Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The issue that comes to bear in all of this is that there has been a legitimate campaign to have a greenway on the rail line and there has been an equally legitimate campaign, and in my view a more urgent campaign, to see the rail line fully reopened. It would do more for the area. It would provide something that is crucial to link economic centres such as Sligo to Galway and down to Limerick. It would do more to integrate communities and rebalance the imbalance there has been between the west and east of the country. We would be putting in place long-term infrastructure around which we can build the economy. This is why I see the rail line as being crucial. I see as an advantage to the rail line the development of a greenway along with it. It is equally important. We are in a situation where, unfortunately, there is competition between both. I hope we will be able to take from the discussions we have had at this meeting and at previous meetings.

I hope, with the co-operation of everyone with an interest in this, that we can find a pathway forward to develop both together and unite all of our attention and pressure to deliver both together. The all-island rail review will come up with recommendations. Reviews come up with recommendations all the time. There is a national development plan, all of these plans and various pieces of work put on shelves and left there sometimes for centuries, never mind generations, and nothing happens. We need to see a commitment to make this happen. That is my perspective as a person from the west of Ireland, from a Sligo-Leitrim perspective and west coast perspective. We need to deliver on this. Making it a deliverable project is the key thing that has to happen for the railway, the greenways and everything else we can build in order to build our economy and communities in the west. I hope Irish Rail will recognise that. This is not just about having a rail line that will connect two parts of the country. It is about building a community that can be more resilient and sustainable into the future. I hope Irish Rail can recognise that and put whatever pressure it can on the Department of Transport and the Minister to ensure we deliver the entire western rail corridor and, I hope, the greenway alongside it.