Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)

There have been some exciting developments in east Cork rail over the past 16 years. The return of the Midleton to Cork line in 2009 has been hugely progressive for the region and the number of passengers is increasing year on year. Ten-minute frequencies from 2026 onwards will be a game changer as will the proposed new stations for Water Rock and Carrigtwohill west. Cobh, Carrigtwohill, Glounthaune and Midleton are all very well connected with the city by rail. However, Youghal has been totally left out of these advancements and is suffering in several key respects as a result. The quality of life of students and workers travelling to Cork city on what is a primitive bus service through congested roads is severely impacted by the lack of a train service. We are not seeing the density of new housing development and associated population growth in Youghal, which would occur around a functioning train station. Our increasing population demands the return of the rail link. Despite the epic investment into Dunkettle interchange, journey times into Cork from Youghal and Midleton remain unpredictable in duration and are prone to significant delays. Some €215 million later we are probably seeing reduced traffic flow at peak times coming into the Dunkettle interchange.

We have a crisis of traffic congestion on our roads in east Cork that is eroding away precious family time every day for people caught up in it. There is such a sense of futility about this. Our car dependency means our carbon emissions are increasing, our air pollution is worsening and it is also leading to more accidents and more fatalities.

Returning the Youghal to Midleton line would be a challenging project in light of the greenway development. However, we have reopened closed lines before and we can do it again. The Limerick-Foynes line is already being reinstated. Let us bring this ambition to Youghal. When this service is eventually linked up with light rail in the city it will be transformative for the region.

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