Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

There are two more points I want to put to Mr. Meade quickly. I drive quite a lot across the country as well. For example, when I would arrive in Cork, I might want to go out to west Cork or somewhere like that, and I take my car instead. Senator Horkan made the point that he would love to be able to drive onto a train and drive off at the other end.

Similarly, as I drive across the country, there are a couple of noted haulage contractors the names of which I see. We often play a bit of a game to count how many of a particular contractor's trucks we see on a particular journey. I cannot for the life of me understand why we do not have lo-lo working with trains where the majority of goods travel across the country and have pick-up points in Limerick, Ballina, Castlebar or wherever, and we distribute from there. I believe the carbon saving would be considerable. If the pricing structure were right, it would suit the haulage companies. I drove a truck many years ago and it is rough going. I would much rather drive a small truck around than a great big 40 ft one.

My last point is on wind energy. There is substantial funding available at present in Germany for the development and storage of hydrogen. Has Irish Rail engaged with either GMIT in Galway or UCC in Cork, which is quite advanced in research in this area? It may be a cash cow for Irish Rail in years to come that would supplement its income. I believe there is €2 billion available through the German Bundestag for research and development in this area. I will leave those points with Mr. Meade.