Vol. 530 No. 3
34 Mr. Flanagan asked the Minister for Public Enterprise her views on a memorandum drawn up by her Department which outlines the failure of Iarnród Éireann to reply to letters from the Railway Inspectorate seeking information on rail safety; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3819/01]
I am concerned that Iarnród Éireann is not providing full and timely information to the Railway Inspectorate of my Department in relation to safety aspects of the company's operations. A lack of adequate responses to correspondence from the Railway Inspectorate inhibits the ability of the inspectorate to effectively carry out its duties. I regard this as totally unacceptable.
Existing legislation, dating from the 19th century, is inadequate in relation to the legal obligations of the company to provide information. This was cited, apparently, as the reason it did not have to give it. However, the matter was raised with the managing director of Iarnród Éireann by letter in May 2000 and it was pointed out to him that there is no legal obstacle to prevent the company from co-operating with the Railway Inspectorate in an informal way, pending the enactment of the proposed railway safety legislation. The managing director was also advised that it was unacceptable for Iarnród Éireann to decide if and when inquiries from the Railway Inspectorate should be replied to.
I am aware that the situation has now improved, in particular in relation to information on new works and that regular meetings to facilitate the flow of information are now in place between the company and the Railway Inspectorate. However, the situation regarding operational matters, including information in relation to accidents, remains unsatisfactory.
My Department recently instructed Iarnród Éireann to provide all the information requested by the Railway Inspectorate as a matter of priority and in accordance with a strict timetable. I expect the company to comply with this requirement. Under the proposed Railway Safety Bill, I will establish a new railway safety authority with wide-ranging powers of inspection and enforcement. I will provide the railway safety authority with powers to require such information or records from railway undertakings as may be needed by the railway safety authority for the purposes of carrying out its functions.
Last week I published a consultation document, entitled Proposals for New Railway Safety Legislation, which sets out my proposals for the new railway safety regulatory framework and which I sent to Deputies. It is also available on the Department's website.
(Mayo): Does the Minister propose to monitor the degree of co-operation between Iarnród Éireann and the inspectorate? It is obvious that unless the company is constantly monitored and warned, it will not comply. In the course of warning the company, will she remind it that it is heavily subsidised by, and cannot survive without, the taxpayer? Public safety is a matter of public concern and there should be no hiding behind confidential information.
Will the Minister further remind the company that, at this juncture, it is particularly susceptible to public criticism by virtue of the fact that a sub-committee of the House is currently minutely examining the company's performance in relation to the mini CTC contract, in which 28 stations have still not been connected, whose projected cost of £15 million will now be a minimum of £42 million and where there are major questions to be answered in relation to the manner in which the company carried out its duty?
I could not agree more with the Deputy. Last Sunday's Sunday Independent opened many eyes with regard to how matters were managed between 4 and 22 June 1997.
I do not wish to go into that in detail. I will certainly arrange for the company to be monitored although the situation has improved since Pat Mangan explained the urgent need for answers to the managing director. Public safety in all types of transport is of paramount importance. We are going beyond our annual audit through the establishment of the railway safety authority. Ireland has gone much further than the UK in this area. It is extremely important that all public transport safety arrangements are properly scrutinised.
I welcome the Minister's acknowledgment that there should not be any doubt about safety issues. Does she agree that Iarnród Éireann has a responsibility to respond to the railway inspectorate? In her position as shareholder and policy maker, I urge her to instruct Iarnród Éireann and CIE management to respond positively to any questions asked of them within a specified time frame. Does the Minister agree it was highly regrettable that an article published in the Sunday Independent quoted from documents, deemed highly confidential by a Dáil subcommittee, which were not accessible to anyone but subcommittee members?
I am aware of the time frame involved in the above instance and agree that a huge amount of detail was published. I do not know where that came from and I gather, from inquiries made, that there is more to come. The material is certainly coming from someone who has access to documents and that is regrettable. It is not wrong for reporters to publish such material because their job is to get a story. I will ask the assistant secretary in the Department to write to the managing director, who has responded in a very fair manner since the mid-year correspondence last year, to convey to him the strength of Deputies' feelings on the matter.
The rail safety Bill will enshrine the role of the inspectorate. Can we expect that legislation to be prioritised?
The Bill, which will update legislation from the mid-19th century onwards, is undergoing a public consultation process which is due to conclude by the end of March. Following the outcome of that consultation process, the Chief Parliamentary Counsel will start to draft the Bill. At the very earliest, the Bill will be introduced in the middle of the year. The membership of the inspectorate has been increased from one to three and we have taken other measures which the Bill forecasts. I agree that this legislation should be introduced as quickly as possible.
