Rail Network
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-18
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Louis O'Hara (SF), Galway East

It is a very important project. It is clear from the evidence that Iarnród Éireann provided that the failure to deliver the system now risks the possibility of disruption to rail services. A sum of €50 million is an enormous amount of money. We just had a discussion about the lack of funding that was available for new public transport services, and €50 million would make a huge difference there and right across the public transport system in terms of the constraints that exist. The Minister needs to ensure that the costs are brought back under control, and that there is no risk to the safe operation of the rail network. The Minister should provide clarity on how we have got to this point and why this lack of oversight has been allowed to happen, as well as on what his own role has been in terms of oversight here.
Indra is also the contractor responsible for the delivery of the contactless payments on the public transport system, as part of next-generation ticketing. The cost of that programme is up to €269 million. Will the Minister confirm what actions he is taking to oversee that project as well?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-06-18/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:51+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-18