Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Ba mhaith liom mo chuid ama a roinnt leis na Teachtaí Connolly, McHugh, Finian McGrath, James Breen, Cowley agus Eamon Ryan.

I welcome the Fine Gael, Labour Party and Green Party motion but wonder whether all the signatories of the motion have really thought out the implications of the proposals they are supporting. The logic of the desire immediately to halt the decline in our rail freight sector as a method of lowering greenhouse gas emissions raises the question of preparedness to grasp the nettle and accept that meeting Kyoto CO2 targets means a substantial turnaround in how we run not just the rail service but public transport throughout Ireland. In particular, it means rethinking the privatisation of public transport services and accepting that it will be the public sector in the form of Iarnród Éireann, Bus Éireann and Bus Átha Cliath which will lead the way to a sustainable transport strategy on this island. It is these companies alone which have the ability and skills to demonstrate the flexibility needed to meet the environmental transport challenges facing us on the island as a whole.

It also means having a Government with the political will to fully implement and deliver on such a policy. Last week in Tralee, the Minister for Transport arrived to open a new Bus Éireann station and stated it gave him great pleasure to do so. He also indicated it was a key priority of the Department to develop and upgrade public transport facilities. He then went into the now familiar Government speak that is replicated in the amendment to the motion tonight, which is to keep away from specific details and bleat at regular intervals that Transport 21 will solve all our problems.

What of Transport 2007, the real world that the rest of us live in? The Government amendment indicates spending of €16 billion. Does this include the €713 million in the under-the-table deal with National Toll Roads? Not content with paying the company €38 million to build the West Link and the €230 million it has pocketed in profit from operating it, the Minister has blown nearly €1 billion without even a bus or rail carriage taking a passenger on board. To put the €713 million into perspective, it is nearly double the amount being spent on the much-hyped investment in railways this year.

To focus on the freight proposal, there are two core issues that must be dealt with. The first is the development of a commercial strategy for the Iarnród Éireann freight service and the second is the context of where and to whom freight needs to go now and in the future. Iarnród Éireann's freight business lost €7.6 million in 2005 and €9 million in 2004. The 2006 losses might be higher again as it is stated in the annual report that the company is losing Diageo's keg service and will be hit by the cessation of beet growing and processing.

We need a freight service that links Irish businesses with their local train line and the ports and airports of Ireland. We need a train line from Dublin to Derry and Derry Port, from Derry to Letterkenny and south to Sligo, Galway, Athlone, Ennis and even into Tralee. We need dedicated freight lines from north to south from Larne to Rosslare. We especially need additional capacity on the Dublin to Belfast track, as expanded commuter services envisaged on these lines will leave little room for freight.

We also need train lines into Dublin Airport, but the sad reality is that this will not happen. The Government is without vision, promising to spend millions on our behalf but in fact wasting billions. It is hard to believe in Transport 21 when one is waiting for the gridlocked bus or standing on the overcrowded train. This is the pathetic reality of Transport 2007.

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