Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Walsh. It is a good thing to do. I appreciate that it has not been perfected and there is much to work out. Climate action needs to be at the front and centre of every transport decision that we make. We need to recognise that even if we are in the process of design or various stages of a plan, we need to consider the possibility of locking ourselves into future carbon emissions because we have locked ourselves into a project.

The witnesses from the NTA state that it has no responsibility for rail outside the greater Dublin area. That is unfortunate because I can see great prospects for places such as Galway, Limerick, Cork and Waterford in improving and providing an urban rail system. Looking at the expenditure on roads, and I do not want to have a go at TII, if we matched even a percentage of that expenditure to electrify urban lines, we could transport many people. It would be much better than building roads through these cities. Who should have the responsibility? Do the witnesses think the NTA should take on responsibility for urban rail for the five cities?