Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I had a meeting with Iarnród Éireann last week and raised the specific issue of the future of Rosslare Port because it is owned by CIE and Irish Rail. I was raising it in the context of a wider review that Iarnród Éireann is commissioning on the future of rail freight in this country. I believe there is an opportunity for the expansion of rail freight. At present, only 2% of freight is carried by rail. That is a small fraction of what the average is across Europe. While some argue that the distances here are not long enough, the rest of Europe is saying it wants to switch to even greater volumes of freight traffic. With new technology coming on stream, the possibility of revived rail freight is a real prospect, and-or the other use of other rail lines for commuting, tourism or other purposes.

The Deputy's instincts are right. We should not write off the possible return of lines which are currently underutilised or, as with this line, effectively closed for the last ten years. There are particular difficulties in Rosslare because it is a roll-on roll-off port. In the discussions I had with Iarnród Éireann, I asked if it was thinking of the possibilities to vary or adapt that in the long term in developing the port. There are difficulties in that regard, but we have to wait and see what is in the report of its review of the future of freight. It is also influenced by the fact that the Port of Waterford has lift-on lift-off facilities at Belview and has rail freight capabilities. That would influence the decision.

The issue of this line is similar in a way to the discussion about the western railway corridor in terms of the question of whether one has a greenway or keeps a rail asset. I do not disagree with the Deputy's suggestion that it is possible, potentially, to have both. We will have to make a decision in that regard in the context of a wider network review. It is not just this section of line, but seeing how we can integrate networks, which is what I hope to do. I commit to doing further work with the Deputy and other Deputies in the Waterford and Wexford region to examine what possibilities there might be.

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