Deputy Pat Breen has eight minutes remaining.
Railway Safety Bill 2001: Second Stage (Resumed).
Question again proposed: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
An Leas-Cheann Comhairle
I wish to share my time with Deputy Hayes.
An Leas-Cheann Comhairle
Is that agreed? Agreed.
This Bill was last before the House on Wednesday, 13 November. Safety is pivotal to the future of the railways. Thankfully, Ireland has been lucky to have been spared the horrors afflicting the rail networks in Britain and continental Europe.
The Bill marks a turning point in the history of railway transport in Ireland. Often politicians are accused of reacting rather than acting. The legislation establishes an onus on the State through the commission to ensure the safety of those coming into contact with the railways.
With this Bill, Dáil Éireann will be able to say that it did not take a major disaster or loss of life before something was done about the mess in the railways. This morning's report in the Irish Independent is worrying. It claims that a secret study shows that Iarnród Éireann is run like a prison, where a climate of victimisation, bullying, harassment, mistrust and poor communications prevail. Especially worrying is the state of the company's infrastructure division, which is responsible for track maintenance, signal systems and bridge and rail safety. This is why the Bill is so important for rail safety. I hope it has a speedy passage through both Houses. I referred earlier to the battle to encourage more people to use rail transport, but this morning's leaked report does nothing to allay the fears of the public.
The media is full of reports of Luas lines and metro plans. However, it is time the capital city had a proper commuter rail network system. If my party was in Government, Dublin would have its Luas system operational today and would not suffer from the terrible and deteriorating traffic jams the construction of the network is causing. The largest city in the country should be able to boast of its ability to get citizens from one destination to another on time. London, Paris and virtually every other capital city in the developed world can do this.
The needs of my constituents in County Clare are different. The county's rail network is far from comprehensive. Long delays in travelling by public transport from one destination to another does not arise because there is virtually no such transport in rural areas. My constituents do not wait hours but years for trains.
Iarnród Éireann is upgrading the Ennis to Limerick line and its work will be completed by the end of this year. The company has informed me that a speedy service will then be in place. Regarding rail safety, I must mention, however, an incident which occurred last Sunday week close to Limerick when a locomotive struck a tractor placed on the railway line by vandals. Nobody was injured but they could have been if the train had derailed. The locomotive was damaged and passengers had to wait 90 minutes before a new one came. The danger posed by vandals concerns me greatly and I hope it will not prohibit the development of the line. Last October Iarnród Éireann broke up the crossover link on the Claremorris line at Athenry. This concerns me, particularly with regard to the development of the western line. I hope this is a short-term measure and that Iarnród Éireann will consider developing the line.
There is one proviso to my support for the Bill. The legislation must not be left to work in isolation or ignored. The new commission will be allowed to do its job but it is the Government, held to account by this House, on which the burden remains. It is the Government which must continually drive forward the safety agenda and ensure the expansion of the rail network which is badly needed.
Support for the Bill is a no-brainer. It is common sense that Ireland must have confidence in its railways as railways have been the scene of carnage and mayhem worldwide and we have not been totally spared major train accidents in our history. Though accidents have been limited in number, this does not mean that we can be filled with confidence about the state of our rail system. The IMRS report showed the trouble we were in and, more importantly, the trouble avoided, though only by a miracle. Given the level of risk detected, it is extraordinary that more people were not killed or injured in rail accidents.
Fine Gael supports the Bill but that should not blind the House or the Government to what remains to be done. The railways must be made safe in order that we can reap the benefit of a heightened confidence which must be matched by the political will to drag the rail network out of the Dark Ages and into the 21st century. Fine Gael will watch what the Government does to follow up this excellent Bill to ensure the forward momentum is continued.
This should not be a false dawn but a new beginning for safety, for rail users and a proper train service which all can use safely and efficiently. When the history of the railways is rewritten – that is what we allow for with this Bill – it will be remembered that 2002 and 2003 saw the foundations laid for expansion and that not only was safety for Ireland's rail network ensured but also its future. If we can tell the people our trains are safe, we will win the battle and win more people over to using the railways.
While the Bill refers specifically to safety on the rail network, we cannot discuss safety in isolation but must refer to the economic aspect of public transport in general and many other wide-ranging issues. I am sure you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, will permit this because the issues are linked. Safety is greatly dependent on the finance available.
I was happy to hear Deputy Pat Breen refer to this as an excellent Bill because that is what it is. In some ways it is long overdue but, having said that, it is timely in that it can cover the emergence of Luas and the metro as well as including older parts such as heritage railways, which are being brought back into use in several areas, including Clare and north Kerry. I welcome the Bill for these reasons.
I was struck by the huge amount of previous legislation referred to in the Bill, some dating back to the 1850s. We should put our minds to some type of consolidation of the legislation regarding public transport, specifically railways. It is ludicrous that it might be necessary to appeal a piece of 1836 legislation at this time. Legislation in many areas has lately been consolidated such as taxation and others, and the Minister might put his mind to this. It can be frustrating, particularly after an accident, to find that there is a vague past reference to issues that might impinge on an inquiry. In modern times, with the changes and huge investment taking place, we should look at this area with a mind to updating the legislation by means of a modern railways Act.
We, in Ireland, have been fortunate to have had a high level of safe transport of passengers which we take for granted at times. It is a dangerous presumption that every train will run safely, even with inspection. We have not had too many bad experiences, though there have been some. The Buttevant disaster in County Cork 15 or 16 years ago is one example but we have been fortunate. I compliment all those involved with rail safety such as crane inspectors, rail inspectors and related staff. They have a tough job to do; it is an all-weather, all-year round job and their vigilance that ensures passengers get to their destinations safely. Iarnród Éireann staff – CIE staff previously – have worked to an excellent standard and, against all odds, maintained tracks and rolling stock which in some cases were totally outdated and should have been done away with years ago.
That kind of safeguard comes at a cost and it is in that area that any discussion on privatisation or deregulation will have to take place. Having spent most of my adult life working in the semi-State sector, I support the involvement of the State in the sector. All things being equal, I would lean in that direction but recognise that arguments will be made for privatisation. When that debate begins, safety of passengers will have be looked at closely as it must be the priority. Second to that, a good, timely service is required in regard to which there are questions to be asked.
The debate is ongoing with regard to a number of lines, including the loss of local lines due to the loss of freight in particular areas. I recall one example of a knee-jerk reaction from the old CIE with regard to the Cork-Cobh line. During the 1980s Cork was hit by the closure of a number of major employers, Dunlop and Ford being two, which were manned, by and large, from Cobh and outlying areas. Some years later Verolme dockyard, to which workers were ferried from the city to Rushbrook, failed and there was a knee-jerk reaction to close the line to it. I was a local councillor at the time and argued against this for a long time for a number of reasons, philosophical and otherwise. At the time I was not interested in the green issues which are now so prominent on the political agenda. However, in view of our previous experience of closing lines I felt it would be a retrograde step. The old Macroom to Bandon railway line ran within 40 feet of my home and I had seen lines being closed. I argued against that closure but there was no point in arguing with the mandarins of CIE at that time. They quoted facts, figures and surveys similar to those which are being quoted at present. They surveyed the number of people who would use the railway line and what the profit on that number of passengers would be, and they pursued their objective for two years or more. They reported that people would prefer to travel by bus from Cobh to Cork and back. However, some sea change took place although I do not know what the catalyst for that was. A suitable locomotive and a couple of purpose-built carriages were purchased and the service took off. It became an excellent and sought after service and is now one of the most viable services of any CIE spur line.
We must encourage Iarnród Éireann to take a long-term view. Where there is a difficulty with passenger numbers or with freight we should encourage the company not to employ a knee-jerk reaction but to play tough. In the commercial world Say's Law states that supply creates its own demand. I saw this phenomenon in action on the Cobh line where a suitable, clean and economically viable service with well structured fares was soon found to be unable to cope with the number of passengers wishing to travel and extra carriages had to be added to the trains. The same will apply in many other areas in the future.
It can be difficult for Iarnród Éireann to pursue certain issues without adequate Government funding and in the face of public comment, which can create difficulties. It was claimed that the DART, for example, would not work because the line was bound on one side by the sea and a survey on the proposed Luas system claims that only 1% of the people surveyed would be willing to use it. It is difficult for a company to override that kind of negativity. Iarnród Éireann must deal with such arguments, with demands that the company be commercially viable and with many other pressures. Nevertheless, the company should always remember Say's Law – supply creates its own demand. I encourage the company to investigate all avenues and to provide a good service because viable services will succeed. The present regime in Iarnród Éireann builds the safety factor into all considerations of viability and I hope we never lose that guarantee.
We must persuade people to use the public service. However, people cannot afford to act on philosophical arguments about being civic minded and supporting public services. If the service is good, punctual, clean and properly priced people will avail of it. A bus service is now provided from Heuston Station to Dublin Airport and from Heuston Station to Dublin city centre. A queue of double decker buses is lined up, almost permanently, at Heuston Station. I am sure the service must be viable because the buses are full at all times. An efficient and properly structured service will be successful.
While I am supportive of State and semi-State enterprise I fear that anything that impinges on the provision of public services will damage them in the long run. For that reason I abhor all stoppages in the public transport service. I have stated this opinion to friends of mine who are involved in the trade union movement. A ludicrous situation was allowed to develop when a single employee brought the public transport system to an entire region of the west of Ireland to a halt. Such incidents help the case being made by those who want to see the private sector taking over. Every stoppage makes a significant impact. A major change is on the agenda which needs much discussion and debate. In this context, I appeal to the Minister for Transport, Deputy Brennan, to make sure that people have a proper input regarding the future of their own jobs. Regular stoppages will cause those involved to lose credibility and the public will stop using the service. If a passenger is let down by a service and misses a doctor's appointment or some important engagement, even once, he or she will tend to revert to private transport. I would be sorry to see this happen because a good service is being provided.
Deputy Pat Breen referred to vandalism and this issue must be dealt with firmly. There was a time when trains pulling out of Heuston Station were vulnerable to missiles being thrown at them and debris being placed on the line. Special steps had to be taken to deter such vandalism. Any attempt to vandalise the railways must be regarded as a serious crime because the potential exists for hundreds of people to be killed. Activities such as laying logs on the line or jamming sleepers between rails must be treated as major crimes. Wherever such activity happens it must be followed up and the perpetrators dealt with. It is difficult enough for a rail company to transport passengers without having to deal with the added problem of vandalism.
The importance of the provision of a railway service to any given area cannot be overstated. Members will, of course, use this debate to argue for the needs of their own region. In the greater Cork area a Cork area strategic plan was recently carried out. I am a little concerned that the plan is based almost totally on a presumption that Iarnród Éireann will run new lines in east Cork through Carrigtwohill and Midleton to Youghal, and to Blarney, Monard and similar areas in the west of the county. Thousands of acres of land are involved and it is presumed that areas zoned for housing and for commercial and industrial development will be served by railway lines. A major survey was done in the past 12 months at the request of the Government and the Minister has received that survey. The provision of the railway line is such a vital ingredient in the success of the plan that if Iarnród Éireann was not to provide these new lines the plan would have to be scrapped. The plan is a joint city and county exercise and its success is extremely important. In the old west of the United States the railroad companies were able to create new towns and close down others almost overnight by the provision of freight and passenger services. The provision of a rail service is as important in Ireland today as it was in the United States 150 years ago. The CASP will lead to significant investment in Cork.
The spending of money on 26 new railway carriages in the past two and a half years shines a bright light but such developments come at a high price. I was interested to receive the correspondence from Mr. Barry Kenny, public relations manager with Iarnród Éireann, announcing an investment of €117 million for carriages for inter-city services. That is a large amount of money. Every mile of railway requires a massive investment. If we are to justify that kind of investment, we must have passengers. In the past we thought a commuter was a type of Dublin person but, by and large, every town and city has its commuters. It is a fact of life that people are moving out to smaller towns and villages and want to work in the major towns and cities. To facilitate commuters, a good public service is required. Existing services are being expanded.
There were bad times in Iarnród Éireann and in public transport generally in the past. I was disappointed, because of the Abbeylara decision, that we were unable to complete the mini-CTC inquiry as what occurred certainly smacked of incompetence. It would be grossly unfair to tarnish Iarnród Éireann because of the negligence, incompetence and unbusiness-like approach of a small group. I cannot go too far into it because evidence was presented only up to a certain point. However, on the evidence presented, matters looked quite bad.
As already stated, the people of Cork have their own shopping list in terms of the provision of new lines. However, we are also concerned about the failure to do anything with Ceannt station for many years. For the past 15 to 17 years, every person in Cork city who uses the station has to travel eight tenths of a mile from the front gate simply to get to town. If one is entering the station, one has to travel that eight tenths of a mile and then go east because of the one-way traffic system. The block on which the station is situated is eight tenths of a mile. That is criminal negligence not only Cork City Council but also by Iarnród Éireann, which has alternatives. The amount of money spent, the frustration suffered, etc., should not have been tolerated.
In fairness to Iarnród Éireann, in recent years it has opened a second car park which allows people to cross over a bridge and drive back out of the station. By and large, however, 90% of those using the station for freight are losing eight-tenths of a mile and that cannot be tolerated in the context that taxpayers' money is being wasted. The difficulties at Ceannt station will have to be resolved without delay. The company probably has plans to rebuild. To resolve the problem, it is considering turning the buildings around so that the front of the station will face the River Lee.
In regard to the standard of safety, the worst aspect is the manifestation of a tolerance of overcrowding on the Dublin-Cork and Cork-Dublin train on Friday evenings. There is something wrong when people sit between carriages. On at least two of the evening trains there is a dining car which has never been used as a dining car because it is full before the train pulls out of the station. I cannot comment on the standard of the lines, but I welcome the fact that so many millions have been spent on providing continuous welded lines because that is the ultimate in rail safety. However, I am concerned at the numbers being packed into trains. It may be that people will have to be told they cannot travel on a particular train and that they will have to wait for another train in about an hour and a half or whatever. Safety should be of paramount importance.
I welcome the Bill and look forward to a full consolidation of the Railway Acts since 1836.
I wish to share time with Deputy Wall.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this Bill, which I consider it to be of great importance to the travelling public. CIE enjoys huge support from the travelling public. Increasing numbers of people are anxious to use the rail network because of the safety aspect at a time when more accidents are occurring on our roads. However, the position has changed somewhat in recent months with the introduction of the penalty points system. It is important that the Bill is before the House and that Members can contribute to it on behalf of the public, who have been so loyal to CIE over many years.
The train service here has been overlooked and under-utilised for many years. In this city and in towns and cities across the country, thousands of people spend far too much time in their cars stuck in traffic. They waste precious natural resources in gridlock adding to air pollution and swapping family time for commuting time. For too long trains have taken a back seat to cars, buses and aeroplanes in our transport development programme. It is of paramount importance that the rail system is operated in accordance with the highest standards of safety for the travelling public. There is an opinion that the laws that oversee the operation of our railway system are out of date. I welcome the fact that the Bill is broad in its remit and covers not only the Iarnród Éireann network but Luas and the planned Metro network, heritage railways and other railways which have an interface with public roads.
In these environmentally conscious times it would be well to remember the positive aspects associated with train travel. Train travel is significantly more environmentally friendly than most other forms of transport. Aeroplane travel causes more pollution per passenger mile than train travel. Some estimates indicate it is between three and eight times as much. Car travel also produces a higher level of pollution per passenger. It makes good sense to transport several hundred people at a time instead of each individual adding to gridlock and traffic chaos on our roads. If the public is offered a safe, reliable and pleasant alternative, essentially a train service in which it can have confidence, it will choose the train over the car.
Iarnród Éireann runs a television campaign which tells people it is time to take the train. It must also recognise it is time to offer a reliable and passenger-friendly service. Many of those travelling by train at weekends are packed in corridors and pay a huge price for the service. That is not good enough. We have all heard of older people standing in carriages. That is no way for a modern network to operate.
The train network is useful not only for passenger transport but also for freight. There are a number of specific advantages in this regard. The presence of heavy goods vehicles on our roads should, if possible, be minimised. The consequences for a car user or cyclist who happens to have an accident with a heavy goods vehicle can be serious. During the past six years, 75% of bicycle fatalities in Dublin have involved collisions with heavy goods vehicles. By encouraging rail freight services, the Government would remove a certain number of heavy goods vehicles from our roads. This would have positive safety implications for road users and would also be environmentally friendly.
There are many instances of where we lost opportunities to transport goods by rail and I instance one such example which is a crying shame. In north Tipperary, Lisheen Mines transports its goods from Lisheen to the port through towns and villages along an already busy stretch of road. I do not know whether the planning authorities were responsible but more thought should have gone into this. These goods should be transported by rail rather than road, particularly since the Dublin-Cork railway line is so close to Lisheen Mines. The company was allowed to take a decision to transport goods by road but it should have been encouraged to transport them by rail. When giving out the mining licences, the Government or Tipperary county council should have looked at the rail network. It was a missed opportunity because those trucks are travelling hourly through towns and villages on an already busy route.
If we examine the existing rail network, one can see the potential of freight transport. In my constituency, the rail network runs through Clonmel, Cahir and Tipperary providing a link between the important port of Rosslare and Limerick Junction where the network diverts to Cork, Tralee or Ennis. In this way, the rail network can provide an important freight link between the west and the east.
Recently, the rail line from Rosslare has been in the news. It is a railway line which is totally under exploited. There is significant potential for that rail network but it has a bad passenger service. I recently used that passenger service to see the situation first hand because I knew I would have the opportunity to speak about it in the House and that there was widespread concern in the constituency in regard to what was available. There is a bad service once a day for passengers travelling on that line. The train is in poor condition and it is not feasible for people who wish to travel regularly to use that network. The reason that network is closing is that its potential has not been exploited. I welcome the statement by the Minister for the Environment and Local Government in which he gave a commitment to the south-eastern region, particularly to that railway network.
I urge the Government to do what it can in this regard. It would be a crying shame if this generation of politicians allowed that wonderful infrastructure which serves the south-eastern region to close. There is significant support for it across the political spectrum and I welcome the Minister for the Environment and Local Government's commitment to it. I hope the Government will encourage Iarnród Éireann to keep that network open. It has significant potential and generations to come will criticise us or will see us as the generation which allowed that wonderful infrastructure to close. The south-eastern region needs that infrastructure. Towns such as Tipperary Town, one of the poorest in the country, are served by that network. I urge whoever makes the decision or whoever supports Iarnród Éireann to try to keep that network open because future generations will not thank us if it closes.
I thank Deputy Hayes for sharing his time. The title of this Bill indicates that safety is of paramount importance and cannot be overlooked. I am sure Iarnród Éireann, in its efforts, and modern technology continue to monitor the updating of safety equipment vis-à-vis trains and signalling equipment on the lines. No one wishes to see a train crash. Of all crashes, apart from those involving aircraft, train crashes result in the most loss of human life as we have seen recently in England where many such deaths have occurred. It is imperative that we keep rail safety at the top of the agenda.
Many Deputies spoke about the need to increase the number of services on the main lines which I support. To attract customers, it is essential that park and ride facilities are located at most stations. In my constituency of Kildare South, such facilities have been provided in Monasterevin and Kildare town and it is amazing to see the number of cars using them. I have seen some cars park outside the perimeters of the park and ride facilities thus causing traffic jams. Having said that, one can see the benefit of park and ride facilities to the areas. We must go further and provide park and ride facilities at other stations. It is certainly within the remit of Iarnród Éireann to continue to provide such facilities. In Athy, there is an area within the ownership of Iarnród Éireann in which it could provide more parking spaces to allow the people of Kildare South to use the rail service.
In the next year, those who use the N7 will need such facilities in their areas because there will be new interchanges at Kill and Johnstown where there are traffic lights at present. Those lights are causing traffic mayhem every day. Today, it took me two and a half hours to make a 50 mile trip. One can imagine the problems which will be created when the road works start at these two locations.
As I have said in the House before, there is a need for Iarnród Éireann and the National Roads Authority to get together to ensure the maximum number of services are provided during that period of refurbishment and the instigation of work at those two interchanges because, if not, there will be traffic mayhem on the dual carriage extending back to the motorway. That is happening at present in that there is a build up of cars back to the motorway thus causing problems in relation to speed and so on. People travelling on the motorway suddenly find cars and trucks stopped in front of them.
I hope the Minister, Deputy Brennan, will continue to put pressure on Iarnród Éireann to provide better park and ride facilities, especially in the provincial stations, and that the National Roads Authority will consult Iarnród Éireann on the provision of extra services given the forthcoming changes on the dual carriageway at Kill and Johnstown.
We have spoken at length about the extension of the Arrow service. The provision of the Arrow and DART services have enabled people to leave their cars at home or at the station. This service must be extended to other areas. Deputies from Carlow and south Kildare have argued for an extension of the Arrow service to facilitate those areas. It is imperative to keep moving towards that objective and the same applies to the DART services which should be extended along the east coast, past Greystones to Arklow. That would ensure that the maximum number of people can avail of such rail services, thus reducing road usage.
Improved rail freight services have been called for. Regular road users can see the increase in freight vehicles which take up a huge amount of space and pose a danger to road safety. We must reconsider this matter. For a long time, CIE provided rail freight services to many towns where railway station staff were employed to load and unload goods, using a tractor and trailer. We should re-examine the possibility of providing such facilities again to reduce the number of enormous trucks using roads. A progressive rail freight service structure needs to be established to alleviate some of the current road traffic chaos.
The extension of Arrow and DART services has been mentioned at length but I am disappointed that the Luas service has been further delayed due to financial constraints. Given the proposed Luas routes through the city, one can see the major advantages it will provide when it is in operation. I understand that the Luas service is being extended to Dublin Airport but I wonder if Croke Park is to be included on that line? One can only have sympathy for residents in the Croke Park area which is obstructed on certain Sundays by parked cars. Park and ride facilities at Luas stations could alleviate the concerns of local residents there. I hope the Minister, Deputy Brennan, will create such linkages when the line opens because it would be of major significance for safety.
We must continue to put pressure on Iarnród Éireann to provide special trains for all major sporting occasions. The company does not seem to realise the importance of providing such trains. I am aware that vandalism and hooliganism have occurred on trains but, in general, such trouble has not occurred on special trains catering for sporting events. I have travelled on many such trains. On one occasion, I travelled to a practice match in Tralee when two trainloads of supporters made the journey from Kildare. One can imagine the comradeship that was created on that occasion. We are in danger of neglecting these important factors, although special trains seem to have been making a comeback recently and we have had a number of them in Kildare over the past two or three years.
They are of major significance, running from Kildare to Connolly Station from where it is easy to get to Croke Park. A full train might carry 1,000 supporters with fewer cars making the trip so the traffic flow can be improved in the city. The Minister, Deputy Brennan, must move that initiative forward with Iarnród Éireann so that sporting organisations, including the FAI, the IRFU and the GAA, will use trains to reduce gridlock on our roads. Residents around Croke Park and other venues should not have to suffer from excess traffic flows caused by supporters attending sports matches. Every available facility should be employed to alleviate the residents' problems.
The rural transport initiative should include a link-up between mainline rail, Arrow and DART services and the corresponding bus services. In that way, people from rural areas would be better able to access work and educational opportunities in urban areas.
I wish to share time with Deputy Kelly.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
I welcome the Bill and take this opportunity to commend my constituency colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy McDaid, on his role in the Department of Transport. I wish him well in his endeavours during the next four and a half years. Neither the Minister, Deputy McDaid, nor myself has to worry too much about rail safety, strikes or late arrivals because ultimately we do not have a rail service. My objective, therefore, is that the Bill's provisions should be extended to embrace much more than safety, including the upgrading of tracks. The legislation should examine the extension of the railway network into areas such as mine in Donegal.
It is unfortunate that it took a derailment in November 1997 for the issue of rail safety to be addressed. It is welcome, however, that the matter is now being examined and provided for in this Bill. No measure can be too great, particularly when one is dealing with public safety, and, given the numbers travelling by train, the safety issue cannot be taken lightly.
I am glad an independent statutory body, to be known as the railway safety commission, is to be established with powers of inspection, investigation and enforcement. As the Minister indicated in his speech, section 55 of the Bill covers the investigation of railway accidents. I was glad to see that the focus of such investigations will not necessarily be on criminal prosecution but improving railway safety by establishing the cause of such incidents and making recommendations for the avoidance of similar incidents in future. It is important to learn from mistakes that have occurred but it is equally important that under section 61 a tribunal of inquiry can be established following a serious railway incident. While it is preferable to try to prevent such incidents within the terms of this legislation, we must accept that derailments or other accidents happen and it is important to establish their causes.
The establishment of a formal safety management system is to be welcomed, with the new railway safety advisory council which will incorporate representatives of organisations with an interest in rail safety. Perhaps the council's remit could be widened to include the development of railway services, not only by extending lines and examining external safety issues, but also the operation of services provided on trains. This may not be appropriate to the legislation before us, but perhaps the Minister of State will revert to me on the issue.
The Government has shown it means business in relation to upgrading of the railways. The €546 million safety related investment programme initiated in March 1999 has been very important. A total of 246 miles of track has already been replaced with continuous welded rail and 371 level crossings have been dealt with appropriately. It is a very big investment which should not be undervalued. However, continued support is needed and I am glad the Minister is talking about reconvening a task force to continue the work. Too often when we do something, we congratulate ourselves and then forget that time never stands still and that we must always keep abreast of current issues.
I began by stating we do not have a train service in County Donegal. That is not to say I never use the train service. It can be a very pleasant experience to board a train to Cork, Limerick, Galway or wherever, sit back in a comfortable space and enjoy some refreshments, enjoy the countryside going past or do some work or read the paper. In that respect I get very jealous of other Deputies who arrive here on a Tuesday refreshed and ready for action whereas Deputies from my part of the country have been struggling through traffic for five or six hours and arrive far from refreshed. This discrimination must end.
Fianna Fáil closed the railways.
I would love to have the opportunity to come here in style on a train. We have an opportunity to provide such a service relatively easily. I have previously spoken to the former Minister, Senator O'Rourke. I know that the Minister of State, Deputy McDaid, is also the type of person who would advance this idea. There was significant Government and European investment in developing the Enterprise which is now a very good quality train service from Dublin to Belfast. Given that the two stations in Belfast are now linked, there is no reason we could not initiate a direct Dublin to Derry train service. I, and I believe the Minister, have had discussions with various Ministers for transport in the Northern Ireland Executive with a view to advancing this idea. I am aware that the Executive is badly underfunded in terms of railways and that much updating is needed. However, there have been moves to develop the infrastructure in terms of both the lines and the trains. I would love to think the possibility of developing a cross-Border train service could be raised at European level and funding made available if it is still an option. Significant moneys were available for that type of venture in the past.
There is no Luas in County Donegal. The Bill, therefore, has no relevance for us in that respect. However, I ask that the rural transport initiative be progressed because it provides huge opportunities for the Inishowen Peninsula which I represent. Other parts of County Donegal have applied for funds under the rural transport initiative and been successful. The options for public transport in constituencies such as mine are limited. It is important, therefore, to reach out and give people as many opportunities and alternatives for public transport as possible.
I would wish the Minister to look also at the concept of North-South co-operation on rural infrastructure because ultimately rail development would take freight off the roads and ease traffic congestion. There is also the ongoing issue of the N2 and A5 routes. As a member of the North West Region Cross Border Group, I have met everybody from Malcolm Moss through to Peter Robinson. We have had great responses but very little action. While the Government's contribution to developing the roads as far as the Border has been relatively good, North-South co-operation should continue to be progressed, although I know that is difficult given that the Executive is not sitting at present.
It was stated the air link from Dublin to Derry would not work but it is working extremely well. It was also said the car ferry across the Foyle would not work but it is extremely successful. Ventures such as North-South co-operation are vastly under-exploited. I would like to think that we will continue to meet this challenge and believe any obstacles can be overcome.
On a different issue, the first train on which I ever travelled was delayed because of a suicide. For a while the subject was to the fore in the press. I refer to it in the context of counselling for staff, particularly train drivers. At one stage it was very common, particularly in England, for people to commit suicide by jumping in front of trains. I read that there is a section of railway employment which deals with safety, particularly the issue of train drivers' fitness for work in terms of whether they are intoxicated and so on. However, the issue of counselling and support for people should they encounter serious incidents such as suicide should also be looked at.
In County Donegal there is an opportunity to develop the railway heritage which is not being exploited. The Departments of Transport and Arts, Sport and Tourism could link together to develop the railway heritage and reopen some of the railways that were closed. In a very good new development around Bushmills the old steam train has been brought back.
I ultimately want an all-Ireland train service and believe that would not be impossible. I urge the Minister to progress the issue.
Rail safety legislation has not been properly updated since the foundation of the State. This has led to an untenable situation where Ireland's rail operating company, Iarnród Éireann, is responsible for all financial and economic elements of the company but also solely and completely responsible for operational rail safety.
I am delighted to welcome the forthcoming legislation which will see the formation of an independent regulatory body for rail safety in Ireland for the very first time. Ireland's rail network is linked in history and style to the much more extensive UK network, formerly known as British Rail. Most of what is our present day network was constructed under British rule. Railways in a recognisable form have been in existence since the early 19th century. To get a sense of the different scales of the two networks, there are many criteria which may be usefully compared. For example, the combined UK rail companies have more passenger journeys in a day than Iarnród Éireann has in a year. It is important to remember differences such as this when comparing safety records in terms of major accident-free years, for example. The fact that Ireland has not had a multiple-fatality derailment since the Cherryville Junction disaster on 21 August 1983 with seven passenger deaths is often alluded to by Iarnród Éireann as evidence of one of the best rail safety records in Europe. With increasing passenger numbers annually and a more frequent and extensive service planned under the national development plan, we must be ready to accept the increasing potential for serious accidents if our infrastructure, regulation, training and safety systems are not up to standard.
The Regulation of Railways Acts, 1840, 1871 and 1889 were all introduced under British rule. The formation of the State created for the first time divergent legislation. The Railways Act, 1924 is still the most relevant legislation for the operation of all aspects of Ireland's railways. Even to the present day most legislation applicable to rail safety emanates from inquiries into accidents or, if we are lucky, near misses. A network our size would not have the potential for accidents that the bigger UK network would have. This has created a major problem in that fewer accidents lead to fewer inquiries. In the absence of regular independent inquiries into rail accidents, there has been no dynamic presence—
The Deputy should move the adjournment of the debate. He will have six minutes when it resumes.
Debate adjourned.