Dáil debates

Wednesday, 2 July 2025

All-Island Strategic Rail Review: Statements (Resumed)

 

7:35 am

Photo of Colm BurkeColm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy and very much welcome this debate. As my colleague, Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan, has set out, a major plan, the Cork metropolitan area plan, has been set out and was published on 18 June. Public consultation is currently taking place and it is important that people engage. We are not just planning for the next five or ten years but for the next 50 or 60 years. One of the things that will happen in Cork is a growth of population. The most recent census reported that Cork had a population of 581,000. It is now well over 600,000 and will continue to grow because of the growth of jobs in the area. It is interesting that Apple is going to increase its workforce by over 1,500 people. The company is now running a bus service from the train station in Cork because many of its workers live outside Cork city and use the train service to get to work. Apple runs buses from the train station to those workers' place to employment. We must work with businesses to ensure that more people who are working in the city or in the outskirts of the city can get access not only to the train service but to the follow-up bus service without having to use motor vehicles.

My colleague has set out the development in Cork, including the Cork to Mallow rail line and the stations that can be built along the line. That opens up the opportunity for a greater number of housing developments and a higher level of employment in those areas. It is important that people are able to travel from Charleville and Mallow into Cork city, but also on down to Midleton or Cobh, wherever they may be working. We need to fast-track all of these proposals. The metropolitan plan prepared by Cork City Council, Cork County Council, Irish Rail, the NTA, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, and Project Ireland shows that everyone is working together to deliver a really good transport infrastructure. That will, as a result, reduce the number of people who have to travel to and from their places of work, or wherever else they are travelling, because they have access to public transport and rail transport, in particular.

It is important that the light rail proposed for Cork does not take 15 to 20 years. It is important that we fast-track that project. The population of Dublin is now well over 1.3 million. In 1841, Cork had a population of over 854,000. We are currently at 600,000, but that shows the potential for growing the number of jobs and businesses in Cork. At the same time, we must ensure that we build adequate housing and allow people to travel from their homes to the services they require and their places of work. I welcome the debate and the forward planning that is now in place in the Cork region.

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