Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)

I propose to share time with Deputies O'Shea, McEntee and Kehoe.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion. I immediately noted the Minister of State's speech overwhelmingly dealt with Transport 21 and the Government's suggested achievements in public transport. Only in the final third did he turn to the specific issue of rail freight. The Minister of State's speech contains some very dangerous phrases on the future of rail freight. For example, he states:

I am open to any views on how we can expand rail freight but the business environment is such that I have not seen any real opportunities identified. The market for rail freight is now fully liberalised and if there are opportunities I would welcome expressions of interest . . . . . In the absence of opportunities or proposals for viable long-term rail freight business, the development and use of fiscal incentives has not been considered.

There has been an appalling neglect of freight and although I have only five minutes I wish to make a few points with regard to, for example, the West on Track movement. CIE is in possession of a site of 14.75 acres in Galway city centre. It has decided to address its use of that site rather in the mode of a property development company than the public transport company it is under its basic Act. CIE is governed by legislation which established it as the public transport company, and when it was split up the right to acquire and dispose of property existed. What is referred to as the O'Rourke letter emerged, a letter from the then transport Minister suggesting that an evaluation of sites should be made so that their value might be realised.

In the Galway case a misleading presentation was made, presided over by the Minister for Transport, Deputy Cullen, and assisted by the CIE board and chairman, Dr. John Lynch. This mooted a €1 billion proposal for Ceannt Station, but the €1 billion was the value of the site. As the presentation went on, it became clear that a proposal for 800 apartments and a retail street was being put forward. There were to be three platforms, with an increase in the number of bus lanes, but they were all pointed towards the wall in such a way that none of them could ever get out. It is outrageous but reflective of something else.

We have some interesting bodies in this country. An example is the National Roads Authority but because of the ideological opposition to rail and public transport, we do not have a national transport authority. What we needed in the west was a regional transport authority which would adopt an integrated approach to public transport.

The price we have paid for our homage to roads above rail is appalling and has been identified in the speech made by my colleague, Deputy Shortall. She indicates that the impact of road freight is of particular note, with fuel consumption by road freight increasing by 264%, 9% per annum, over the period 1990-2005, making it the mode with the highest growth. How can any of us elected in the west suggest at a time when the forests are maturing and logging is to take place that it makes sense to close down rail freight and start the transport of cut logs across the country from the north west to the south east? It is outrageous and irresponsible.

Again buried in the Minister of State's speech is no doubt what he will have received from Dr. Lynch. He argues that we do not go looking for trade for freight and we have told our existing customers that we cannot guarantee we will be there. Having frightened them off, we now argue there is no point in offering fiscal incentives to try to develop rail freight. There is a pattern all over Europe where people have wanted sustainable transport policies. People are being turned from road to rail freight, and it makes sense.

It is very interesting that Iarnród Éireann continues to pursue a policy of growing its rail freight business where opportunities present, which the Minister of State for Transport stated in answer to Deputy Shortall some time ago. We have seen the derogation by CIE of its duty and we have seen the Minister presiding over a "roads only" policy. We have seen total hypocrisy in attempts to achieve an environmentally justifiable and sustainable policy.

It is time for the light to shine on the betrayal of public transport by this Government, CIE and the people we have trusted to provide a public transport system into the future.

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