Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 September 2018
6. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the action taken by him to address the fact that Iarnród Éireann’s new timetable has reduced the service to commuters in Portmarnock. [37718/18]
View answer53. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to the considerable issues that are presented by the recent review of Irish Rail timetables; the steps he will take to address these issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37872/18]
View answerI am shocked that we are only concluding priority questions now, at 11.20 a.m. I assure the Minister that I will be sticking to the allotted time and I hope he does too.
Like other Deputies in my constituency, I had to spend the summer, especially the last two weeks, dealing with very irate Portmarnock train users who were the victims of a so-called improvement in Iarnród Éireann DART services to the north side of Dublin and beyond. It came at the expense of Portmarnock residents. I wonder if the Minister is aware of it. Has he done anything about it?
I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 53 together.
As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport I have responsibility for policy and overall funding relating to public transport. I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport. The operation of Iarnród Éireann services, including the new DART timetables, is a matter for the company with oversight by the National Transport Authority, NTA.
The DART and commuter sail services carried almost 33 million passenger journeys in the Dublin region in 2017, an increase of 6% compared with 2016. The DART had a growth rate of 29% in the period from 2013 to 2017.
That refers to the people using the service.
As I mentioned in my response to Deputy Troy, the DART expansion programme is a key feature of Dublin's future transport infrastructure that is proposed in the NTA's transport strategy for the greater Dublin area for 2016 to 2035. The DART expansion programme is a series of projects that will create a full metropolitan area DART network for Dublin with all the lines linked and connected. The estimated cost of the DART expansion programme is €2 billion. The NTA and Iarnród Éireann are in the process of defining an overall integrated schedule for the DART expansion programme with numerous projects to be completed by 2027.
As I mentioned, as part of the DART expansion programme and the move to a ten-minute frequency for DART services, Iarnród Éireann introduced a new timetable on Sunday, 9 September to provide for enhanced DART frequency. The new DART timetable involves increasing services between Bray and Howth Junction and Donaghmede from a 15 minute frequency to a ten-minute frequency, with the Howth Junction and Donaghmede to Howth and Malahide segments of the network improving from a 30 minute DART service to a 20 minute service. The DART service from Greystones to Bray remains at a 30 minute frequency.
Frequently, the introduction of new timetables gives rise to some teething issues that need to be addressed to improve the service for customers. As I indicated in my response to the Deputy's earlier priority question, the main issue that has arisen with this timetable change relates to capacity on the north side of Dublin. I am assured that Iarnród Éireann is working with the NTA to iron out those problems, and I am aware that as a direct response to customer feedback, Iarnród Éireann has introduced additional services which will particularly benefit those commuters in Portmarnock.
In summary, with the two additional services now added by Iarnród Éireann, Portmarnock now has the same number of peak morning services as it had before the timetable change and Clongriffin has one extra. Iarnród Éireann has stated that it believes that these changes will address the frequency concerns from customers from Portmarnock and Clongriffin and the capacity issues that have arisen, especially at DART stations such as Harmonstown and Killester.
As the Minister says, Portmarnock now has the same numbers. I put it to him that this is as a result of the outcry from commuters, which had to be articulated by public representatives, and the week or ten days of nightmare they had to endure. He might also note the fact that the evening service has not been restored and is not up to par. No one expects the Minister to micromanage Iarnród Éireann and he was not asked to do that. Presumably, however, as he is responsible for Iarnród Éireann, the Minister has a role to play in commenting on situations where the health and safety of passengers is endangered. Presumably he has a view on a situation where public representatives must contact Iarnród Éireann seeking information on why Portmarnock was selected for a reduced service supposedly to enhance the service in other areas. When we ask how that decision was reached and what passenger data were used to say that Portmarnock, an area with 1,000 new houses coming on stream, should be the service that would be hit, presumably the Minister has a view and a role to play . He could step in and do something to correct those bad practices.
I am glad that the Deputy acknowledges that I am not expected to micromanage every railway route in the country, which is something I cannot do. I think it is the first such acknowledgement I have had in this House from anybody. What I can do, and I obviously do, is monitor new projects of this sort very closely when they are introduced to see if they are successful, and to see if passengers are being discommoded generally or in specific places.
In the cases raised by Deputy Troy and by Deputy Clare Daly, I have been struck by the fact that the NTA has reacted very positively and very quickly to the inevitable difficulties. We have seen difficulties in north Dublin with the DART expansion scheme, which is inevitable when a large scheme of this sort happens. We have seen similar difficulties with the Luas in south Dublin. These instances have been marked by the fact that where there were difficulties, the trains were switched back and restored. In fact, the overcrowding which Deputy Clare Daly has addressed has in fact been sorted. That is what a good train or bus operator should do. It should be prepared to make radical changes, and when it has miscalculated - it is not an exact science - it should adjust accordingly. I suggest that is what it has done in Portmarnock.
I would suggest that it did not. I can tell the Minister that it was not very fast for the people who were on the front line dealing with this issue solidly for the past week or indeed for the passengers who had to endure it. I have never said that the Minister should micromanage the service, but presumably as the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport he has a role when the national rail operator puts forward an improvement in the service, bringing more DARTs but fewer carriages and more frequency but less space for people. He agrees that there is a problem, as he said in his introduction. There is a problem with capacity, not on the south side of Dublin but on the north side. What is he doing to address that problem more expediently?
This is the area where we expect growth. Taking Portmarnock as an example, 1,000 new houses are due in the next year alone. Many more thousands are planned in the immediate future. These are the people the Taoiseach loves, the people who get up in the morning to stand in Portmarnock DART station as the trains go by them, or to be mashed in, with pregnant women and children standing the whole way into town. It is unacceptable and the Minister should be doing a hell of a lot more on it.
I will take the opportunity to seek clarification from the Minister. He has responsibility for the funding given to Irish Rail to purchase new rolling stock. If I can be very clear, as the Minister said I was not so in my original questions, have the reconditioned carriages been ordered? If so, when were they ordered and when does the Minister expect delivery of same? That is, in what quarter of 2019? How many reconditioned carriages will be delivered for use by Irish Rail? If they have not been ordered, when will they be ordered? The Minister alluded to 300 new carriages in 2020. When were they ordered or have they been ordered? If not, when are they due to be ordered and when will they be delivered and in use? I ask the Minister for a specific year and quarter.
I told the Deputy the answer to his question, but maybe he was not happy with the answers. The procurement process for additional DART fleet is expected to commence this year, with the contract for approximately 300 new rail carriages expected to be awarded in the second half of 2019. Some 28 refurbished carriages are to re-enter service in 2019, and this will add capacity to a number of services.
When will the new ones be introduced?
Iarnród Eireann and the NTA are assessing the availability of additional fleet that could be introduced to passenger services on the rail network across Ireland in the short term.
That is a considerable commitment to provide new carriages in the coming years, which I hope will satisfy the Deputy.
Deputy Clare Daly mentioned the number of new houses being built in Portmarnock. She is correct in saying there are 1,000 new houses. That is absolutely to be welcomed. I am glad that the Deputy is acknowledging that there are houses being built in the area. There is, of course, a race to meet them with the necessary infrastructure and that is what is being done. A critical problem is trying to keep the infrastructure going at the same pace as houses are being built. That is what is being achieved by the projects being introduced, not only involving the DART but also the Luas and bus services. To suggest we are not meeting the requirements and do not have the energy or ambition to meet the requirements in the provision of the housing that is also being supplied is disingenuous.
