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

I thank the Deputy for the chance to answer the question. It is timely due to last week’s meeting about the issue of the western corridor and the significant development of the clearance of some of the Foynes line, which I hope is a harbinger of a significant revival, not just of rail freight in our country but for the city of Limerick and surrounding region. The Shannon area task force will come forward with an important report. I hope and expect that it will support this type of development and capture the sense of where our future is going.

This is important for a variety of reason, which I will set out. First, the national planning framework is correct. We need better balanced regional development. We are lopsided on the east coast. While I am a Dublin Deputy and a Dublin citizen, Dublin will not thrive if Ireland is imbalanced as a country. We need to develop our other cities so there is counterbalance, which will help solve our housing problems, as well as bringing a whole range of difference benefits.

In order to do that, we need to make sure that our cities outside Dublin have the right transport infrastructure. The all-island rail review, which Arup is assisting with, is due to be completed shortly. It will come forward with significant recommendation which will also steer us in this direction.

It is true that rail freight has been run down strategically and deliberately over many years. It will be difficult to reverse that. There are major advantages to the road haulage system, investment in the road network in the intervening period and the fact that distances in Ireland are relatively short. We face disadvantages and challenges, but if we think about where this country is going in a zero-carbon future, I believe there is a role for the return of rail freight at scale in a variety of different ways.

Shannon Foynes is a critical element of that because with the development of the offshore wind industry we discussed earlier, it will come onshore in the likes of Shannon Foynes. That is likely to be the location place of new industries which use that clean power and converted hydrogen and ammonia. It makes sense for us to have the best transport infrastructure to port locations where this development is going to take place. That is why the Shannon Foynes line is important. We need to be quick and give a clear signal in that regard by reopening the line.

It is not just about Shannon Foynes. The Deputy is correct. We have to consider the entire rail network. I wish to draw the attention of the Deputy further south-east. There is a closed rail line that could be reopened in order to connect Wexford and Waterford ports. The Waterford to Limerick line is currently underutilised. We have to ask ourselves whether we abandon or restore and revive it. I believe the latter is where we should go.

Taking such a perspective on what might be called an Atlantic rail corridor, running from Waterford to Limerick and up the west coast, with spurs to Shannon Foynes and Cork Harbour, would connect our deep water ports where the new offshore wind energy industries are going to develop. It also makes sense in that regard to continue the line by connecting from Athenry to Claremorris and Ballina and all points in between. That would start to bring us an integrated network.

In terms of where we might locate inland rail rate rail freight ports, we could have load on load off container terminals with rail connections to the quayside transporting containers to inland rail marshalling yards. To my mind, that would be a very viable rail freight opportunity for this country. There would be lower carbon emissions and it would be less expensive in a variety of different ways. It would be a real signal that the benefit can be not only a freight line, but as we start to revive and build up a real capability it has the potential to be a residential or metropolitan rail system for the Limerick region. It would be part of four lines that are currently underutilised. It would turn the city's development around and help it to thrive.

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