asked the Minister for Transport if he will make a statement on the safety of the railway rolling stock owned by CIE in view of comments by the chairman of CIE that Dublin suburban railway services may have to be cut by 50 per cent due to the poor condition of existing rolling stock.

I have been informed by CIE that railway rolling stock is inspected regularly as part of the board's planned maintenance procedures and that vehicles found to require attention for safety reasons are immediately withdrawn from service for repair. I have been assured by the board that in no circumstances are unsafe carriages allowed to operate.

Is the Minister aware that his immediate predecessor was shown photographs, brought through the CIE rolling stock repair shed and that this stock was shown to the Minister as being in a highly dangerous and disastrous state and that the Minister's predecessor freely acknowledged that the rolling stock was in a highly dangerous condition? There are photographs available which I can produce to the Minister if he wants them. Would the Minister not comment?

I would comment in this way: CIE will not compromise on safety precautions and the public can rest assured of that.

Is the Minister not aware that the chairman of the CIE board and his senior engineering rail operatives and rolling stock staff showed the Minister the rolling stock and bogeys underneath and said that if it was required to run this stock at more than 30 mile an hour it was liable to go in one direction and the passengers to go in another.

I should like the Deputy to back that up in a written statement to me.

I am a member of the Joint Committee on State-sponsored Bodies——

We are not having any further questions.

The Deputy is a great help to CIE.

The stuff is falling apart.

Arising out of the reference to safety, is the Minister aware that up to ten years ago there was not a single farepaying passenger either killed or seriously injured on our Irish railways since the foundation of the State and that in the last ten years there have been five separate accidents involving death or serious injury?

I am well aware of that. Is the Deputy stating that the rolling stock was at fault?

I am not saying what was at fault.

Then why are you making such allegations?

It is up to the Minister to find out what was at fault.

There are inquiries, as the Deputy is well aware. I am surprised at Deputy O'Keeffe, a legal man.

How does the Minister justify the fact that there have been five serious accidents in the last ten years?

How can the Deputy justify the way he is talking? I can justify what I said in reference to rolling stock.

If we do not have order in the manner of asking and answering supplementary questions, I shall adjourn the House until 3.30 p.m. Either we make progress or we do not.