The Transport Minister is planning an in-depth analysis of how the country's train services are used.

It's part of a longer-term strategy for land transport in Ireland.

€291 million is spent running the train service each year, but there's been speculation that some routes could be at risk in the future because of the low numbers using them.

Minister Paschal Donohoe told Pat Kenny this morning where the money goes for train services and the future of the rail network: "We do have the money in place now to maintain the network as it stands."

"I want to put in place a consultation regarding how rail is conducted."

He also spoke to Pat about the routes that have low numbers and answered queries about train services:

Responding to Paschal's comments, Barry Kenny Iarnrod Eireann Corporate Communications Manager spoke to Jonathan Healy on Lunchtime about the review of the network and stated that they are underfunded for the services they provide.

"We are underfunded for the services that we are contracted to provide, it's not a discretionary matter for us, we're contracted by the National Transport Authority. The Department of Transport has said it's €90 million of a shortfall of funding."

"The Minister, Department and the Transport Authority are fully engaged in saying, what do we do?"

Here is the interview in full: