Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the motion and thank the Independent Group for tabling it. The vision set out would serve the people of Galway and the west well. I welcome, as always, the inclusion of the western rail corridor. It is rightly one of the key demands of the motion.

This is yet another motion from the Opposition calling on the Government to begin construction. It is a turn-key project and all the planning is in place. With political will, we could commence the work in a matter of months. The western rail corridor has the potential to revitalise western communities, provide alternative transport options for people and deliver much-needed regional connectivity. The western rail corridor has become a byword for regional development and investment in the west. We have to maximise the potential of the Atlantic economic corridor with sustainable investment in the western rail corridor, Ireland West Airport, telecommunications, roads and education infrastructure.

I welcome the announcement this week that the northern and western regions are set to receive investment of €217 million, up to 2027, through the European Regional Development Fund. They recognise what needs to be done to support regional development funding because of the disadvantage in the area and the state the west of Ireland, and rural Ireland, is in. However, without the western rail corridor, what can be done in those regions will be limited. It is the elephant in the room. Everything will be constrained until we get the western rail corridor open. The publication last year of the economic report by Dr. John Bradley confirmed what Sinn Féin has been saying for years, that there is a strong business case for the western rail corridor and that it should be reopened and prioritised as a capital infrastructure project. It is a huge source of frustration given the repeated failures to progress the project. For Mayo regional development, it is no longer an optional extra, but an urgent necessity.

The west and north west was downgraded to a lagging region by the European Commission after it became significantly poorer relative to the European average and this is why the extra funding is coming. We have to reopen the western rail corridor. The current unprecedented hikes in the cost of fuel reinforce the need for improved public transport services in the west, with rail connectively being a top priority. Investing in public transport is also needed from an environmental standpoint. We are telling people that they cannot cut turf, but we will not open the western rail corridor that would take so many cars and other vehicles off the road.

The Environmental Protection Agency has already warned the urgent implementation of climate policies is needed for Ireland to meet its climate targets. It said that if additional measures are not taken before 2030, just 11% of the reduction in carbon emissions will be achieved by then. The sectoral emissions ceiling for transport, approved by the Government in July 2022, sets an emissions reduction of 50%, relative to 2018 levels, by 2030.

The Green Party has been in government for two and a half years. What progress have we seen on public transport? We need to this to happen and everyone needs to get behind it. There is cross-party support for this project but the Government is needed. There are now three parties in Government and I know that the Minister recognises this. We cannot have a situation in which the DUP holds up the all-island rail review. It cannot be used as an excuse not to reopen the western rail corridor. The Minister also needs to make it clear that the line will be protected in Sligo and that the greenway will be financed separately. The two complement each other and one should not be given preference over the other.

See this speech in context