Mr. Glenn Carr:

We are having a lot of dialogue with Dublin Port and the Department at the moment. We disagree with the 3FM Project, in that it has the potential to be the largest inland facility in the country but it will not be rail connected. We believe that any inland port facility on a scale of that nature must be rail connected. We will be engaging on that footing at all times with regard to a conversation with Dublin Port. We recognise Dublin Port's capacity constraints.

However, there is an opportunity for other regional ports to be developed in order to alleviate some of that capacity constraint. One of the really interesting statistics that came from Brexit is that once the land bridge went, 52% of that traffic came to Rosslare. Even though Dublin Port is five times the size of Rosslare in terms of activity, 52% of that traffic migrated to Rosslare. It migrated very successfully, without either major congestion issues or cost implications. What that means is that as you develop the regional ports, you are addressing some of the congestion issues that may face ports such as Dublin. At the same time, we must ensure that there is sustainable infrastructure in and ways of moving freight and people through our ports. If we do not have that in our key ports, we will really struggle to get momentum regarding our rail freight strategy ambitions. This is simply because of the sheer scale of Dublin Port. That is where we stand on that. We are very open and clear on that.

Regarding track access, much work has been done in the last while on track access charging. We continue to look at that in terms of the rate per tonne. Cost is a critical issue in the supply chain, but, equally, we must recognise that a premium is there for sustainability, and there are now green bonuses for industry. I therefore say that there is a much more mature model emerging. Constantly, rail was compared with the rate per road. Ireland has very aggressive road haulage rates. Many of those in industry, particularly large industry, are looking at it in the round as regards not just the pure cost of the transport, but with all the other added benefits. We will find it to be a very competitive rail proposition. We already do. Some very big multinationals are using rail as we speak today. They are often very aggressive with their pricing models. They also recognise the benefits and values that rail brings. We need to balance that because we cannot run to the bottom of the ladder. We need to provide a service that needs to be efficient and needs to be invested in, for example, additional freight capacity. We have to find the right price point. Track access is part of that and we will do that.