Fianna Fail has hit out at the Transport Minister for failing to take action over the funding crisis facing Irish Rail.

The party's spokesperson on Transport Robert Troy called on Minister Shane Ross to make a case to the European Commission for greater flexibility on the Fiscal Rules to allow for investment in Ireland's transport infrastructure.

Deputy Troy said: "Irish Rail is experiencing an unprecedented funding crisis which threatens our entire rail network. The company is facing insolvency and there is a real prospect of trains coming to a halt in the foreseeable future if the Government doesn’t take action to strengthen the position of the company.

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"Minister Ross seems to be following the same strategy he employed when dealing with the problems facing Bus Éireann. He has failed to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation and has refused to set out his vision for the future of rail transport in Ireland. He seems to be waiting for the train network to come to a standstill before actually dealing with the crisis.

"Public transport has been starved of investment in recent years. The PSO levy needs to be increased to make up for years of under-investment. The Free Travel Scheme is also chronically under resourced. It has effectively been capped since 2009 yet demand under the scheme has soared since then. Irish Rail cannot be expected to provide a service for free. The State has to face up to its obligations under the Free Travel Scheme.

"Prioritising infrastructure spending represents an investment in the future of the country. Ireland's level of capital spending is the second lowest in Europe. This is simply unsustainable. The Government should also be working to secure funding from the European Investment Bank for critical transport investment."

(CD)