inhibited by the lack of any initiative on the Sligo-Mullingar line. Iarnród Éireann is now seeking EU funding for the Athlone-Westport line but that is only a small step in the right direction. Must we have another accident similar to that in Knockcroghery before funding is approved for the Sligo-Mullingar line?
Two rail lines pass through my constituency and the upgrading of those has stopped just at the border of the constituency. I thank the Minister for ordering a review of safety in Iarnród Éireann but when will the report be published? Will the Government give a commitment to allocate the necessary funding?
Deputy Perry raised an important issue in that £800,000 should be spent on rail upgrading but that has not happened. The money is being spent on repairs to parts of the existing line and on railway gates that have been damaged, etc. I ask the Minister to allocate funding for this work because both the Westport and the Sligo lines are badly in need of funding to ensure we do not have another accident similar to that referred to earlier.
I thank the Deputies for their interest in the matter. The conclusions of the CIE investigation outlined the exact reason for the accident at Knockcroghery. It was not as stated by Deputy Naughten but I do not wish to go into that. The conclusions of the investigation are available.
I am pleased to have the opportunity of clarifying the position in relation to the allocation of funding for the development of the rail network, including the Sligo line. The funding currently comes from both the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund, and from CIE. The bulk of the funding for the Sligo line comes from the Cohesion Fund. There is also the earlier funding from EU supported programmes approved by my predecessor.
Over the years financial constraints have led to significant under-investment in the renewal of the railways. This is reflected in the fact that in 1993, the investment needs for the entire railway network were estimated to be £800 million over a 30 year period.
The Operational Programme for Transport recognised that the railway required an integrated investment and development programme in order to maintain and improve its competitiveness. Under the operational programme we started a substantial railway renewal programme, the first since the lines were originally built. Total investment will amount to £275 million and this investment is being focused on track renewal, signalling systems and rolling stock. All major lines are included and the work being undertaken will result in increased safety.
The main part of the funding for the Dublin-Sligo line, and indeed for track and signalling, comes from the Cohesion Fund. The lines must be included in the trans-European rail network. The Dublin-Sligo line was successfully included as part of the trans-European rail network and consequently is benefiting from this fund.
A total of £14 million has been allocated to the signalling system on four routes, including Dublin-Sligo. This money is being used to replace the old mechanical system with a new, modern, cost effective and centralised control system. The Maynooth-Sligo section of the route will benefit from that.
In relation to track work, EU supported investment is currently being concentrated on the Dublin to Mullingar section. The background to this is that a socio-economic cost benefit analysis must be undertaken before any investment proposals are approved by the EU. In the case of the Dublin-Sligo line, independent consultants, retained by the EU Commission, recommended that the EU co-financed investment in track work should be undertaken on the Dublin-Mullingar section. As a result, £12.5 million was allocated to upgrading track on the Dublin-Sligo line between Dublin and Mullingar. This work involves the replacement of life expired jointed track on timber sleepers with continuous welded rail on prestressed concrete sleepers. This allocation, however, should not be seen as being to the detriment of other sections of the line. Subject to the limitations imposed by EU cost benefit considerations, this represents the best use of available funds because it maximises the benefit in terms of improved quality of service to all users of the line.
Furthermore, additional work has been carried out by Iarnród Éireann and funded from its own resources. I understand from the company that in the period 1994-7, critical sections of track on the line between Mullingar and Sligo were improved at a cost of almost £3 million. Iarnród Éireann has also assured me that track work on the Mullingar-Sligo section of the line will benefit from another £1 million plus in 1998. This is again being funded from the company's own resources, and that would include the subsidies which taxpayers paid to Iarnród Éireann of over £100 million per year.
It has already been acknowledged that substantial investment is needed but it must be planned and prioritised. The 1994-9 programme represents a tremendous start and shows a renewed commitment to the railways. We must now look to the future. I have asked CIE to prepare and prioritise investment plans for both the mainline and suburban rail networks in the context of securing future EU or other funding. That work is now nearing completion and will provide the basis for the next programme of investment.
Iarnród Éireann has a statutory responsibility for ensuring that our rail services are operated safely. That is my first priority. The company has given an assurance that safety is its main priority. Securing the safe operation of railways is a primary factor in determining how the company uses the financial and other resources at its disposal. Achieving acceptable levels of safety is a complex task, as we all know.
Experience has shown that although investment in new equipment and in the proper maintenance of the existing equipment is vital to safety, it is only one element in the company's overall strategy. Following the Knockcroghery accident, Iarnród Éireann carried out a special detailed examination of all jointed track throughout the country. This was completed before Christmas and additional resources are now being made available by the company to implement recommendations arising from that examination. An engineer or an engineering member of the staff of Iarnród Éireann walked every mile of the jointed track operated by Iarnród Éireann throughout the country, both before and after Christmas. The company has also reviewed its inspection process and strengthened both its frequency and quality.
As a result of my concern about the incidence of recent rail accidents I am in the course of appointing independent consultants to carry out a strategic review of rail safety. We applied in the EU journals, as required, and received a total of 16 bids. They are now being evaluated and the consultants will be appointed by the end of this month. This review will be the first to be carried out in this State. Based on that I hope we will prioritise future needs. The railways have served this country well. I am interested in the railway system as is the Government and it will not close railway lines as presaged and forecast in l985 when the then Fine Gael led Government raised real fears along the western sea board that this rail line would be closed.
(Carlow-Kilkenny): Fionn MacCumhaill was alive then.
The Percy French railway. The Government should pay out money now.
When I come into the House on any occasion I am always pleased to hear reasoned debate from Deputies Perry and Naughten, but it is strange that during the past two and a half years not a single word was spoken about what the Government of which Fine Gael was a member had not done for the railways.
That is a lie. A group marched to the House when the previous Government was in office.
The Deputy should march again.
What the Minister said is an insult to the people of Longford. I am surprised at her.
I intend to do something for the railways. The Deputy is an insult to that county.
I hope the Minister does not have to come in here again on this matter.