Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Whatever about the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, not being present, the fact that no officials from the Department are physically present in the Chamber to observe the debate speaks more volumes. The Minister is busy, I understand, and the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, will probably tell me that the officials are watching the debate from home or online, but that speaks to a bigger problem which manifested itself on Sunday in Dublin Airport, that is, that nobody seems to take responsibility. Nobody in the DAA will pay for what happened. The taxpayer will pay by refunding passengers. Nobody in the Department of Transport will take responsibility for what happened to the thousands of people and the stress that manifested itself. That has to be dealt with, not just in the Department of Transport but across so many other Departments involved in the front line.

When it comes to sustainable transport, I really welcome the announcements made yesterday by Irish Rail about expanding services across County Mayo, in particular the introduction of a morning link service from Ballina into the Dublin-Westport route and the ongoing expansion of services to the Ballina freight depot. We have, however, a golden rail project that is sustainable, namely the western rail corridor and its expansion up into Claremorris and on to Sligo. That has been parked in an all-island rail review, while it seems other services around the country are being allowed to proceed. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is either serious or not about sustainable transport. There is no sense in us sitting here like dogs barking without teeth. This project absolutely stands up when it comes to building sustainable transport, equipping the economic side of the west of the country and building up the Atlantic economic corridor, yet there is no commitment within the Department or among officials. There is a consistent blocking policy. That is why it is parked in an all-island rail review. That is not good enough anymore. The project adds up. It is sustainable. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, keeps telling us we need sustainability. We keep being told that rural Ireland has to become more sustainable. A project was put in front of the Minister. He needs to move it on and not park it. That is what sustainable transport is.

Similarly, when it comes to transport projects in rural areas, it is a matter of building up the sustainability of the economy of rural areas to act as a bulwark against the very strong economy of Dublin. Building proper and accessible roads, such as the N26 from Ballina into Swinford and the R312 from Castlebar to Belmullet, develops strong communities and allows people to stay within their communities rather than commuting and travelling big distances. That argument, however, does not seem to be understood. These are not roads for the sake of roads. They are all building up and supporting communities and keeping people in rural areas and stopping them from having to come to the cities.

Sustainability and transport are absolutely dependent issues, but there needs to be a far more ambitious understanding of what sustainability is within the Department of Transport and on the part of the Minister himself. Rather than talking about it, we need to see action for once and for all.

See this speech in context