Railway Safety Bill 2026: Second Stage Dail Éireann — 2026-10-01 ============================================================ Barry Heneghan (IND), Dublin Bay North Táim an-bhuíoch as go leor rudaí sa Bhille seo ach tá a fhios ag gach duine sa Teach nach bhfuil sé maith go leor. Tá go leor rudaí ag tarlú ar na traenacha agus ar na busanna faoi láthair. Táim sásta go bhfuilimid tar éis an Bille seo a dhéanamh ach tá go leor rudaí eile gur féidir linn a dhéanamh. There are definitely sensible and necessary provisions here. One of the best, particularly for north Dublin, is the putting of the railway accident investigation unit on a clear statutory footing. It is very important and I have constituents who will very much welcome it. Strengthening the rules around alcohol and drugs for people working in safety-critical railway roles is something I fully support. I will use this debate to talk about safety issues my constituents have raised with me and some of the stories they have told me. We need a quicker system to tell those with disabilities when a lift is not available at stations in north Dublin. It is not acceptable for a local representative, whether myself, another TD or a councillor, to get a phone call from a constituent who has a disability who has got off a DART only to see that they cannot get to the other side of the platform. Think of the embarrassment of that constituent when they must ask to be carried up the stairs. I welcome other parts of the Bill but this needs to be looked at. I went over to the London recently, where there are contactless systems. You can just tap your phone. I know there have been developments on that but, if we are serious about getting people onto public transport, we need to speed up the procurement of that contactless system. We should not have to get a Leap card. You should be able to use your phone to tap on quickly when getting on a bus or rail service. Accessibility and ease will increase people's use of public transport and will allow us to have a just transition. When we speak about safety, people with disabilities need to be at the forefront. Public transport is for everyone. If we build a system that works for those minority groups, it will also cover the majority. For most of us, when a lift is broken, it is just an inconvenience but it is not acceptable for someone to have to be carried up stairs. I welcome the Minister of State's engagement with me regarding disabilities. I welcome the work his office has done for the schools in my area. I just wanted to say that when I see him on the front bench. This Bill will be particularly helpful for stations in north Dublin, such as Clongriffin and Howth Junction, where people are feeling intimidated and are contacting my office. Staff should be able to go to work without being abused. I heard other Deputies mentioning that issue. The requirement for co-operation between An Garda Síochána and Iarnród Éireann is brilliant. CCTV will also be critical in the transition. Reporting is important but statistics always show that, when a camera is pointed at someone's face, there is a decrease in crime. There is constant crowding on the northern line and there have been incidents of antisocial behaviour such as fires being lit at stations and people being robbed while waiting for the DART. People who experience that will be deterred from using public transport. If they are deterred from using public transport, they will get into a car, increasing congestion and creating a new habit they should be encouraged not to take up. I would really welcome working lifts, CCTV, lighting, staffing and emergency response. I also welcome the parts of the Bill I have addressed. If it is done correctly, this could be a real game-changer. Last year, I raised with the Minister for Transport the issue of greater investment in next generation ticketing. Passengers see contactless payment working in other European cities. It is reasonable to ask why it is taking Ireland so long. It should be simple. The same principle applies to the information. On updating people, when a lift is not working or a train is cancelled, people should be told. If a train is going to be late, people should be told more quickly. I welcome what this Bill does. I welcome the stronger framework for accident investigation but I would ask the Minister of State to look beyond the Bill itself and to address the issue of safety for those with disabilities. I welcome the work he has done since taking up his office. This is something that would really help. People with disabilities need to be able to depend on public transport systems rather than having to hope that a lift is working when they arrive. I welcome the investment in the DART+ and MetroLink developments. It is the right thing to do but we should measure how that money is being spent to ensure it does not become another children's hospital. That is a standard I would like to see at the heart of this Bill. I welcome that. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-10-01/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:01:00+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-10-01