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

We all know there is an issue with that bridge. I understand that, first and foremost, the council is going to look at what the options are there. It is a historical bridge so we must be sensitive and examine various options. We must recognise, however, that in the context of the European recovery and resilience fund, from which we are getting a total of €1 billion, we earmarked €185 million for upgrading the Cork metropolitan rail services line. The first section is primarily working between Midleton and Kent Station and the works to go through Kent Station. That is leading to the introduction of a high-quality metropolitan service, which will also benefit the town of Cobh. We are looking at radical improvement in the frequency and operation of train services on the Cork commuter rail service and having a first-class service. To refer back to what we were discussing earlier, to my mind this is using new battery electric trains. We are talking about the very best service. That will have a significant impact on the development of Cobh and the areas of Carrigtwohill, Glounthaune, Midleton and all the stations in between. That should reorganise that area towards this much more sustainable transport system.

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