Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for attending and for his great service over the past five years. He certainly made a difference in transport. We have had our little ups and downs but it has been a very positive period. I am not sure if the Local Link initiatives are in the Minister's area but they have made a huge difference in regional public transport. I did not think we would be able to reach such levels of service but people who never took a bus in their lives are now travelling to Sligo town from Coolaney, Ballisodare, Ballymote and Manorhamilton. Local Link is not just for student travel. It is for night-time travel and the night-time economy. We need to do an awful lot more but in the past three or four years that money has been well spent. It was a wonderful initiative and we should reflect on that. I thank the Minister.

I will move on to the Coast Guard services. I live on the Strandhill Road in Sligo and I am delighted the Coast Guard service has been retained. We were concerned that with only three areas it could be lost, but I am delighted Strandhill has been included because 12 years ago I was very involved in the initiative of bringing the air ambulance to Athlone following the closure of the Roscommon accident and emergency department. I brought three different Departments and it has been a huge success. I am aware these things have to move and be upskilled and upgraded, but that was a game-changer when it came to saving lives in rural areas such as counties Roscommon, Mayo, Galway, Sligo, Leitrim and across the island.

We talked about the greenways. Again, under the Minister’s initiatives, they have received huge amounts of funding. I think of the Sligo greenway from Charlestown to Collooney. We would love to see a railway line there as well but the greenway is progressing at pace. Down the road I would like the Minister’s views on a railway. We would like to link up eventually with the Sligo to Galway line and down to Limerick as well, with a connection to Knock airport. We are very proud of the airport. It is used incredibly well by people from the west. When I go to Westminster, I can leave my house in Sligo at 8 a.m., be on a flight at 9 a.m. and in Westminster for a meeting at 11:30 a.m. When I am asked how I got there, I say it was Ryanair and it cost me €19.99. We are very proud of the airport. Most people are going for their winter holidays. These things are happening. The greenway from Collooney to Enniskillen is progressing. We have a feasibility study on the greenway between Lough Key forest park and Carrick-on-Shannon. It will link to Drumshanbo and up to Ballinamore and Roosky. We are at a critical point where we can connect all these greenways together. What the Minister said was right. We live in a temperate climate, although unfortunately it rains a lot more in Sligo and the west than it does in Dublin, but you could be on a bike every day, or an electric scooter or bike.

I normally stay on the Navan Road and take the bus in. What the Minister has done in Dublin has been very positive. Many more people are using the cycleway north of the Liffey. We are moving to a level of scale that is very welcome. I thank the Minister for all those initiatives. Everyone is talking about the Luas and whatever, but I am more worried about the Sligo line. The train to Sligo takes three hours. I am aware there are difficulties between Mullingar and Connolly Station, but we need to try to come up with some resolution so the train can get from Sligo to Dublin in less than two hours. I would like the Minister’s views on that.

If we look at the map of Ireland, there are motorways to Wexford, Waterford, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Belfast. We need to do a lot more in the north west. The Carrick-on-Shannon bypass is moving at pace. The one area we had a little disagreement was the N17 between Collooney and Charlestown and also from Roosky to Mullingar. I thank the Minister because there were issues we perhaps did not agree on, but he listened and we came up with a resolution that I think was agreeable to everyone. However, it caused a lot of confusion and anger and we need to do a little bit better when it comes to the provision of roads. It is not a Green policy and I can understand that, but where I live, people feel let down because they are looking at motorways in every other area across the island and we need to be sympathetic to that. As I said, the speed limit on the N17 between Collooney and Charlestown is 80 km/h. It is simply not good enough for a major route and I want the Minister and his officials, who do great work, to maybe take into consideration that we do not have those motorways. The Collooney to Castlebaldwin dual carriageway has been a game-changer. Every time I drive on it, it lifts my heart as I can see the scenery and things like that, but we need more of it.

I again thank the Minister for his great work. I wish him well in his deliberations and whatever he does. I think he has a few projects on line. I say well done and thank him for his great service and for his friendship.