de Brún calls for quality all-Ireland railway service
Sinn Féin MEP Bairbre de Brún has rejected railway liberalisation as proposed
in a report being debated on in the European Parliament. Today (18th
January) MEPs are going to vote on what is called the 3rd Railway Package,
parts of which are positive, but parts of which pose a real threat to rail
services and to workers and consumers and "will lead either to less services
for consumers or to a greater amount of public money being used
purely
to maintain the existing level of services."
Ms de Brún said:
"The
Savary Report on Certification of Train Crews is a pragmatic and positive
proposal to improve the certification of train crews which will contribute
to railway safety and to the safety of passengers and crew.
"However
the Jarzembowski Report on Liberalisation of Rail Passenger Transport
proposes 'open access' competition for international rail passenger
transport from 2010 and, even more worryingly, for national rail passenger
transport from 2017.
"There is a crying need for increased public
investment in the development of an all-Ireland railway service. In 1922 no
less than 20 railway lines crossed the border. Today the only cross-border
railway link is from Dublin to Belfast. Reversing this trend requires an
all-Ireland strategy and significant public investment.
"Passengers
will not benefit from liberalisation of rail passenger services. Allowing
open access competition will lead to cherry-picking, leaving network
providers to compete with single-route providers on profitable routes.
Network providers will either have to provide less services for consumers,
or else more public money will have to be used to maintain the
existing
level of services, money which should be used to develop good
quality
modern railway services.
"Open access competition will jeopardise
consumer services regarding timetable information, ticketing and
connections. Liberalisation will result in further job losses, a poorer
service and a worsening of working conditions in the sector.
"This
proposal is ideologically motivated and will reduce the possibility for
Ireland to develop a high-quality all-Ireland railway service.
"I
recently hosted a high powered Sinn Féin delegation in Brussels to meet with
the European Commission about the urgent need for infrastructure development
in the region, including rail transport. I would call on the Irish
government and the EU institutions to give serious consideration to the
needs of the NW and areas like it and to step back from the path of privatisation
proposed in the Jarzembowski report." ENDS
Note for editors:
Competition
based on 'open access' allows any railway company to run on a route as it
wishes. There are no rules regarding quality of services to be respected. A
system of 'regulated competition' generally grants exclusive rights to a single
company for operating alone on a certain infrastructure after a tendering
process. Service quality criteria can be imposed.
Iarrann De Brún seirbhís iarnróid uile-Éireannach d'ardcháilíocht
Dhiúltaigh
Bairbre de Brún FPE glacadh le saoradh iarnróid mar a bhí molta i dtuairisc
atá faoi chaibidil i bParlaimint na hEorpa. Inniú 18 Eanáir caithfidh
FPE vóta ar an 3ú Pacáiste Iarnróid, mar a thugtar air, a bhfuil codanna
dearfacha ann, ach tá codanna eile ann atá ina bhfíorbhagairt do sheirbhísí
iarnróid agus d'oibrithe agus do thomhaltóirí agus "mar thoradh orthu
beidh níos lú seirbhísí do thomhaltóirí nó níos mó airgid poiblí caite chun
leibhéal na seirbhísí atá ann cheana féin a choinneáil."
Dúirt
an Iníon de Brún:
"Is moladh pragmatach dearfach é
Tuarascáil Savary ar Dheimhniú Foirne Traenach chun deimhniú
foirne traenach a fheabhsú a chuirfidh le sábháilteacht iarnróid agus
le sábháilteacht paisinéirí agus foirne.
"Molann
Tuairisc Jarzembowski ar Shaoradh Iompar Paisinéirí Iarnróid, áfach, comórtas
'rochtana oscailte' d'iompar paisinéirí iarnróid idirnáisiúnta ó 2010
agus, níos imníche arís, d'iompar paisinéirí iarnróid náisiúnta ó 2017.
"Tá
géarghá ann chun tuilleadh infheistíochta poiblí i bhforbairt seirbhís
iarnróid
uile-Éireannach. I 1922 thrasnaigh 20 iarnród ar a laghad an
teorainn.
Sa lá atá inniu ann níl ann ach aon nasc iarnróid trasteorann
amháin
ó Bhaile Átha Cliath go Béal Feirste. Tá gá le straitéis
uile-Éireannach
agus infheistíocht shuntasach poiblí chun an treocht seo a
chúlú.
"Ní
bhainfidh paisinéirí tairbhe as saoradh seirbhísí paisinéirí iarnróid. Le
comórtas rochtana oscailte ní bheidh ann sa deireadh ach roghnú buntáisteach,
ag fágáil soláthróirí líonra le dul in iomaíocht le soláthróirí
aonbhealach a oibríonn ar bhealaí brábúsacha. Beidh ar sholáthróirí
líonra níos lú seirbhísí do thomhaltóirí a chur ar fáil, nó beidh
gá le tuilleadh airgead poiblí chun leibhéal seirbhísí atá ann cheana a
choinneáil, airgead ar chóir a úsáid chun seirbhísí iarnróid nua-aimseartha
de dhea-cháilíocht a fhorbairt.
"Cuirfidh comórtas
rochtana oscailte seirbhísí tomhaltóirí i gcontúirt maidir
le heolas clár ama, díol ticéad agus naisc. Mar thoradh ar shaoradh caillfear
poist, beidh seirbhís níos boichte ann agus rachaidh coinníollacha oibre
san earnáil in olcas.
"Is é an idé=eolaíocht a spreag an
moladh seo agus laghdóidh sé an fhéidearthacht d'Éirinn chun
seirbhís iarnróid uile-Éireannach d'ardcháilíocht a fhorbairt.
"D'éascaigh
mé toscaireacht ardchumhachta ar an Bhruiséil le bualadh leis an
Choimisiún
Eorpach faoin ghéarghá le forbairt bonneagair sa réigiún, iompar
iarnróid
san áireamh. D'iarrfainn ar rialtas na hÉireann agus ar
institiúidí
AE dianmhachnamh a dhéanamh ar riachtanais an cheantair siar ó
thuaidh
agus ceantair eile nach iad agus cúlú siar ó bhealach an
príobháidithe
mar atá molta i dtuarascáil Jarzembowski.
Deireadh
Nótaí
d'eagarthóirí:
Ceadaíonn comórtas bunaithe ar 'rochtain
oscailte' comhlacht iarnróid ar bith bealach ar bith a reáchtáil de
réir mar is mian leis. Ní gá aird a thabhairt ar rialacha
maidir le cáilíocht seirbhísí.
Go ginearálta bronnann córas 'comórtas rialaithe' cearta eisiacha ar chomhlacht
amháin as feidhmiú leis féin ar bhonneagar ar leith i ndiaidh próiseas
tairisceana. Is féidir critéir cáilíocht seirbhíse a fhorchuireadh.