Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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We had an unhappy birthday lately in the south east with the 10th anniversary of the closure of the Rosslare to Waterford train route occurring within the past few weeks. This put an end to a rail link that joined towns across south Wexford to Waterford city, as well as supplying heavy rail infrastructure to two major ports, Belview and Rosslare Europort. Since the closure of the line, advocates for its reopening have kept a close eye on the fate of the Barrow Bridge, which is a 650 m span that links County Kilkenny and County Wexford over the River Barrow. A central part of that bridge can open to allow shipping traffic to access New Ross. Keeping the mechanism of that bridge functioning and in good order has always been seen as essential if this line is ever to be brought back into active use.

I was dismayed recently to receive a copy of a letter sent by the National Transport Authority, NTA, to the South-East On Track group. The letter states that the Barrow Bridge is to be maintained in the open position allowing marine traffic to traverse unencumbered, reflecting the fact that as there is no railway service on the line, it is entirely appropriate that right-of-way be given to the marine traffic. On further questioning from the South East On Track group, the NTA confirmed that the agreed arrangements in respect of the closed Waterford to Rosslare line do not include weed spraying or vegetation treatment programmes. This was previously done on an annual basis and so it cannot have been a huge draw on CIE's resources. This sounds to me very much like a plan to abandon the line.

In addition, there have been strong indications from the chief executive officer of Wexford County Council that his preferred use of the rail line is for it to be converted to a greenway. Waterford greenway is the best-in-class exemplar for how a greenway should be designed and delivered. It has been a huge boost for the local economy in Waterford city, Dungarvan and Kilmacthomas. However, I am not of the view that greenways should supplant strategic heavy rail infrastructure, particularly that of this level of importance. I have noted with interest the Minister's recent emphasis on the future importance of rail freight. This is particularly pertinent in the case of the Rosslare line. Taken in its entirety, potentially from Foynes to Rosslare Europort, this line links two tier 2 ports, Rosslare and Belview, and a tier 1 port in Foynes with the major population centres of Waterford, Limerick and Clonmel. This strategic link will only become more important in the context of Brexit, with increased shipping traffic likely to emanate directly from Europe, rather than taking the land bridge route across the UK. Belview and Foynes should be considered in the longer term as sites suitable for the development of offshore wind technology. Both are deep water ports with access to development land and heavy rail infrastructure.

It is also worth noting - I stand open to correction on this - that Rosslare is the only point at which,other than through the Phoenix Park tunnel, the Heuston and Connolly lines converge. In terms of the potential for the line to operate as a commuter service, I have previously been vocal on the need for common-sense timetable changes that will cater to population centres in south Tipperary, allowing residents of Carrick, Clonmel, Tipperary and Cahir to commute either to Waterford or to Limerick for work or study. The same logic applies to south Wexford, with towns like Bridgetown and Wellingtonbridge standing to benefit significantly if their local train line terminated at a newly built integrated transport hub in Waterford city.

I note as well the commitment in the programme for Government to examine the development of national tourism trails linking our ferry ports and rail network. A reopened Rosslare-to-Waterford line would allow for the development of a sail, rail and trail offering, which would allow European tourists, to see our greenway the green way, if I may coin a phrase.

I ask the Minister to review immediately the NTA's new maintenance agreement with Iarnród Éireann and revert it to pre-September 2020 status so the line remains a viable piece of infrastructure, pending further review.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to address this issue. As most Members are aware, rail services on this line ceased in 2010 under an agreement made between the National Transport Authority and Iarnród Éireann. A number of improvements were made to bus services at the time to ensure continued public transport connectivity. Undoubtedly, some people are fearful that the decision to maintain the Barrow Bridge in the open position means a point of no return as to whether services might ever return again on this closed line. Equally, I do not wish to give false hope regarding the imminent return of services.

The decision to maintain the bridge in an open position is a pragmatic one, based on the fact that the line has now been closed for ten years. While the line has been closed, the port of New Ross remains open and the position of the bridge reflects the need to ensure easy navigational access to the port. I am informed that up until recently there was a requirement for four full-time Iarnród Éireann staff to be on site to open the bridge to allow ships sail to and from the port, which probably strikes most people as a little odd, to say the least.

Ten years after the decision to close the line, a number of revised arrangements have been agreed between the National Transport Authority and Iarnród Éireann relating to the line. These arrangements include obligations to review level crossing surfaces each year, reviewing the boundary protection along the line each year and conducting bridge inspections every two years in line with Iarnród Éireann's technical standards. In addition, the agreement between the NTA and Iarnród Éireann requires a general review of the line to be undertaken annually. The purpose of the review is to assess the overall condition of the line so as to be able to provide a current status assessment of the infrastructure each year. The revised arrangements also provide that the Barrow Bridge be maintained in an open position. This means that the previous requirement for four full-time staff manning the bridge, with no services, is removed. Furthermore, the design of the mechanism is such that it can easily be reversed if rail services resume at some point in the future.

At a practical and pragmatic level, I hope the Deputy can understand the reason behind the decision to maintain the bridge in an open position. At a broader level, I do not doubt the Deputy's wish to see rail services running again on this line. I hope he can see that this decision does not fundamentally run counter to that at some point in the future, if that were to be decided. There are those who wish to develop the route as a greenway and build upon the work already undertaken or under way in the south east to create a cluster of attractive greenways spanning the region.

I trust this clarifies the position regarding the Barrow Bridge.

Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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I am afraid it feels like a point of no return. It is something that has been closely monitored by people with an interest in this route over the years. It feels a little like a managed decline. I am also worried that we will end up tearing out an excellent and strategic piece of infrastructure with a view to developing a greenway on it. We have a EuroVelo route which has been developed by Wexford County Council and runs from Rosslare Europort to the Ballyhack ferry, which transports people over onto Passage East and into Waterford. It would be a much better use of resources to develop that EuroVelo route to a higher standard and to develop a corridor from Passage East into Waterford city, which would also be an important commuting corridor along the Dunmore road. Significant funding, some €58,000 if I am correct, has been allocated for the design phase of this greenway. I am open to the concept of side by side but the Barrow Bridge would make side-by-side development of a greenway route very difficult.

When we think about rail infrastructure in general, and the Minister is conscious of this as well, we should be mindful that while there is a significant cost to upgrading and maintaining this route, it is certainly a fraction of what it would cost to build this infrastructure from scratch. We should not be aiming towards a managed decline of infrastructure. Heavy rail bridges such as this can discharge freight capacity as well as commuter capacity. It can be moved to low emissions or zero emissions relatively easily compared with haulage traffic. I am anxious that we have a review of this route in the short to medium term to consider how we can make it practically viable for people, not just commuters but also freight and tourist traffic that will be emanating from Rosslare Europort.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I had a meeting with Iarnród Éireann last week and raised the specific issue of the future of Rosslare Port because it is owned by CIE and Irish Rail. I was raising it in the context of a wider review that Iarnród Éireann is commissioning on the future of rail freight in this country. I believe there is an opportunity for the expansion of rail freight. At present, only 2% of freight is carried by rail. That is a small fraction of what the average is across Europe. While some argue that the distances here are not long enough, the rest of Europe is saying it wants to switch to even greater volumes of freight traffic. With new technology coming on stream, the possibility of revived rail freight is a real prospect, and-or the other use of other rail lines for commuting, tourism or other purposes.

The Deputy's instincts are right. We should not write off the possible return of lines which are currently underutilised or, as with this line, effectively closed for the last ten years. There are particular difficulties in Rosslare because it is a roll-on roll-off port. In the discussions I had with Iarnród Éireann, I asked if it was thinking of the possibilities to vary or adapt that in the long term in developing the port. There are difficulties in that regard, but we have to wait and see what is in the report of its review of the future of freight. It is also influenced by the fact that the Port of Waterford has lift-on lift-off facilities at Belview and has rail freight capabilities. That would influence the decision.

The issue of this line is similar in a way to the discussion about the western railway corridor in terms of the question of whether one has a greenway or keeps a rail asset. I do not disagree with the Deputy's suggestion that it is possible, potentially, to have both. We will have to make a decision in that regard in the context of a wider network review. It is not just this section of line, but seeing how we can integrate networks, which is what I hope to do. I commit to doing further work with the Deputy and other Deputies in the Waterford and Wexford region to examine what possibilities there might be.