I want to press the Taoiseach further on the decision of Iarnród Éireann. The Taoiseach said he will not interfere in a decision by Iarnród Éireann to close half its rail freight service. Who makes or should make transport policy in the State? Is it the Government or an appointed board which is supposed to carry out the Government's policies? Does the Taoiseach agree that in terms of Iarnród Éireann's proposal, rhetoric by the Government in favour of public transport must now give way to concrete choices? Does he agree the experience of all modern industrial societies, including our own, is that the promotion of road over rail transport is disastrous in terms of traffic gridlock, quality of life and the pollution of our environment? Does the Taoiseach agree that rail transport should be promoted over road transport and that the decision by Iarnród Éireann is going in the wrong direction?

Luas has arrived.

Will the Taoiseach leave aside niceties and instruct CIE not to accept any disastrous decision taken by Iarnród Éireann about its freight system and to suspend two passenger lines?

I am not sure if Deputy Joe Higgins was here for Deputy Kenny's question.

I was.

I will repeat my answer.

No.

The Deputy should allow the Taoiseach to reply without interruption.

I will not repeat myself totally.

That is a waste of time.

The Deputy repeated what Deputy Kenny said or at least part of what he said.

As the Taoiseach did not answer him, I did not have an option.

I did answer him. I will give the answer in one sentence and then I will say a few more things. Whatever decision CIE makes today in its discussions, which it is entitled to make as a board and I will not interfere in that, the Minister has made it clear that it will not be acted on until the strategic review by Booz-Allen & Hamilton is complete. The Minister for Transport and the Government continue to put enormous resources into the rail safety investment programme to enable the extended use of rail transport. We have upgraded Heuston Station and many other stations. Suburban rail and DART services have been expanded.

There is no signalling in Dublin.

Some 80 new diesel cars are being acquired. We expect to approve proposals for new mainline rail categories. We hope to enhance the bus services in major urban areas. The quality bus corridors, which people said a few years ago would not happen, are working effectively.

The south east has been abandoned.

That relates to roads, it has nothing to do with rail.

Order, please.

Capital costs in excess of €650 million are being invested in Luas and the project is—

Where is the Luas?

The Deputy will be glad to see the Luas very soon.

Where is the metro?

We will wait to get the Luas running before we get the metro. The Allen Hamilton report, the international rail consultancy report, will set out a major strategic view of Irish railways. No major decision will be made by the Minister until that report has been concluded.

It will be made by Irish Rail.

Does the Taoiseach agree it would be nonsensical for the CIE board to make a decision to accept the closure of half the freight transport service, as proposed by Irish Rail, when, as he suggests, the Government may reverse such a decision? Is that not a nonsensical way to plan public transport? In terms of one specific consequence of closing half the freight service, does he agree it would be detrimental, to say the least, if instead of a train travelling from Dublin to Sligo with oil, 75 megatankers had to take to the roads and clog them up further to make up for the discontinuation of that train? Does he agree that would be disastrous?

The board of CIE has to take account of changed circumstances in the wake of the closure of IFI, its main freight user. The reality is that freight is making substantial losses and is about to make even greater losses. The company must examine its overall position and take that into account. It would not be doing its job if this was not the case. The Minister then has to take account of what the board is saying, which must fit in with the overall international rail consultancy report, and consider the report, which will be finalised by the end of the year, before he makes final decisions. As Deputy Rabbitte said, the end of the year is not too far off.

The company will act on its decision.

The Minister will not implement it.

We will see.