Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)

The big point is that in recent years the housing crisis has pushed a lot of people from Mayo out of Dublin. Covid and working conditions also played a role. We have seen many young people returning to live in Mayo and commuting to Dublin, if you can believe it. Many of these people travel to Dublin one, two or three days a week. The point I am making is that a journey of almost three and half hours on the train line from Mayo is unacceptable. The average speed is 80 km/h. Does the Minister of State have any plans to increase capacity and speed and develop a double carriageway rather than a single one in order that the people of Mayo can get to Dublin in a timely fashion? The distance from Cork to Dublin is the same, but there is a difference of an hour in the commute time. It is about two and half hours versus just under three and half. That is the point. Does the Minister of State have any plans to improve the line?

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