Irish Rail says it identified the issue of under-reporting of 'near misses' among workers in a review carried out in 2013.

Details of a draft independent safety audit have been published in Irish Independent today, which says this is down to a fear of being blamed by senior management.

Near misses include incidents of over-speeding and marker boards - or temporary speed restrictions - being out of position.

Corporate Communications Manager with Irish Rail, Barry Kenny, says steps have been taken to facilitate anonymous reporting of such incidents.

And he says it's an issue Irish Rail was aware of before this audit was carried out: