Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 1 February 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs

Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed)

2:30 pm

Photo of Peadar TóibínPeadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Ideology and policy determine the amount of public transport there is within the State and the NTA works within that parameter. There is a push-pull situation because the NTA has the ear of policymakers and provides them with expert advice on which they rely.

Interestingly, the Government, in its policy approaches, now takes everything outside of Dublin to be rural. We have often asked Iarnród Éireann whether it is feasible to run a rail line from Navan to Dublin, from Parkmore to Galway city or from a particular location to X, Y or Z. The reply has been that it is not feasible or that it cannot be done at present. In Meath, it takes two hours for a mother or father to travel into Dublin and two hours to travel home. In many ways, it is not feasible to have a society where so much of a person's family experience is swallowed up by a commute time that is valueless to that society and that costs the State lots of money in the context of the transportation of goods and services. When we asked Iarnród Éireann about this matter, we were told there are no plans for X, Y and Z. In that context, is there a mechanism by means of which elected representatives or committees could make inquiries? Could we say, "We understand that you do not have a plan or money for a certain route now but we would like to measure the feasibility, which means the volumes that potentially would travel on the route and the costs of providing that service?" For example, €3.11 is the PSO cost per passenger for Iarnród Éireann. Could we approach Iarnród Éireann, as a group or as individuals, and ask what would be the PSO for a rail line from Navan to Dublin and what would be the cost per passenger? If there was a mechanism for us to do so, we could begin to map the future. Deputy Ó Cuív is right to a certain extent because we are not just talking about the constrictions with which the NTA must deal now. It is our job to plan for rural development into the future. My questions are for the NTA.