Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the publication of the all-island strategic rail review. This transformative plan sets out 32 strategic recommendations that would almost triple the number of people using our rail network, from 65 million journeys a year to 180 million by 2050. Critically, it would bring 700,000 more people within a 5 km radius of a railway station, boosting access in communities North and South that have been underserved for decades. With faster trains, more frequent services, new routes, and electrification, the plan aligns with our national economic objectives and would greatly enhance cross-Border connectivity. It is a railway strategy that looks to the future, but the work must start now.

At the same time, we must be honest about where we focus public investment. Too often, we have seen eye-watering sums spent on short-term interventions, or layers of consultancy, indeed sometimes with inadequate consultation or none at all, that deliver little lasting value and actually undermine public support for change. Every euro spent on transport should be justified through a clear cost-benefit analysis, with a strong bias in favour of long-term, sustainable solutions. As we look to the decades ahead, this also means protecting vital infrastructure, especially our coastal rail lines. This work needs to get under way urgently. In my own constituency of Dún Laoghaire, and along the eastern rail line, we must future-proof our network against sea level rises. While the consultation on the east coast railway infrastructure protection projects is under way, progress is painfully slow and needs to be accelerated. This is a moment for ambition but also for wise, strategic investment.

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