Our commitment to CSR
Irish Rail takes its responsibilities to the world around the company’s operations seriously, with CSR programmes making a difference to the environment, communities and mental health while serving the everyday needs of the travelling public.
At Iarnród Éireann, the world around us matters to us. We want to provide the best service we can to our customers in a way that is sustainable to the environment and central to our community. The railway travels through the heart of Ireland, linking cities and towns. Not only does it link us geographically, it links us as people.
The student travelling at weekends to and from college, the grandparents excitedly travelling to see their first grandchild, the businessperson taking an early train to seal that all important deal. The railway provides a social fabric to our community that links people and places.
For any organisation must be about more than just the commercial and service relationship between the company and its customers. We have a rich heritage of playing a vital role in the lives of communities, and we understand the wish for those communities for us to continue this and indeed strengthen our involvement in their lives.
Train travel has always been the most sustainable mode of land transport and we are committed to reducing our carbon footprint and our environmental impact even further. We want our customers to be satisfied that their travel choice is as sustainable as it can be.
This begins with our operation of train services. It also extends, however, through how we heat and light our buildings and facilities and how we address waste materials from our activities.
Iarnród Éireann has reduced its energy consumption by 34 per cent since 2007, reducing emissions to the environment, and ensuring we operate as efficiently as possible.
Community responsibility
The rail network exists to connect communities to each other. It connects us for social and economic reasons. It connects individuals and businesses to commercial, industrial, leisure, retail and healthcare facilities and more.
We recognise that we have a responsibility to those communities which goes far beyond the provision of safe, punctual, quality train services. We aim to deliver on those responsibilities every day.
A community partnership involving the gardaí, residential groups, youth groups and the rail company has seen significant improvements in the Broombridge Station area, and reductions in levels of anti-social behaviour.
A programme of initiatives has been put in place which provides for community involvement, as well as improving the station environment. The programme of initiatives has seen anti-social behaviour incidents in the stations dramatically reduce. We continue to work with the community of Cabra and those in the vicinity of Broombridge Station to further enhance the station environment.
All across Ireland, local community groups, sports clubs, volunteer groups and charities work to improve people’s lives, be it the general community, or specific groups within the community which need support.
These organisations form the lifeblood of local communities. However, funding is difficult and for many such groups and activities are being scaled back. Iarnród Éireann wanted to acknowledge these people who work tirelessly for the good of others.
The Journey’s on Us came for this desire to reward community and voluntary groups. Many of these groups have travel requirements, whether it’s to take a group of kids on a day trip, to a special event or sport fixture, or just as a reward to those involved. The Journey’s on Us, now in its fourth year is an annual programme that sees Iarnród Éireann providing 100 trips to different organisations enabling each to bring 50 people free of charge on a return journey to anywhere in the country.
The Journey’s on Us reflects the essential role the community sector plays in daily life in Ireland. Groups as diverse as men’s sheds, girl guides, LGBT choirs, boxing clubs, dance classes and more have benefited from their Journey on Us, and we look forward to welcoming more deserving groups to our services in 2014.
National events and conversations
We work with local authorities, the gardaí and event organisers to ensure that we can provide a strong and sustainable alternative to road transport for our major national events. Match and concert days at the Aviva and Croke Park see extra services operating to bring thousands of fans to our national sporting cathedrals.
All summer long, we meet the transport plans of supporters attending the GAA Championship in hurling and football right across the country. We work with cruise ship operators to bring thousands of their customers every year from the Port of Cobh into Cork City and beyond. We are proud to meet the transport needs of those attending everything from the National Ploughing Championships to Ireland cricket matches, from Tall Ships to St Patrick’s Day.
The loss of life through acts of suicide has become a national crisis. Sadly, we all know someone who is battling mental health issues, and we all know someone who has lost this battle.
We in Iarnród Éireann are acutely aware of these issues, as every year, a number of our drivers encounter attempted acts of suicide on our network.
The month of May has been designated Green Ribbon month to raise awareness of mental health issues, Iarnród Éireann is the official distribution partner of SeeChange Ireland and we distribute ribbons at our major stations throughout the month. The objective of Green Ribbon month is to get Ireland talking about mental health and to try to remove the stigma around mental health issues.
Each year, Iarnród Éireann staff wear the ribbon for the month of May to promote awareness and thousands of ribbons were given out at stations. The response from our staff and from our customers has been overwhelmingly positive.
In conjunction with the Samaritans, signage is now in place on every station platform in the country with the Samaritans’ contact details for those who may need to talk about their problems. Research carried out in the UK by Network Rail in conjunction with the Samaritans UK has shown that increasing the amount of signage at stations reduces the instances of self-harm.
As a company, we are deeply committed to raising mental health awareness but, as individuals, staff members are also equally committed to breaking the stigma of mental health problems. This year, almost 150 employees of Iarnród Éireann will take part in the cycle against suicide. The cycle takes in many different parts of the country through different stages, starting in Belfast and finishing in Dublin, and raises awareness of suicide. We continue to involve ourselves in the communities that we serve to ensure that we can make a positive contribution in whatever way we can.
by David Franks, Chief Executive of Iarnród Éireann
Connolly Station
Amiens Street, Dublin 1
LoCall: 1850 366 222
Web: www.irishrail.ie
