Mr. Barry Kenny:

I thank the Chairman and members of the committee for the invitation to attend today to discuss the public petition relating to a walking and cycling greenway on the closed railway from Sligo to Athenry. I relay to the Chairman the apologies of our chief executive, Mr. Jim Meade, who was unavailable today.

In addressing the matter raised under this public petition, I propose to address Iarnród Éireann’s policy generally as it relates to greenways and other alternative uses of disused rail alignments, and how this specifically applies to the Sligo to Athenry alignment. Iarnród Éireann wants to see the role of rail in meeting the transport needs of our country expand. We are about to embark on the most significant expansion of our rail network in generations. The draft all-island strategic rail review, prepared by the Department of Transport in Ireland and the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland, outlines the strategic pathway we will take up to 2050.

The fact the draft review has been developed by the two Departments illustrates that it is ultimately public policy that will determine the likelihood of specific alignments being developed.

With our colleagues in CIÉ Group property, we have in the past licensed alternative uses for closed or disused rail alignments where there is no realistic prospect in the policy timeframe which has been defined for the re-establishment of rail. Examples of alignments which remain in the ownership of CIÉ but which have been licensed to local authorities for use as a greenway include Navan to Kingscourt, Athlone to Mullingar, Midleton to Youghal and Rathkeale to Abbeyfeale. Our policy indicates a preference that the relevant local authority should be directly involved in the development of the alternative use. These examples we have supported in the past have clear benefits. They protect the alignment from adverse possession, ensure it is fully maintained should there be a future requirement to reinstate rail services, provide a public amenity in public ownership through the development of a leisure facility and transfer the costs of maintenance and upkeep to the local authority, which ensures Iarnród Éireann can focus its resources on the operational rail network. Crucially, we have established licence arrangements which state that, should a requirement for the alignment to be used for rail operations emerge at any point, a six-month notice clause can be invoked to cancel the licence so that the alignment can revert to our control for development and delivery of rail services.

To bring this general outlook to the specifics of Athenry to Sligo, this alignment has been closed to rail services since 1975 between Claremorris and Collooney, and since 1997 between Athenry and Claremorris, both latterly freight-only lines. However, there has been active consideration by Government Departments and agencies of the potential for various sections of the alignment to be re-established as rail line over recent years as part of a western rail corridor, a concept we very much support. Most recently, the draft all-island strategic rail review has indicated support for the re-establishment of rail services on the Athenry to Claremorris section, but does not include Claremorris to Collooney. With Athenry to Claremorris indicated as commencing within this decade, clearly this will be re-established as a rail line.

We ultimately wish to see the re-establishment of rail services between Claremorris and Collooney also. However, heretofore this has not been included in indicated public policy positions. As a result, Iarnród Éireann and CIÉ Group property have engaged with both Mayo County Council and Sligo County Council on alternative uses for the alignment in the context of the licence condition which would see it revert to us with six months' notice. Mayo County Council has established a Velorail operation over a ten-mile section of the alignment centred on Kiltimagh station. The current licence runs to March 2030, with the six-month notice clause applying. Separately, Sligo County Council has indicated it wishes to develop a greenway between Collooney and Bellaghy on the county border. Iarnród Éireann has facilitated these studies and, subject to the draft all-island rail review being confirmed, will engage with Sligo County Council on this. Should Sligo County Council secure the necessary funding and approvals to progress the project, it will be clear that it is solely on the condition that a licence will issue with a six-month clause should its re-establishment as a railway be supported.

On both being delivered in parallel, the original alignment was largely single line, which means that within our land take it would be challenging to deliver both. That said, if a local authority supported, where a lane was being established, a parallel greenway and there were land takes involved, we would work with the local authority. There are economies of scale if there was a wish from a local authority perspective to do both at the same time. Within their own footprint, it is unlikely both could be supported.

I trust this clarifies our position. We believe we are at a unique moment in time when the rail network can expand and do much more for people's travel options. In the circumstances I have outlined, we would facilitate some greenway development.