de Brún calls for quality all-Ireland railway service

18 January, 2007

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.