Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There was a story in one of the newspapers yesterday which quoted very large figures and referred to closing down many specific lines. I have said before - and the Taoiseach said it yesterday - that I have absolutely no intention and no plans to close railway lines or routes anywhere and that I have not heard the prospect being discussed. That is not the objective at all. If there is an ambition, it is to make routes more efficient and profitable and to add value for the taxpayer and the consumer. What was being carried in that paper yesterday was a reference to a worst-case scenario in the rail review. I am guessing that was the source of the story. That was published in 2016. Much has changed since then. Many of the cuts which Deputy Barry referred to have been reversed. The public service obligation, PSO, has been increased, and the commitment to rail is absolute.

There are obviously large problems in the whole public transport sector. These are the problems we come across on a daily basis. They are not going to be met with a slash-and-burn response but, rather, the opposite. Our ambition is to see the railways flourish. That report reflected the rail review, and then some other documents from after the consultation process which expressed the views of virtually everybody who contributed to that consultation process. It was not a reflection of any decisions or, to my knowledge, as Minister, any discussions that have taken place among members of the Government. We do not intend to close any rail lines.