Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is important that I read this about the rail review. I want to speak about it because I think a lot of people do not know about it. It is a comprehensive document on the future of Irish Rail.

On 15 April, the Government considered the findings and conclusions of the strategic framework for land transport and agreed to my publishing the report. The framework, which was based on a wide-ranging policy analysis exercise, aims to establish key principles and priorities to guide transport investment over the coming decades. The steering group highlighted that rail is not financially sustainable and that value for money must be central to future rail policy. I am not necessarily endorsing this, I am just telling the committee what happened. One of the actions proposed is the development of a new rail policy to address the future role of rail transport in Ireland. This policy is to be developed following a wide-ranging public consultation which will address key questions, including how to focus rail investment on where rail has or will have its greatest strength, reflect any social and environmental considerations uniquely addressed by the rail network in addition to securing value for money and affordable scale of network, considering the economic and investment context.

There is an important paragraph in the document which states that the NTA and Iarnród Éireann undertook a review and evaluation of possible solutions to Iarnród Éireann's funding requirements. This review is referred to as the rail review and looked at existing usage, transport needs, competition from other modes, wider associated benefits and financial constraints. Analytical work involving reviewing the rail network in terms of the demand and the cost associated with each corridor savings from service-level reductions and costs of alternatives which would support the development of such a policy has been carried out. That is a very important review. I intend to release it in due course fairly soon. I have not even finished it myself because I have only just received it. I intend to publish it and let people read it shortly.

The Deputy also referred to local improvement and community schemes. They were victims of cutbacks at one stage and local authorities were left to do the work themselves. The programme for Government seeks the restoration of ring-fenced schemes of this sort. That is also a matter that was under discussion yesterday and will be part of our Estimates process.