Rail Network
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-18
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Darragh O'Brien (FF), Dublin Fingal East

We are on track to deliver contactless payments. I have met Indra specifically about the contactless payments. That is critical for the public transport offering that we have across the country. Real-time testing rolls out on a phased basis next year, leading to a phased roll-out from 2028. That is a very intricate system. It has to operate in tandem with Leap as well, so we have to operate dual systems.
On this specifically, I want to be clear that from a rail safety perspective, contingency plans are in place to mitigate the impact of delays on the traffic management system. To safeguard the signalling resilience of the rail network, I approved an additional allocation of €5.7 million in May to enable Iarnród Éireann to commence additional signalling works to increase operational resilience within the greater Dublin area, the busiest part of our rail network.
When I have the accounts, when they are back from NewERA and that work is done, I will be assessing them. I do not micromanage every agency's budget. That is not my role. The NTA and Iarnród Éireann are supposed to manage that appropriately. I take this very seriously, though. I will be looking at the accounts when I receive them. I will be bringing them to the Cabinet. The figure that has been put out there may not be the figure. That is from what I have been told. That will be laid before the Oireachtas and it would be a good opportunity for the transport committee to further interrogate it as well. The main thing is we need the system delivered.

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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