Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 18 September 2024
Committee on Budgetary Oversight
Pre-Budget Engagement
3:30 pm
Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I will, but just before I do that I want to join the Minister for Finance, Deputy Chambers, in what he said about the Deputy's point about children with intellectual disabilities. We are all aware of how difficult this is for families and the challenges they have in accessing services despite our best efforts. We certainly acknowledge the importance of the point the Deputy made.
On the NDP, when the Deputy began to talk about bullet trains, my heart began to beat a little quicker. At one point, I thought he was going to suggest the bullet train go to Farranfore Airport, but when I realised he was only suggesting Shannon Airport, that is a far more realistic proposal for us to consider. Things like the bullet train are only really possible in Japan because of the population densities they have and the way they do planning. This train in Japan travels at over 300 mph, but what we are aware of is how we can improve our rail network and how we can make it more fit for purpose and faster. While I am not sure we are going to get to the bullet speed the Deputy makes the case for, I am sure that in the decisions we will make in the next few years, it will lead to an improvement in our rail network. It will be better, cleaner, faster and more sustainable. While I fear we may let the Deputy down in his argument for the bullet train to come to Ireland, I hope he will see improvements in the years ahead due to the money I believe the Government will be able to invest in transport.