Mr. Jim Meade:

The western rail corridor will be included as part of the all-island rail review. It is one of the routes that is being looked at by the review, and when it comes back to us, a decision will be made by the two Departments about whether it is progressed. It is still a live issue. We expect the first report in about a month.

It is very much still a live issue and part of the all-island rail review.

I would make two points on what the Senator said about travelling from Westport and from Ballina. We have just started, with the National Transport Authority, a review of the whole network timetable. It is coming from the point of view of what the future will be post the pandemic and with blended working and remote working. That timetable review is looking at the fact we are getting a new fleet. Probably part of the reason we do not have a service everywhere at present is we have every wheel turning as it is and the higher flows of people are getting the fleet that is there. As we start to bring in some fleet at the end of this year and then new electric trains in 18 months or two years, that will allow us cascade trains or other fleet across the country. We intend increasing the frequency to regional cities. We intend looking at the branch lines. We intend looking at what the Senator mentioned - the Ballina service - and asking whether we can put another set-up there and provide an earlier morning service.

People will move to the regions. We are seeing some of it already. People will have blended working. They will travel to Dublin a day or two a week or three days a week. We are seeing that within our own organisation. I believe blended working will bring more people onto public transport. If you are driving that distance for a couple of hours, you have to drive it. If you get on a train, you can work and do what you want. You can eat or take a snooze if you are going home from a long day. You cannot do any of that in the car. That blended working will bring not only the people we had previously back onto public transport but many new people. As we said earlier, if at the end we have the right infrastructure, be it bus connections beyond Ballina and beyond Westport, be it hopping on the Luas or on a bike here in Dublin or in Athlone, Galway or any of the intermediate stations, that is where we will get to. The timetable review will look at more services such as the Senator outlined. The blended working will bring more demand and the all-island rail review will take cognisance of that.