I thank the Deputy for the question and I wish to confirm straight off that my Department is working with the National Transport Authority and Iarnród Éireann to progress a number of rail projects in Galway, including double-tracking the line between Athenry and Galway. In order to progress this project, Iarnród Éireann has appointed a multidisciplinary engineering consultancy, and the Galway line capacity study commenced last summer, so the work is in hand at the moment. The development of an emerging preferred option is expected to be identified later this year. Separately, and related, as the Deputy said, works commenced at Oranmore Station last October. This project will provide an additional platform and a passing loop. This will increase capacity on the Galway to Athenry line. The project is scheduled to be completed next year and will be of immediate benefit to the route. Work is also progressing on Ceannt Station. These works, which are scheduled to be completed later this year, will increase the number of platforms from two to five, which will support the growth of train service frequencies envisioned under the all-island strategic rail review. In order to start making the vision set out in the rail review a reality, the NDP sectoral investment plan for transport, which my Department published in November, provides funding to advance a number of early interventions by 2030, including new passing loops and platforms to boost rail connectivity and resilience. Included in these early interventions are new platforms at Clara and Woodlawn on the Galway line which will support journey times. The sectoral plan also provides funding to commence the construction of the reinstatement of the western rail corridor between Claremorris and Athenry. I look forward to seeing these projects being delivered in the years ahead. This morning I met the chief executive of Iarnród Éireann to get a progress report on the works that are going on right across the country in terms of the all-island rail review. I am happy to say that progress is being made and that last year we had 55 million journeys on rail. We are now talking about rail in a fashionable way as opposed to how we were talking about for the past 20 years, which was talking about closing it down. We are now in expansion and growth mode, and that is what we will be doing.
Sentiment score: 0.34
I thank the Deputy for raising that issue. As someone who has been in politics since 2004, I am glad to see the demands that are now coming for rail and for investment in rail. At that time, the agenda was to close down the railways and people continued with that up to two or three years ago. I am glad to see that my colleagues in the constituency have seen the light of day and are now supporting the implementation of and investment in rail. It is a success story and we are now in growth and investment mode. There are 285 new carriages on order at the moment, with a total of 750 to be procured over the next number of years. That is an investment. What is happening at the moment is that we have demand that is growing every year and that is great. What we have to do is make sure we, as a Government, provide the investment to make sure we can meet that demand and give a good experience to the passenger. The idea of a new train station for Louth has a lot of merit. We need to get the population there travelling by public transport rather than by cars and all that goes with that. Over the next number of year, I will look forward to making sure we invest. My two colleagues here are totally behind me on that.
Sentiment score: 0.35
When mentioned colleagues, I was not referring to Deputy Dolan but he knows the history of what people were trying to do. They were trying to close down lines and they were from political parties and none. Basically, I am saying that agenda is gone. What we need to do now is to work together to make sure we deliver what we can deliver. We have the will to do it and Iarnród Éireann is capable of doing it. We will start in a logical way. We are going to make sure that Ceannt Station is capable. In the meantime, while we are getting the double tracking done, we will get a passing loop and a new station at Oranmore. We are also going to open up the line between Athenry and Claremorris, so that we can service the west of Ireland. I know well the Deputy supports all of that. The agenda has changed and people are demanding investment. They are getting the investment and we will continue to do that. Not everything is going to happen at the one time. We have set out our strategic plan for investment over the next five years and beyond. When I met representatives of Irish Rail this morning, I got their programme. They are looking at the next 15 to 20 years. I am looking forward to seeing all of that being delivered, as the Deputy is.
Sentiment score: 0.12
Yes, I thank the Leas-Ceann Comhairle.
Sentiment score: 0.64
I thank the Deputy for asking the question. I know he is passionate about it, as are a lot of Deputies and Ministers, because it is something we need to get sorted. The overriding consideration in relation to age limits for bus drivers has been safety. It is a matter for relevant bus companies, including Bus Éireann, to set their own terms and conditions in relation to employment, including retirement age. Bus Éireann applies a retirement age of 70 years for drivers across its wider road passenger services, including semi-State PSO services and school transport services operated or managed on behalf of the Minister for education. This approach is consistent across the PSO cohort, as neither Dublin Bus nor Go Ahead Ireland employ drivers over the age of 70. Bus Éireann’s policy of operating services with drivers up to age 70 is grounded in safety considerations. This policy is informed by the company's operational experience and also by ongoing engagement with relevant stakeholders, including the RSA and other public operators. At this stage, I have had contact with Bus Éireann over the past year since I came into office. I have asked it to look at the requirements for people over 70. It has been looking at that. It has a safety board and an accessibility committee and they are considering whether to increase the upper age limit to 75 for its drivers. Bus Éireann is looking at this at the moment and it will continue to engage with the Departments of Education and Youth and Transport on all of this. Hopefully, we will get a conclusion on it which will be acceptable to all in the not-too-distant future.
Sentiment score: 0.27
A private operator can be asked by the school to bring a group from Galway to the zoo in Dublin and someone aged over 70 can drive the vehicle, but someone that age cannot drive students in the local area to the local school, a route with which they will be a lot more familiar. There is an issue there to be resolved. In all fairness, Bus Éireann is looking at that. It has to look at it from a safety perspective. It also has to look at it from a logistical point of view as to how this will work. This probably affects the private bus operators more than Bus Éireann because they have people who are well experienced and school bus runs are part-time work. This is a work in progress. The Department of education is involved in it as well as Bus Éireann. I will continue to work with them to try to find a solution, which the Deputy is requesting.
Sentiment score: 0.21
I reassure the Deputy and every other Deputy in the House that this is a priority for the Department of Transport and that I have the support of the Ministers and the Government on this. We are making sure that any changes we make, or made, take into account all the safety factors that have to be considered as well. I agree with the Deputy. I see this in my constituency where private operators find it hard to get drivers to do part-time work and there are very well-qualified drivers who may be 70, 71, 72 or 73, who can do this and who were doing it last year but who cannot do it this year. We have to look at that and have a pragmatic approach, and that is what is being done at the moment. Hopefully, we will get the solution to it in the not-too-distant future.
Sentiment score: 0.38