Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)

A map of Ireland's railway network in 1906 that is often shared online provokes passionate debates about the state of our current rail network. We used to have 5,000 km of railway and more than 1,000 stations connecting all corners of the island. Today, the network is just a fraction of what it was at its peak. These debates show one thing very clearly: people want to see increased investment, increased capacity, the reopening of stations and the return of rail to every corner of our country. For the first time, we now have an all-island strategic plan agreed North and South for the development of rail on this island over the coming decade. It is a realistic and costed plan, and offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape how we move people and goods around our island.

Bold ideas, though, have to be backed by bold action and guaranteed capital investment. The public deserve clear answers. When will the Government publish a detailed, phased implementation plan for the all-island strategic rail review so we can track progress and hold people to account concerning what they said they will do? What projects are first in line? When will construction begin? Given the scale of investment, which is estimated at €35 billion up to 2050, how much will be committed via the review of the national development plan due to be published this month? Delays would not only threaten our climate targets but also the economic and social gains this plan offers. I therefore urge the Minister of State to commit to publishing the full implementation plan and to publish it without delay. I also urge him to redouble his efforts to secure the necessary capital funding in the NDP review. Without this money, this vision of the all-island strategic plan will never be more than a pretty graphic.

See this speech in context