Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)

I wish the Minister well in his new role. It is time for it. I hope he will come to County Tipperary - I know he will - to see the different gaps we have.

I welcome the new TFI Local Link. This is a town bus in Clonmel that has been an outstanding success and well used. The Waterford bus is now linking into Kilmanahan and Clonmel. We need it to come to Newcastle and on to Knocklofty, where there should also be a few stops.

The Minister should come and see the rail service, which I use, from Cahir to Limerick Junction. It is a good service although it only runs twice a day. The fare is only €2.70, which is nothing, but the service must be upgraded to at least four or five times a day and have better connectivity to Thurles. It must also be marketed. Nobody knows it is even there. People ask me where I get the train and say that they cannot get a train from Cahir. They do not know it is there, so Iarnród Éireann needs to promote it.

I used the DART to come in this morning. Dublin is lucky to have that service. It is a great service that is almost always on time. It is a very efficient, well-run and nice service. We have gaps in rural areas that we should not have. One of my first jobs as a councillor was setting up the rural transport service, Ring a Link, which was one of the most joyous things I ever did. We now have more services. I salute the manager of Ring a Link, Jackie Meally, and its staff, drivers and everybody else. We need more connectivity for rural Ireland. We also need huge investment in the train line from Waterford to Clonmel and on to Cahir and Limerick Junction. That is the way to do it if we are to get cars off the road. We are forcing people into their cars because they have no other option. We do not have enough TFI services. We have many that are great and more are coming - tús maith leath na hoibre - but there is a long way to go.

I look forward to engaging with the Minister. Maybe he will visit south Tipperary to see for himself the black spots that are there, especially the rail service. We have the stations and other infrastructure but the line needs to be upgraded and we need more frequent services. Above all, the services we have must be marketed. There is no point in a service running if nobody knows about it. It is bizarre that people do not know. They do not believe they can get a train in Cahir. The toilets at the stations in Clonmel and Cahir should be open. It is not fair to have people waiting without those facilities.

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