Ms Mary Considine:

I thank Deputy O'Gorman for his good wishes. He has hit on two important points there. The all-island strategic rail review is a really strategic document. It is putting rail at the forefront of sustainable transport solutions. However, it is also key to unlocking land value and transport-oriented development. As we build out the rail network, particularly as we open more stations, the vision within the strategy is that people will be living in close proximity to a rail station. That is very much centre to our plans. Really, it is about ourselves working with stakeholders, local authorities, Oireachtas Members, the National Transport Authority and the Department of Transport to make sure all our plans are aligned and we have certainty of funding.

It goes back to that multi-annual funding and having certainty, no matter what the economic cycle is going through, that we will have that funding. It allows us then to resource accordingly, do the detailed design, have projects ready to go to planning and just accelerate the delivery.