Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

For people who lived in or near the towns on the old Limerick–Dublin road, including Nenagh, Roscrea, Cloughjordan, Birdhill, Castleconnell, O'Brien’s Bridge and Killaloe, the M7 was a godsend. They can now commute to Dublin in a reasonable period. However, we want to move people off the motorway and onto the trains. The direct line to Limerick, on which all trains going directly to Limerick went previously, is now barely served. There is a speed limit of 20 miles per hour on parts. In Ballybrophy station, which is great in the morning, there are only two trains in the afternoon.

As Minister for Transport, will the Minister tell me when we are going to upgrade that line? We see the difficulties with the “all planes go to Dublin Airport” approach. At the moment, all trains go to Limerick Junction and there are vast swathes of the country that are just not served by a train service. People want to get the train. As Minister for Transport, what is Deputy Eamon Ryan going to do about that and when?

See this speech in context