Social Sustainability
We are committed to supporting a diverse and inclusive society. We aim to do this through a customer driven culture, putting safety first, and making sure that rail travel is there for all who wish to use it.
There are a number of ways we are making this happen:
Customers at the Heart of our Business
The needs of all our customers are our first priority.
We always work to:
meet our goals for being on time and reliable
improve our services so that sustainable travel is easy, comfortable, and can meet your needs
make our services more accessible
Independent access is a key goal for our new fleets, stations and systems. This means that all our customers will be able to use our services with no assistance. We aim to make this as easy as we can. We consult with customers who have mobility needs, and with groups who support them on all changes which could relate to their travel with us.
There are now Changing Places toilets at Connolly, Heuston and Limerick stations. We have planned to add more to our stations at Athlone, Galway, and Sligo.
We ask for feedback from our Disability User Group to see how we can improve their journeys with us. Their views matter to us and we have made changes based on it. We now offer a Quieter Coach on services between Dublin and Cork. People with sensory challenges can now get sensory packs free of charge. The packs come with ear defenders, sunglasses and a fidget spinner. You can fill out this form to get one.
Our Customer Service Officers are on board all of our Intercity services. They are there to assist people who are in need. Those in need will not have to give prior notice thanks to these members of our team. This, as well as our lift and escalator renewal programme will help more people to use our services. We also work to improve our information systems. Our goal with this is to make sure that timely information is there for all our customers.
Prototype of the new DART+ Fleet interior
The new DART+ Fleet will make our services in the Greater Dublin Area more accessible than ever. The first of these carriages entered service last year, with more to come in the near future.
We work with communities and Gardaí to reduce anti social behaviour at our stations and on board our trains. We strive for a safe railway for all to use.
Employer of choice, committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity
We aim to be an employer of choice. We believe that if we take care of our people, they will help us to provide a better service to the public. We work to get this status through addressing gender balance, health and wellbeing, and equality and diversity. In 2023, we were ranked top Irish employer and leading transport employer (of those that employ 200 people or more). This was in the Sunday Independent Statista Best Places to Work survey.
We hire graduates from many disciplines. Women make up 34% of all graduates that enter our workforce. From a workforce that is 12% female, 44% of our leadership roles are now held by women. More and more women apply for our high potential programmes each year.
Our Women in Rail Network gives women in the company a way to network. It supports them in learning and development. We aim to double our female employees by 2030. See our Gender Pay Gap 2025 report for more.
We strive to promote the health and wellbeing of all our staff. Our Health & Wellbeing programme follows the approach set out in the Healthy Workplace Framework. It is part of our corporate strategy.
We are committed to equality and diversity in all that we do. Last year, the Irish Centre for Diversity named us the winner of the Advancing Gender Equality Award. While we take great pride in this, we still aim to do more. Their report will help us to strengthen our efforts in ED&I. We strive for best practice in the workplace for our employees and customers. We thank all those who help us to get closer to it.
A responsible member of our community
We serve more than 145 communities in Ireland. We aim to improve them. This can be through our train service or how we engage with them.
We engage with communities to make sure that they know about our major projects, planned maintenance works or changes to our timetables. Clear communication helps us to reduce the impact they may have.
We work to support mental health awareness. We partner with charities and support services to promote discussions of mental health with no stigma.
We have been awarded the Business Working Responsibly Mark. This comes from Business in the Community Ireland. We are proud to have received it for our how we engage with the communities we serve and for our sustainability programmes.
We run programmes for art, sports, and the environment on our network. They help us to give back to the communities we serve.
One of our goals as part of our Sustainability Strategy is to have pollinator plants in place at all stations. 1/3 of our stations now have this in place. We aim to take care of 100 acres of native wildlife.
Our station art programme helps us to support artists. They get a chance to have their work in the public eye. We get lovely art in our stations. Through their work they can shine a light on social topics and local nature.
Pride inspired art at Tara Street created by Claire Provost
Newbridge Station
Sallins Station
Sallins Station
The art installation at Howth Junction and Donaghmede entitled 'Actually I Can' received recognition winning the Business to Arts Jim McNaughton Perpetual Award for Best Commissioning Practice.
Thrive Partnership
As Iarnród Éireann undertakes a record investment programme, a significant opportunity exists to help deliver wider social benefit in communities across the country.
By embedding social value into the procurement process Iarnród Éireann is ensuring that every contract awarded and every project delivered can help support people and strengthen communities, delivering real and lasting impact where it matters most.
Whether this investment is in employment, education or community amenities, centrally tracking the value of this investment is a first in Ireland and will mean better monitoring, reporting, and accountability when it comes to social value. Learn more from those involved in our latest video!
Accountability and Transparency
We make yearly reports on our progress with sustainability goals. This is so we stay accountable and transparent in what we do. It helps us to keep track of how new projects help us to achieve our goals and where we can do more.
From 2025, we will meet EU requirements for reporting on sustainability as set out under CSRD. We will report to the Dept of Finance as is required in 2026.
As part of CIÉ Group, we have received a B rating as part of the Carbon Disclosure Project. This is a big achievement in the transport sector, where emissions can be quite high.
As a commercial semi state body we work to deliver on the five commitments that are in the ‘Framework for the Commercial Semi State Sector to address climate action objectives’ (July 2022)