Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy O'Rourke mentioned a number of new services. The Minister of State in his opening statement went into great detail about train services regarding Drogheda and the charging facilities that have been put in there for DART+ Coastal North. I believe there is a charging facility for the Maynooth line as well. I am sure there will, ultimately, be facilities in south Dublin if it is deemed necessary to put them in or if the overhead lines cannot be put in at the same time. I said in my opening remarks as Chair of this committee that we are very much in the midst of a revolution when it comes to the provision of public transport. The rail network is a fantastic example of where, if you put the money in, the reward is very obvious and tantalisingly close for a lot of communities, particularly in the Minister of State's constituency and county that he mentioned and in my own.

I am, however, ever so slightly concerned, given the track record of the delivery of this sort of project, that we may see planning delays. The four-tracking of the northern commuter line from Clontarf Road to Malahide to provide capacity and space for more frequent services, about which this committee had a conversation with Mr. Meade and his colleagues from Irish Rail, and the DART+ Coastal North and battery-electric services that are to be provided in January 2026, which is just 13 and a half months from now, may be problematic because of the experience we suffered as a result of that timetable change that I know the Minister of State is only too aware of and which, indeed, my constituents are thoroughly browned off with. It is a little on the frustrating side when I think about the likes of that capital infrastructural project plan - 4 North, as Irish Rail is calling it. I understand a report will be published in the new year. My concern is that capital project, and I do not think it would be unfair of me to say it, is likely to take a decade to deliver because it involves CPOs, assessments, surveys and all those things, while keeping the northern commuter line flowing, which adds a layer of complexity.

When it comes to overhead lines being installed in Kildare, south Dublin, Wicklow, north Dublin, Meath and Louth, what assurances can the Minister of State give the committee and the listening public that everything that can be done is being done with regard to planning processes and the expenditure of public funds through the Department and its agencies on the delivery of these absolutely essential services? I would love to have to have a plan on my desk here setting out how we plan to electrify rail services throughout the whole country and how we plan to reconnect counties that have not had a rail service in a couple of generations - the north west, for example, and even Meath. There are parts of Meath and north Kildare that had services but no longer do, and yet now they are very viable commuter communities, as the Minister of State well knows, and do not have train services. Perhaps my question relates to ambition and perhaps the Minister of State might touch on that in his response.