Mr. Barry Aughey:

Speed is critical. We need to achieve at least 350 km/h or better. To do that, the line must be as straight as possible. The topography of the line we picked suits it better than other options. If we were to go to Cavan and Sligo, the topography would not be as suitable. There are greater bodies of water and higher mountains. The regeneration of other rail lines is not on the agenda. This is just taking a blank sheet, creating something completely new and building it as a futuristic high-speed line. There are second and third phases, should the first phase achieve its objectives. I will not go into them now but they will definitely enhance return on investment.

The return on investment is not just from the rail line itself but from what it will do to accommodate development in the three urban centres that I have mentioned. It can wash its face but it needs Government involvement. It is proposed that the Irish and UK Governments should both get involved. It is proposed that each Government would provide between 10% and 15%, so that would be capped at 30% at most. It is also envisaged that European structural funds will help to subsidise some of the cost. The rest will be driven by the private sector. In doing so, it is believed that this can be delivered in a timely and cost-efficient manner.

I come from a background that is aware of the construction industry. I grew up in a quarry. I am a mechanical engineer. I have some patents to my name. I am familiar with the fact that if we were to go to construct this, we would do it in cells. For quarries, their markets are within no more than 50 km. As a result, we would break this into 50 km cells. Anything that is not above ground that requires work or construction will not be done on fixed price contracts but rather fixed rate contracts. Fixed price contracts would only apply to things above ground that are tangible and predesigned, where we know what is expected.

Regarding numbers of people, to make this wash its face, we expect to need 55,000 people to use this daily. That is an average of 55,000 commuters using this facility by year 6. That is our objective. We believe it is attainable.

The costs are outlined in the PowerPoint presentation, on page 18. The estimates involved were calculated between 2019 and 2020. The net figure is €9.362 billion, a substantial amount. It covers the construction of the tracks, railway stations or terminals, the trains and the train sets, design and planning, consultation with the public, and professional fees. It is likely, given the current environment, that that cost is now outdated and therefore low. I run an engineering business in Monaghan and since January there have been three price hikes for steel. It is likely that the figure of €9.362 billion is low now. It is the result of work that we have done to date.