Rail funding 'must be linked to major reform'

Future funding for Irish Rail must be linked to fundamental reform of the company, the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, has said. The Minister told The Irish Times he was "seriously concerned" about the financial situation in the company, with State subvention rising to €175 million last year from €169 million in the previous year.

Speaking after the annual general meeting of ISME, the small business lobby group, the Minister said the Cabinet would have to take a serious look at the financial position in the company over the next few months.

"I have to keep the system going, but I am greatly concerned at the way the company is operating. There is a serious financial situation there. A massive subvention is going to Irish Rail and we have to make sure the taxpayer is getting a proper return from it.

"Future funding will have to be linked to reform, that is how I am going to approach it," he said.

Mr Brennan said the company needed to do two things to improve its financial performance: begin an aggressive marketing campaign to get people out of their cars and onto trains; and start selling its property assets and put the money towards rolling stock and modern track. He said with more rolling stock, the company could put on extra services and increase its income.

Mr Brennan said he had delivered a strong message to CIÉ in recent months that property sales needed to be speeded up. "The company has its stations and around those stations is land. The company needs to start releasing funds from property disposals and I hope to see that progress."

He said Irish Rail needed to devise new products and services which could entice the average customer. He said there was no reason the company could not let people book seats in advance on all its services and even hire out laptops to customers.

Mr Brennan said he remained committed to breaking up the CIÉ holding company and introducing competition into the Dublin bus market. Asked when this would happen, he said hopefully in 2004.

However, in the meantime he said he hoped to meet unions about his proposals.

Asked about plans for an independent terminal at Dublin Airport, he said he still favoured the idea but he wanted to see things settle down at Aer Rianta first.

Mr Brennan told the ISME gathering that the National Pension Reserve Fund was considering his proposal that it should purchase major infrastructural assets like the Port Tunnel or the M1 motorway. He said this might be one creative way to fund major projects.

He congratulated ISME on its 10th anniversary and added that much of the economic progress of recent years had been made possible because of small and medium enterprises.