An investment of £590 million over 15 years will be required to bring rail safety standards to the required level, said the Minister for Public Enterprise. However, Fine Gael's public enterprise spokesman, Mr Ivan Yates, said that the investment should be made over eight years. Fifteen years was too long, he said, and a number of routes could be closed because of current speed restrictions for safety reasons. They had fewer passengers and so would be the last to be upgraded.

In a debate on the Rail Safety report completed by the consultants International Risk Management Services for the Minister, Ms O'Rourke said the consultants recommended the £590 million, which included £230 million for a programme of improvements to rectify safety deficiencies in the railway infrastructure.

"The consultants suggested the expenditure of a further £60 million to improve safety management systems generally throughout the railway and £20 million a year over the 15-year period for ongoing renewal of the permanent way. About £23 million of this £590 million needs to be spent immediately and about half the total should be spent in the first five years."

The Minister said she could not wave a magic wand and decree that the transport system be 100 per cent safe. "But I can assure everyone present today that what is laid down in this safety blueprint will be realised."

She said that rail travel was safer than going by car. "The last major railway accident in Ireland was in 1983 at Cherryville when seven people died. yet similar numbers are killed on our roads every week, and sometimes over a single weekend the toll can be as great."

Mr Yates said that the Minister had one function which only she could fulfil and that was "to provide the cash". The time for the analysis of reports was over. It was time for action, he said.

He disagreed with the consultants that the investment should be over 15 years and said that routes such as Athlone to Westport, Arklow to Rosslare, Limerick Junction to Rosslare and the Nenagh branch line would be closed by the time the investment got around to them.

He claimed that the Government was playing Russian roulette with the rail service. "We are advised that on average each year Irish Rail has 92 derailments and 18 collisions."