Nessa Cosgrove (Labour)

I am going to ask three questions. I live in Sligo and it is very disappointing to see that there is no project listed for the north west in the briefing documents. While I thank the witnesses for providing the documents, if you cut across from Galway to Dublin there is nothing listed.

The principle behind the NTA is "avoid-shift-improve" but it is very difficult for us in the north west to avoid the use of cars if we do not have alternative options. I had a very productive meeting last week with Mr. Billy Gilpin, Mr. Michael Power and Mr. Stephen King from Irish Rail regarding the inclusion of an early morning commuter service from Longford to Sligo. Under the public service obligation, PSO, services, can we have a commitment for that early morning service? The meeting I had was really productive. The Irish Rail representatives were really engaged but they said that the money is not in place. There is, however, a possibility that it might be provided. Could we get a commitment? The engineering department at ATU Sligo has done a full costings and its simulation showed that this service could work really well. We just need a commitment. When is it going to be reached?