Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will not delay. I am conscious that we are here not just to have a good conversation about everything Irish Rail is doing, and I will dig into that momentarily, but to discuss the all-island rail review. I read it last night again to brief myself. It references that it is not commuter-focused but is all about the intercity and the longer distances. While we think Donegal is a long way away, and, relatively speaking, in our terms it is, in terms of Australia, the Continent, Russia or other places, it is only a stone's throw away.

I welcome the all-island aspect of the review which is not Mr. Meade's remit, as such, but he is coming here to respond to it. I was taken by the all-island views in terms of the density and frequency of activity in some stations versus others.

It is not the responsibility of Mr. Meade, but I would love to see that in a 3D format to know the level of activity at stations. It is extremely high along the east coast, much of which is caused by commuter DART and so on. However, other stations have less than three to four services per day, such as the Waterford to Athenry and Ballybrophy lines. It would be very difficult for those lines to pay their way but they are a valuable service in their areas and it is great they have been kept and maintained.

If one looks at the east coast, the speed is not great on the Waterford and Wexford lines, in particular. I can get in my car in south Dublin and be in Wexford far faster than I ever would be on the train. That does not even allow for getting to the train station in the first place. What will Iarnród Éireann do to improve the service? Deputy Crowe touched on the safety aspect. The Taoiseach referenced it last night. Public transport capacity, generally, is only approximately 60% of what it was. Part of the reason for the fares being cut is to bring people back to using public transport.

It is not just about having a quality, safe and reliable service. In terms of the modal shift towards decarbonisation, I have been on trains in places such as Hungary and Slovakia where one can cycle to the station and hang up one's bike in the carriage one is in, rather than worrying about it being down the other end of the train and whether there is enough room or something happening to the bike when one is not with it.

There are places on the Continent where one can put one's car on the train. I would love to drive to Heuston, put my car on the train, get to Killarney and then drive around Killarney. I like having the car at the other end. Is there any scope for that kind of activity? Is our country too small? The price of fuel is going up, and pricing has been mentioned. At the moment I can get into my car and drive to Limerick for approximately the same price as going by public transport. It may not be the €14 fare about which Deputy Crowe spoke, but the pricing can be prohibitive. I can get to Cyprus for €7.99 with Ryanair. The air coach will not even get me to the airport for that price.

I know Iarnród Éireann is bound by certain guidelines and rules. However, is there capacity for Iarnród Éireann to offer very competitive off-peak pricing for Tuesday morning or the graveyard shift late on a Tuesday? Clearly, rail does better with density. It does better when the speeds of the train are faster than the car. This may be more difficult because we are such a small country, but people want to embrace public transport where it is reliable, safe and cheap.

I have thrown a lot at Mr. Meade and I have not even touched on the capacity of a DART spur to the airport. We could be waiting a while for the metro. Is there any way we could do that, as well? That is as much as I will throw in for now.