Brian Leddin (Limerick City, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. He will probably agree that it requires political courage to make some of these decisions because the pressure is very much towards reacting to what we see around us rather than the long term. I was reminded of the of the courage of the late Séamus Brennan, a Minister in the 2007 to 2011 Government, who decided to reopen the Galway to Limerick railway line. At the time, many naysayers were of the view that it was a total white elephant and would never be used. Now, there is standing room only on the trains between Limerick and Galway. It was the right investment, and it Mr. Brennan displayed courage. If we had not had a Minister with the foresight of Séamus Brennan at the time, that piece of infrastructure would not have been reopened.

This is incumbent on all of us. I have been making the case in the last few days, and have raised it with my own party leader, for linking Shannon Airport to the national railway network, which is costed at €200 million in the strategic rail review. It would completely change how airlines and passengers view Shannon. It is critical to rebalancing this country.

See this speech in context