Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In 1886, we had railways all over the country. We did not have so many roads and we had no dual carriageways, no motorways and very few people owned cars, so it was a very different world back then. It was the development of the roads and the expansion in car ownership that caused the railways to close in the first place because they became non-viable.

When it comes to Cork, as the Deputy knows, our ambition is to increase the population of the Cork city region by 50% between now and 2040 and to ensure that it grows at twice the rate of Dublin. We have an opportunity in Cork to learn from the mistakes made in Dublin and to get it right. That involves a lot more high density development in the city centre area, in Tivoli, the docklands and all around that area, which is very much part of Project Ireland 2040. It also means getting public transport right. That is why we have set aside €200 million for BusConnects to make sure Cork has a much better bus service, and it is why we need to listen to suggestions, such as the Deputy's suggestion on park and ride.

As I said, I will take that up with Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the National Transport Authority.

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