Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We have just seen the prioritisation of even further investment for roads, with rail being sidelined once again. The service has been downgraded and the ultimate viability of rail has been diminished, with negative prospects for existing jobs and long-term sustainable transport solutions. Did the cost-benefit analysis and the final political decision for the NRA project take account of the negative impact of the projects on corresponding rail services in terms of diminished competitiveness of rail journey times and, thereby, on the long-term viability of those rail services? How were the relative priorities for overall transport investment decided? Was comparative cost effectiveness analysis carried out when NRA expenditure was being decided? How much of the investment planned in Iarnród Éireann is for essential ongoing maintenance and how much for infrastructural upgrades or new developments that would lead to service improvements?

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