Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am glad the Minister made reference to quick wins. In my view they could have been done in the past four years without any rail strategy. They include passing loops. Throughout the system we are getting caught with bottlenecks because trains cannot pass each other and we cannot increase the frequency. It does not take any great eye strain to work out these things must be dealt with and should have been dealt with. We spend too much time cogitating about things and too little time just doing them. Is the Minister saying that this year there will be a cleaning of the line, preparatory to developing the rail line from Athenry to Claremorris? Perhaps I misheard him. I would like clarification on that. I was looking at the timings for reopening the line to Foynes. It is a tedious job, even though it was given all of the money needed. It is a slow job. The early jobs include clearing the lines, doing the assessment, working out what work needs to be done and starting on the bridges. There is very little expenditure in the first few years. There needs to be an absolute commitment for an early start to the western rail corridor in view of the aim of achieving balanced regional development.

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