Seanad Éireann debate -
Thursday, 2 Apr 1998

Vol. 154 No. 21

Adjournment Matters. - Extension of DART Operation Times.

Mr. Cosgrave

I thank you for allowing me to raise this matter on the Adjournment and I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Jacob, to the House.

It is clear that a full review of the DART service, particularly its operation times, is overdue. This service, which has been a tremendous success, has been in operation for over ten years. However, certain aspects of it need attention. The times of the last DART trains need to be reviewed with a view to extending them so that the DART is available as an extra traffic option late at night. From Monday to Saturday the last train from the nearest station to this House leaves at 11.18 p.m. for the north side of the city and at 11.22 p.m. for the south side. That is too early for people who are at parties, in pubs or working late. In most other European cities one can avail of public transport at a later hour. The various authorities should discuss this matter and agree to extend the DART's operation times. Perhaps we could introduce different times in summer and winter or when the licensing laws are changed. This issue must be looked at particularly when one considers that many licensed premises have extensions to 12.30 a.m. if not later.

We should link the DART service to the other transport facilities. There is vast room for improvement in the taxi service and in areas serviced by the Nitelink buses. A concerted effort to improve transport services only seems to be made at Christmas. I ask the Minister to provide the necessary extra funding to ensure that proper facilities and the necessary staff are provided.

We should also examine Sunday services on the DART, which are totally unsatisfactory. When it was first set up, work practices were different and people respected the Sabbath. That is no longer the case as people work on Sundays. The first DART on the north and south sides of the city runs at 9.30 a.m. or 9.45 a.m. That is not satisfactory for those who wish to avail of the service. We are trying to encourage more people to leave the car at home and use other transport. This morning my party members agreed to come to work by different transport methods. If we want to stop people from travelling into the city in cars and clogging up the system, we must encourage them to use the DART. On Sundays many tourists avail of transport facilities to catch trains or the boat at the North Wall. We must ensure a good Sunday service is available.

People who travel to Greystones have told me that extra rolling stock must be made available when the new service is extended there. People who get on the DART in Greystones may not notice the problem until they are close to Dublin. Extra rolling stock must be made available if the already overcrowded trains are not to become even more so. I know the Minister will agree with much of what I have said. Improvements will need money and also a sense of commitment to giving a better service. The DART service has been a great success and will, I hope, improve further with the laying of lines to the airport and the extension of the line to Greystones. The service is needed at times of the day when it is not available at present and I hope the Minister will reply positively to my suggestions.

Minister of State at the Department of Public Enterprise (Mr. Jacob)

I thank Senator Cosgrave for raising this most important issue. I agree with many of the points he made, particularly the need for additional rolling stock to serve extensions to the rail services. Some of these extensions are particularly close to my heart as they involve my own constituency.

Córas Iompair Éireann receives an annual subvention from the Exchequer for the provision of socially necessary services which cannot be provided on a fully commercial basis. In determining the level of subvention to be paid to CIE each year, the Government has to find the right balance between a range of competing demands across all sectors of the economy. The State makes substantial resources available to Córas Iompair Éireann each year; in 1998 this will amount to £107.2 million. Indeed, the level of commitment shown by successive Governments to CIE is clearly demonstrated by the fact that, over the past ten years, Exchequer funding amounted to approximately £1 billion. Iarnród Éireann has received about 90 per cent of this amount to fund its operations, including the DART service. I should explain that this figure does not include Iarnród Éireann's receipts from the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs in respect of the operation of the free travel scheme in that period.

The allocation of the State subvention to the individual companies within the CIÉ group is entirely a matter for the board of CIE. It is then a matter for the individual companies, such as Iarnród Éireann, to decide on the distribution of this allocation in support of particular areas of its operations. The House will appreciate that these are internal matters for the CIE group and I have no function in relation to them.

Under the Transport Acts, the question of providing rail services in the Dublin area is a day to day operational matter for Iarnród Éireann. In responding to the requirements of the travelling public, including the requirement to provide additional services, the company must apply the overall resources available as cost effectively as possible having regard to the wide range of demands which it faces for new and improved services.

The question of operating the DART service late at night is not hampered by a lack of capital investment. Extending the service late at night would, however, impose extra cost on Iarnród Éireann for the provision of additional drivers, station staff, security staff, lighting and so on and there is no evidence that revenue from additional ticket sales would come close to offsetting that cost. Iarnród Éireann's passenger surveys show that demand for DART services drops off after about 9 p.m.

Iarnród Éireann is very much alive to the need to develop and improve the quality of the service it offers to customers in all areas, including the Dublin area. The company keeps its services under regular review so as to identify measures which can be taken, within available resources, to improve services for its customers.

A suburban rail development programme is under way, including extensions to Greystones and Malahide, the acquisition of new rolling stock, the improvement of existing stations and the development of new stations. Additional rail cars are on order for the suburban rail network and new stations are being provided on the Maynooth line. A review by CIE of suburban rail investment requirements, for consideration in the context of securing EU funding after 1999, will be completed later this year.

The Dublin Transportation Office is also urgently carrying out a short term review of transportation strategy recommended by the Dublin Transportation Initiative. The purpose of this review is to identify what additional measures can be taken between now and the end of 1999 to address the transport challenges facing the capital city. This will look, in particular, at public transport provision as well as traffic management. A key question that has to be addressed in any review of the public transport provision in the city is how best to use scarce resources and how to ensure the optimum value for money from any planned expenditure.

The Seanad adjourned at 5.50 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 7 April 1998.