While the first priority of commuters is that the service runs on time, many are frustrated by the delays, many have been late to work, forced to make alternative arrangements and have in general been inconvenienced. Passengers have not been provided with the service they paid for and refund or compensation is appropriate.
Passengers are probably familiar with EC261 which applies to air travel, most are not familiar with the fact that equivalent legislation applies to rail services across the EU.
EC1371/2007 was replaced by EC2021/782 which was transposed into Irish law in S.I. No. 271/2023 - European Union (Rail Passengers' Rights and Obligations) Regulations 2023
Some exemptions exists but these do not cover the former Article 17 of EC1371/2007 which is now Article 19 of EC2021/782 S.I. No. 612/2019 - European Union (Rail Passengers’ Rights and Obligations) (Domestic Passenger Rail Services) (Renewal of Exemption) Regulations 2019
Your Right To Compensation
EC 2021/782 Article 19 - Compensation (as adopted in S.I. No. 271 of 2023)
2. Paragraph 1 shall also apply to passengers who hold a travel pass or season ticket. If those passengers encounter recurrent delays or cancellations during the period of validity of the travel pass or season ticket, they shall be entitled to adequate compensation in accordance with the railway undertaking’s compensation arrangements. These arrangements shall state the criteria for determining delay and for the calculation of the compensation. Where delays of less than 60 minutes occur repeatedly during the period of validity of the travel pass or season ticket, the delays may be counted cumulatively and passengers may be compensated in accordance with the railway undertaking’s compensation arrangements.
This replaces and expands on the text in article 17 of EC 1371/2007. The 2021 text is more explicit as to the handling of recurrent delays where the 2007 text was vague. Given the ongoing circumstances and the likelihood it will get worse as leaf fall season arrives any reasonable person would agree the circumstances envisaged have occured in Dublin.
September 2024
Dublin Area
| Route | % on time | % comp due |
| DART | 75.4% | 20% |
| Northern Commuter | 73.6% | 20% |
| Maynooth and M3 Parkway Commuter | 76.7% | 20% |
| Phoenix Park Tunnel | 70% | 20% |
| Heuston Commute | 71.1% | 20% |
Cork Area
| Route | % on time | % comp due |
| Cork and Mallow | 98.5% | - |
| Cork and Midleton | 94.3% | - |
| Cork and Cobh | 93.2% | - |
Regional
| Route | % on time | % comp due |
| Limerick Junction and Waterford | 94.7% | - |
| Limerick and Galway | 95.9% | - |
| Limerick and Limerick Junction | 91.4% | - |
| Limerick and Ballybrophy | 91.1% | - |
Intercity Routes
| Route | % on time | % comp due |
| Dublin and Sligo | 73.9% | 20% |
| Dublin and Rosslare Europort | 78.5% | 20% |
| Dublin Belfast | 82.8% | 10% |
| Dublin and Waterford | 89.7% | - |
| Dublin and Westport | 84.9% | 10% |
| Dublin and Galway | 84.7% | 10% |
| Dublin and Tralee | 93.3% | - |
| Dublin and Limerick | 89.5% | - |
| Dublin and Cork | 82.6% | 10% |
Original data
When Performance Fell Below Acceptable Level
To assist you in making a complaint, we have drafted a letter for you to send together with a copy or the original of your ticket. You should always keep a copy of all correspondence sent, it will be essential if you appeal the response of the railway company as Irish Rail have so far refused all such requests an appeal is likely.
You should address your complaint to the railway company from which you bought your ticket, Irish Rail Issued Tickets
Compensation Amounts
Irish Rail has failed to publish a scheme to compensate passengers to address its obligations in Article 19.2 of EC2021/782. Going on practice elsewhere, e.g. Austria, a basic 10% compenstation of the ticket amount is due when a failure to meet targets.
In the case of Austria performance rarely drops below targets so only 10% is considered, given the poor performance of Irish Rail we suggest a sliding scale as the level of performance degrades the payout increases.
- For performance between 80 and 89%, 10%
- For performance between 70 and 79%, 20%
- For performance between 60 and 69%, 30%
Appeals
If a passenger cannot resolve the matter to their satisfaction with the railway undertaking a course of appeal exists to the national enforcement agency.
Passengers with tickets issued by Irish Rail should file any appeal with the National Transport Authority. Full details here
All complaints filed with the national agency should include copies of all correspondence sent and received from the railway company.