Willie Penrose
Question:144 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Transport if he proposes to introduce public service contracts into the rail service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23465/02]
Vol. 558 No. 1
144 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Transport if he proposes to introduce public service contracts into the rail service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23465/02]
I am committed to improved transparency and accountability in the provision of State support for the provision of public transport services. In this context, my Department has worked with the CIE companies to develop service level agreements for each of the subsidiaries, including Iarnród Éireann. These agreements will set down the subvention to be paid and in return the levels of service to be provided including targets on reliability, quality and performance. These agreements will be monitored on a quarterly basis. I understand that agreement has now been reached to introduce service level agreements in 2003. This builds on progress by the Department in introducing performance indicators for the operating companies.