Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)

As a public representative from the west of Ireland, I want to talk to the Minister of State as another public representative from the west of Ireland about the need to connect Shannon Airport to the rail network. This can be done within five years. It needs to be included in the NDP review. What a testament it would be to the Minister of State and what a legacy he would leave if he was the person to deliver it and get it over the line. It could even be named "the Canney train".

There is existing commuter rail infrastructure in Limerick. The line from Limerick to Ennis and on to Galway works well. It was said the western rail corridor would be a flop. It is not a flop. It works so well that on trains from Athenry to Galway people are like sardines at the moment. We need to deliver a direct train from Limerick to Cork and get the rest of the commuter rail network in Limerick activated again. The plan is there. It needs to be included in the NDP review. It is the solution to all our traffic problems in Limerick because none of this infrastructure was ever taken away. The rights of way are there. There is no compulsory purchase order, CPO, involved. It has been transformational to see how quickly Limerick to Foynes has gone from being a litany of derelict sites to the point that signalling equipment is being put in, which is happening at the moment. That can be done with the rest of the network. Let us get the suburban rail network in Limerick, as is being done in Cork at the moment. I imagine there is some political pressure there because of the Taoiseach being a Cork man. I want to make the case strongly for rail in the NDP.

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