Ms Mary Considine:

I thank the Deputy for his good wishes. I am very determined to engage with local communities and all stakeholders because that partnership approach is where we can deliver the change that is required to deliver huge infrastructure right across the country. As the Deputy will know from my previous role, I am really passionate about developing infrastructure in the region. I think it is a really important economic enabler. Any investment in rail across the country is a real enabler of economic activity.

The Deputy might forgive me but I am just learning about the whole network. On Ballybrophy, my understanding is that it is about the state of the infrastructure and its quality. It would need significant investment if we were to increase journey times and lift those speed restrictions. There is no immediate funding to do that. That is obviously a constraint we are working in. We need to invest to improve line speeds but also the level crossings. The Deputy mentioned the partnership group there. I think Mr. Kenny may have sat in on meetings with it and Mr. Meade would have met them. It is certainly on our radar but, again, it is subject to funding.