Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)

I will start by congratulating Ms Considine on her new position and thank her for everything she did for Shannon Airport and the region while she was there. I also welcome Mr. Kenny. I represent north Tipperary so I want to ask about the regional line across north Tipperary from Limerick to Ballybrophy. It is a 52.25 miles in length and serves Castleconnell, Birdhill, Nenagh, Cloughjordan and Roscrea. It runs two return trips per day as well as the morning Nenagh to Limerick commuter service. There has been no direct Dublin service on the line since 1986. Journey times are around one hour and 42 minutes, with the slowest being two hours, which is almost 30 minutes slower than it was in the 1990s. I welcome the fact we have that line there to begin with and that it was never lost, unlike a lot of areas where it was, but I am trying to get people to see the importance of this line and its potential. I have issues with the maximum line speed being 50 miles per hour when so much of it is continuous welded rail in comparison with some other lines. Large sections of it are restricted to 30 miles per hour. I also have an issue with public perception and marketing suggesting it is a lightly used line. It is not marketed, but also not seen, as being reliable, with an awful lot of bus or coach services being put on because of closures. People just cannot rely on it for connectivity and it takes a long time to travel the line because of speeds, and the times at which trains depart stations and arriving at Limerick or Ballybrophy does not suit commuters. In the immediate term I would like to see a third service put on the line at midday. There are carriages there and I believe there has been work towards staff funding for that.

I have a few questions for Ms Considine. I know Mr. Kenny will be familiar with the North Tipperary Community Rail Partnership as well. In her new position, is it on Ms Considine’s agenda to deliver a regional rail line beyond Limerick and Clare? I am thinking across north Tipperary in particular and the benefits and potential that are there.

Second, why has the Limerick-Ballybrophy timetable remained largely unchanged for 50 years? Her predecessor, Jim Meade, committed to North Tipperary Community Rail Partnership, and he had very good engagements with it over the years, that the line would see additional services from the December 2025 timetable. Where are we with that?

Third, there were good meetings with North Tipperary Community Rail Partnership. I ask Ms Considine to continue those engagements in her new role along with Mr. Kenny.