Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister knows that partition contributed to a large-scale closure of services North and South, on both sides of the Border, in particular in the north west. Now we only have a single eastern-based North-South rail corridor on the island. This imbalance is further laid bare by the fact that of the 54 stations in the Northern Six Counties, only three are situated west of the Bann. In Donegal, the situation is far more dire. Rail is simply not an option in Donegal with direct consequences, as the Minister knows, in terms of the social and economic life of the county. We hope that the steering group will seek to provide recommendations to address this acute regional imbalance and that the reviewers also examine proposals that we have submitted to bring forward recommendations relating to directly connecting Dublin to Derry and, by extension, to Donegal. Derry is the fourth largest city on the island of Ireland. The fact that it is not directly connected to Dublin is a major issue. This would go to the heart of addressing the imbalance.

The Minister is a frequent visitor to Donegal. Does he believe that we need a direct rail connection between the capital city and the north-west region?

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