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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 28 Nov 1922

Vol. 1 No. 31

DAIL IN COMMITTEE. - RAILWAYS.

The next Estimate deals with Railways and the amount is £31,860. This Estimate is for contributions which the British Government made or promised to make many years ago to Railways; in some cases they were to be payments by Local Authorities. This particular system was inaugurated to encourage the construction of railways in various parts of the country where it was know the revenue derived from the working of the railways would not be sufficient to meet the working expenditure and the capital expenditure, and it was arranged, when the scheme was originally put into operation, that the Treasury—that is, the British Treasury— would come in to the extent of 2 per cent. of the capital cost, paying about one-half, and the Local Authorities had to contribute in order to provide for either the working expenses or the interest on capital. As regards sub-head (b), during the war the British Government built three small railway lines in Ireland to expand the supply of coal from Irish pits. Those were lines to Wolfhill, Castlecomer, and Arigna. The first two connected the collieries with the Great Southern and Western Railway, and the third connected Arigna with the Cavan and Leitrim Railway. These lines were the property of the British Government and they passed to the Provisional Government. They cost £340,000 to construct. They have never carried enough coal to pay running expenses. The Government has to pay the loss, and the sums mentioned under sub-head (b) make provision for this. The hopes of the Finance Ministry are that when conditions improve there may be enough coal carried to pay expenses.

In connection with these baronial guaranteed railways, where it is found the impost on the barony or district is excessive, is there any means by which these baronial guarantors could be relieved of their liability? In the case of the Dublin and Blessington Steam Tram the Government contribute £800 and the baronial guarantee is £2,000. The ratepayers consider the service rendered by the Tramway Company is not in proportion to the extent of the rates collected. Is there any means by which they could repudiate that liability and get out of it?

Stop the trams running.

The Government and the Dáil will recollect that arising out of certain circumstances created about last February the Government gave an undertaking, and carried out that undertaking, to appoint a Commission to enquire into the future administration of the railways of this country. The Commission finished its work about a month or six weeks ago, and the recommendations in the two reports have been in the hands of the members of this Dáil since that time. I would like to know, arising out of this Vote, if the Government have yet taken any steps to determine what their policy will be arising out of the recommendation of that particular Commission, and when, if ever, they will give an opportunity to the Members of this Dáil to discuss the future of the railways. When that discussion takes place I am sure, especially if the recommendations of the Commission are acted upon, that it will relieve, I hope at any rate it will, the grievances that have been referred to by Deputy Wilson. I would like to ask if the Government has given any consideration to the recommendations of that Commission, and if and when they will bring in a recommendation in regard to their policy.

We have had that subject under consideration on one or more occasions. In the absence of the Minister for Industry and Commerce I would not like to make any statement. I believe he has had the subject under consideration. I was to have seen him to-day about it, but I was unable.

It can be raised on the Estimates for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

The particular railway line that Deputy Wilson mentions came into the European War with somewhat less satisfactory rolling stock and railway line than they had when they came out of the war. In other words, the control, or, at least, the management of the Dublin Country Council was rather good. I am told it improved very much. The loss, however, is pressing very heavily upon the ratepayers of the County of Wicklow. It is a peculiar sort of arrangement by which the deficit in the working is raised. Half this falls upon the Co. Wicklow and half upon Dublin, or rather upon the rate-paying area that is liable for the upkeep of that railway. I am speaking entirely from memory, but the valuation of the Wicklow area on which the line is a charge is £13,000; and the valuation of the area in Dublin for which the line is a charge is £50,000, although the sum which has to be made up is equally divided between the two areas. In other words, the ratepayers in the rate contributing area in Wicklow will pay four times the amount that the ratepayers in the rate contributing area in Dublin will be liable for. That is a case which certainly would require some special consideration. The railway is an unfortunate one. The part of the railway in the Co. Wicklow is expensive. It is expensive because of the very irregular level, and the line has many twists and turns which make it very expensive to run. I understand that it would be possibly line ball if it were only to run from Dublin to Tallaght. But if the ratepayers of Wicklow repudiate the undertaking given forty years ago by not now paying for the upkeep of that line I do not think that will be fair. If it presses too heavily upon them there ought to be some means of relieving them, but I do not think it is wise for them to say, "we do not accept any liability at all." I do not think there is anything else I have to say on these Estimates except that this is certainly one that cannot be reduced.

Motion made and question put: "That the Dáil in Committee having considered the Estimate for railways in 1922-23, and having passed the Vote on account of £10,000 for the period to the 6th December, 1922, recommend that the full Estimate of £31,860 for the financial year 1922-23 be adopted in due course by the Oireachtas."

Agreed to.

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