Vol. 516 No. 6
188 Mr. U. Burke asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if she has satisfied herself with safety matters at Athenry Iarnród Éireann rail station; the reason for the problem which occurred there; if it has been satisfactorily resolved; if further repairs have to be carried out in this section; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8976/00]
I presume the problem referred to by the Deputy is the unreasonable risk identified by IRMS in the safety audit report published earlier this month. The risk was reported as a class one rail defect, requiring mandatory removal within 24 hours, which was still running without any additional controls six days after discovery.
The problem identified by IRMS was an ultrasonic defect in a rail in Athenry railway station. I have been assured by Iarnród Éireann that the rail in question has been replaced. It appears that, due to the unique nature of the particular rail, a replacement rail was not immediately available. However, pending its replacement, the rail was monitored on a daily basis.
IRMS has advised that, since this was a low speed area, the rail was unlikely to fail catastrophically and hence was not a high safety risk to passengers. However, as it was not rectified within 24 hours in accordance with Iarnród Éireann's own procedures, it was classified by IRMS as an unreasonable risk, that is, it fell far short of best practice.
