Ore could be carried safer by rail

THE fatal truck crash on the N8 last Thursday highlights the inherent dangers of operating heavily laden lorries on the road network.

One of the five trucks involved was transporting ore from Lisheen lead/zinc mine on the Tipperary/Kilkenny border to Cork port.

The Lisheen mine produces almost 1,300 tonnes a day for export which results in many lorry journeys to and from the mine each day on the N8. This ore is ideally suited for carriage by rail.

The Fianna Fáil/PD government in 1998 refused a request by Iarnród Éireann for a grant of €5.2m which would have allowed for Lisheen’s ore to be transported by rail. Since this decision was made we have seen a large decline in rail freight through the lack of Government support.

Over the past 10 years the Government’s only input has been to allow CIE to continue to withdraw from freight while at the same time making no effort to encourage alternative operators. All this is contrary to EU policy, which is to encourage a shift to rail.

In contrast, the UK has increased its rail freight volumes by 60% since 1996.

Rail now has 12% of the British surface freight market.

The difference is that the British government, in common with many other EU countries, administers several programmes to encourage rail freight.

The Green party’s election manifesto promised to “introduce a rail freight subsidy on a per-tonne basis for materials that are transferred from existing road freight onto rail freight”.

With our new Green-tinted Government, is it too much to expect the new Transport and Marine Minister Noel Dempsey to bring Ireland more into line with the rest of the EU in this respect?

Mark Healy

16 Alderbrook Heath

Ashbourne

Co Meath