Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will make a final case. I agree wholeheartedly with everything the witnesses said. I also agree that, ultimately, the decision will be made within these walls. Every decision that is made within these walls is guided by a number of factors including the socioeconomic impact of whatever decision we make, be it negative or positive. The return on investment ultimately to us, as taxpayers, is also a key element of the decision-making processes. All that I, John Mulligan and the 25,000 others who have signed a petition asking for a greenway are asking is if there is an interim policy. If there is not, that is wonderful. If the rail review is published at the end of the year and states that €150 million should be invested right now or over the next ten years, we would be delighted. Then we would sit down with the Minister and whoever else to ask for a greenway to be developed alongside the line. Reading every past rail review and the conclusions they arrived at, in particular the conclusions arrived at by the very people we would be seeking to invest, namely, the European Investment Bank and JASPERS, I cannot pragmatically or realistically see a conclusion being drawn that this is going to happen. All we are asking is that, following the advice of the people who manage our national rail network every day of the week, we retain that key State asset in public ownership by means of the development of a greenway - rather than anything as significant as a rail line - and bring significant economic benefit to places that have not seen it in a very long time. That is the case I make.