The other issue I have with Irish Rail is, how can they justify a single fare being almost 2/3 of the price of a return fare for the same distance travelled (Maynooth to Dublin, Sgl €3, Rtn 5.4). In Switzerland and Germany, whose rail systems are without parallel in Europe, I can buy a single fare at half the cost of a return fare + administration. Why does Irish Rail insist on following British railway practice when British rail travel is so inferior compared to continental Europe. I have even travelled on the railway network in the Czech Republic and can confirm that the travel experience was far more pleasurable than what exists on these two miserable islands.