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

I thank the Deputy very much. He is right. Since the question was asked, we have published both the original EY report and the second report, the Joint Assistance to Support Projects in European Regions, JASPERS, review. These two reports provided critical answers to some of the questions asked about the western rail corridor. If I can widen out the question, the further review we are going to be doing, the national rail review, is needed because the questions we have asked to date did not take a sufficiently wide vision of the network effects or of the benefits of filling in gaps in our network or using existing underutilised assets. Considering these matters is one of the purposes of the rail review. In that regard, I see the potential connection from Athenry to Claremorris as being of significance or relevance not only for the likes of Tuam, Claremorris, Athenry or Galway but, as the Deputy has indicated, also for this wider strategic assessment of the entire western rail corridor. From my perspective, the western rail corridor starts right down in the likes of Waterford and runs from there to Limerick Junction, through to Clare and then up to Galway and Mayo. A connection right along the west coast and down to our southern ports allows for the potential long-term use of rail infrastructure. We will have an informal meeting of the transport ministers of the Council of the EU in the coming weeks - I believe it is next week - and the key issue on the agenda is how to revitalise rail including rail freight, rail commuting and meeting long-distance transport needs with rail. In this wider strategic review, I am looking to think big and to think broadly about the situation ten, 20 or 30 years down the line. That connection between Athenry and Claremorris might have impacts right along the rail network which would justify it in a way the JASPERS and EY reports did not.

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