Vol. 476 No. 3
9 Mr. N. Treacy asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications if he will allocate a special sum of £5 million to upgrade the Limerick-Sligo railway line in 1997; the date on which this will be done; the nature of the works to be executed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7118/97]
Decisions on the upgrading of individual railway lines are matters for the board and management of CIE and Iarnród Éireann. I have no statutory function in the matter. The Exchequer provides substantial financial support to CIE and to the railway in particular. The 1997 Exchequer subvention for CIE is £105 million, an increase of £5 million on the 1996 figure. Approximately £90 million will be allocated this year towards the cost of maintaining rail infrastructure and supporting rail services which are not fully commercially viable. Apart from the substantial support for the rail network provided through the Exchequer subvention to CIE, there are no other funds available to me for rail investment.
The Deputy will be aware there is an ongoing programme of mainline rail investment which is supported by EU funds and CIE resources, including the Exchequer subvention. Proposals for EU assisted investment must in each case be accompanied by rigorous investment appraisal and cost-benefit evaluation. Investments from CIE resources must meet the investment appraisal criteria laid down by the Department of Finance, as well as CIE internal evaluation criteria.
The current mainline rail investment programme which is supported by EU funds and CIE resources, is included in the Community Support Framework 1995-99 which was largely shaped when the Deputy's party was last in Government. I have already publicly complemented my predecessor, Deputy Cowen, on his involvement in that.
Even under the extensive investment programme now under way, there is a limit to the resources available for rail investment. It is therefore necessary to prioritise investment projects on the basis of demand levels and expected economic return. It will not always be possible to upgrade every railway line to the standard of the main inter-city routes, still less to reopen sections of line which have been closed for many years. Having said that, there are no proposals for closure of any railway lines.
I am exceedingly disappointed with the Minister's response. I am sure he agrees that as CIE and its subsidiary companies report to him, policy must be agreed by the Minister, his Department and, ultimately, the Government. In many cases their operations are subject to ministerial agreement and licence. In view of the fact that the Government states clearly that there is tremendous economic buoyancy and there is plenty of cash around at present, I ask that the Minister make a special sum of £5 million available for upgrading a line linking two important cities, Limerick and Sligo. Galway is to the west of that line and it could also be linked to it. Will the Minister reconsider the situation and persuade his colleague, the Minister for Finance, to make that £5 million available for upgrading this line as a special gesture to western regionalisation?
There is more than £5 million in the subvention for CIE this year which was never made available by any Minister for Finance who was a colleague of Deputy Treacy. As I said, this is an operational matter for the railway company. It is not subject to my agreement, it is not operated under any licence which I issue, nor was it ever operated under any licence which any of my predecessors issued. It is entirely an operational matter for the company.
In fact, I could go further and state it is a requirement of EU legislation that railways should be managed independently of Ministers or Departments and that has been the case for some time. It was the case when Deputies Séamus Brennan, Cowen and Geoghegan-Quinn were Ministers for Transport.
It would be enormously helpful to the case the Deputy is making, with which I have a great deal of sympathy, if we could be shown that there are viable and real proposals for a demand for the use of the service which would at least cover the operating costs. Deputies in the area concerned would be well advised to prospect for business in that way. CIE is making a considerable marketing effort for the service but if business does not come forward which can pay rates which will cover the operating costs, the situation is hardly likely to improve.
I do not accept everything the Minister said. Does he agree CIE is manipulating the situation to suit itself in view of the fact that there is no subsidy for the transport of freight by CIE but there is a public service contract which allows it to subsidise passengers on particular lines? As a result, CIE and Iarnród Éireann are operating trains on the subsidised lines to the detriment of the freight lines which get no subsidy and must operate on commercial criteria. There is a minimum requirement of 50 miles per hour for trains travelling on these lines to make them commercially viable and, consequently, it is impossible, due to this manipulation, for lines such as Limerick-Sligo to avail of the same equality of opportunity or investment as other lines. Will the Minister intervene to ensure there is no further distortion in this area?
I compliment the Deputy on the compendious nature of his knowledge about the operations of CIE. He has set out the situation fairly in a kind of thumbnail sketch. The only point where I disagree with him is that it constitutes manipulation. It does not. It is common sense.
I take it from what the Minister said he is satisfied that CIE continues on this operation of lucrative lines to the detriment of the western region, in other words, if it can survive, well and good. However, he seems to be saying that he has no interest in supporting a proper regional transport infrastructure, which is so vital to my area. Will he ensure that CIE invests in this line and gives it the same priority as other lines?
The Deputy may not take it that my view is the one which he ascribed to me in the first place. That is certainly not my view. I am not happy with the current situation of CIE. I will encourage the company and all the people who work in it to continue to make efforts to reduce their cost base and make the company more cost effective so that we can develop the contribution which the railways make to the national transport scene and growth generally. I ask Deputies opposite to join me in encouraging everybody in CIE to work that way because there is far more at stake here in what is facing the company than the simple short-term questions——
At least the Hitler-style tactics are gone.
——which Deputies raise here.
Hitler is dead.
What is at stake here in a very real sense is the future of the company and its ability to make the kind of contribution to economic growth and development which I know the Deputies opposite want.
I caution Deputies opposite against trying to have it both ways. The Fianna Fáil Party in opposition purports to criticise the Government for spending too much money and yet time after time Deputies come in here asking for more money to be spent. They must make up their minds.
The Minister is distorting the matter.
