Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)

I welcome this opportunity. I remember doing the Leixlip–Ballycoolin water main in 2004 or 2005. An area from Clonee to Navan was supposed to be left for rail. The rail was nearly to come the following day but the position is still the same. Although the posts are up and will soon be rotten, no rail ever came.

In the west, the Claremorris–Athenry line is ferociously important. The Minister of State will remember that, in 2016, the time he went into government, he and I were talking about including the western rail corridor in the programme for Government. Enda Kenny was Taoiseach at the time. That was nearly ten years ago but nothing has happened since other than the review, although I agree it was needed. A bridge was taken down at Barnaderg or Ballyglunin at the time of the road project and there was a big hullaballoo about it. The NRA said it would put it back up. How much will it cost to put it back up now compared with at the time in question? I do not know whether the cost was €1 million at the time. It is going to cost an awful lot more now to put it back up.

The bottom line is that I am sick of hearing about reviews and various focus groups. We know the service is needed from Claremorris, and indeed Collooney, as a previous speaker has said. There should be a joined-up approach. The west of Ireland, no more than any other part, deserves rail. The south and the east need it. I have mentioned Navan before. A lot of people live there. Either we decide to fund rail or we do not. The Foynes line is being done under TEN-T, I believe. That is great because it needed doing. We need to make sure our ports are developed and given facilities for bringing goods from A to B.

When the term of this Dáil is over, someone else could be in the position of the Minister of State. He has the ball in his court now. He should hop it and put the necessary funding in place for the western rail corridor. My fear is that the minute someone from the west is not in government, the Government will consider another part of the country and try to direct the money towards it. That is my honest opinion. I wish the Minister of State luck in this regard. If the project is not carried out now, we will be as well to forget about it. I have been here a long time and nothing has happened.

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