Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 2:

To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following:

“notes that:— the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Core Network consists of those parts of the comprehensive network which are of the highest strategic importance for

achieving the objectives of the TEN-T policy, and shall reflect evolving traffic demand and the need for multimodal transport;

— by seeking to include projects on the TEN-T Core Network, European Union (EU) Member States were committing to completing those projects by 2030;

— inclusion of a project on the TEN-T Core Network does not give rise to any automatic entitlement to funding, rather that funding decisions are on a competitive basis against projects from all across the EU; and

— the maximum level of funding possible under TEN-T for works on a domestic road or rail project on the Core Network is 30 per cent;recalls that:— in 2011 when the TEN-T negotiations were at their height, the State recorded a deficit of €21 billion and it would not have been realistic to commit to major new

investments in road and rail networks; and

— the biggest transport project in this State since 2011 was the Gort-Tuam motorway which opened last year, and this project was prioritised and delivered at the height of the economic crisis; andrecognises:— that Project Ireland 2040 acknowledged that transport links between the north-west and other parts of the country have been comparatively neglected until recently and therefore prioritises transport links to and from the area, including projects such as the N4 Collooney to Castlebaldwin, the N5 Westport to Turlough, the N5 Ballaghaderren to Scramogue, the A5 road development and the Galway City Ring Road among others;

— the progress being made across the whole of Government in preparing for Brexit and the potential impacts on the United Kingdom (UK) land bridge;

— that the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) is undertaking a study into the use of the UK land bridge by Irish importers and exporters including the likely

consequences that Brexit will have on land bridge usage and the various alternative options that may be viable, and that this report is due to be completed shortly;

— the intention of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to make a submission to the European Commissioner for Mobility and Transport seeking a review of the

TEN-T Network, taking account of the impact of Brexit and the investments being made under Project Ireland 2040, particularly those in the north-west, in line with the

Programme for Government commitment;

— that the Irish port companies are commercial entities, and that it is long-established Government policy that they are not subvented by the State; and

— that the supportive policy framework in place at a national and European level is facilitating historically high levels of capital investment being made in our ports’

infrastructure, with more than €300 million of infrastructure capacity development currently taking place.”

I welcome the opportunity to address the House on Ireland’s transport network, including the trans-European transport network, and our connectivity with the rest of Europe. This is particularly appropriate and timely in the context of the UK’s impending departure from the EU. I reject the contention that in some way this is an opportunity to criticise the Taoiseach for his stewardship at that time. The infrastructure in the west is not as neglected as the Members opposite maintain. They will be familiar with the motorway to Tuam, which I opened not very long ago and whose fathers were the Minister for Finance, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, and the Taoiseach.

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