Dr. Pat Daly:

We would not argue with anything the Deputy said. That infrastructure is the future. It is hot-wired into the development plan. It is the first time that Limerick has had a development plan to cater for the city and county. It took a bit of debate from all stakeholders but the council in particular. Trade-offs were made but the council did not trade on any of the core principals of transport-led development and integrated living. Colbert Station, to use an airport analogy, is the hub. The station is one of the key sites for the LDA. The rail lines the Deputy mentioned connect through all the key areas in both the city and county. They have a hub-spoke effect. They can come in and out of the city and through it. I am very conscious of that. It will probably take two development plans to work through but the guiding vision of the current plan is to do so.

It is about giving people choices as we wait for public infrastructure to kick through. How do we get people in and out of town? Unashamedly, people in Limerick still like to drive in and out of town. There is kind of a town mentality but that will change in time as services come to pass and rail options become available. It will also change with the great support Government is giving on mobility measures, adaptive travel and greenways. It is about how one brings it together. We have set a new division up dedicated to place-making. How do we make it happen? How do we better connect what we have? Limerick has a grid system as a Georgian city which can be connected to the county areas by rail line.

It is not a million miles away. We have already started having progressive discussions with Iarnród Éireann which is doing its feasibility and planning. I think we will see it sooner rather than later. Part of the challenge might be in the Ryder Cup coming in 2027. Can we get some of those key rail lines in place? It would be doable if there were a fair window. I think it will happen.