Vol. 555 No. 3
91 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Transport in regard to the commitment given in An Agreed Programme for Government, when the independent railway safety authority will be established; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18247/02]
The establishment of an independent railway safety commission is provided for in the Railway Safety Bill which was published in December 2001 and will commence Second Stage in the House tomorrow. The primary purpose of the Bill is to establish an independent statutory public body, the railway safety commission, with wide ranging powers of inspection, investigation and enforcement; to require railway undertakings to put in place a formal safety management system and describe the components of that system in a document called a "safety case" and to establish an independent statutory public body, the Railway Safety Advisory Council, comprising representatives of organisations with an interest in railway safety. My intention is to establish the new railway safety commission as soon as practicable after the enactment of the Bill. In the meantime, my Department is carrying out the practical preparatory work necessary for the early establishment of the commission.
