Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the opportunity to raise this issue in the Dáil with the Minister, Deputy Ryan. The Ballybrophy to Limerick railway line is very important. It goes from Ballybrophy in south Laois down the whole way to Limerick city and has much more potential than its current use. Much investment has been made in this line in recent years, such as track upgrades, but the benefits of this to either the public, the environment or to Iarnród Éireann have not been realised.

The line branches off in Ballybrophy and travels down through Roscrea, Cloughjordan, Nenagh, Birdhill, Castleconnell and Limerick city and connects up the three counties. The line could play an important role in the economic and social development of the southern part of Laois, particularly in places like Rathdowney, Borris-in-Ossory, Mountrath, Durrow and indeed in north Tipperary. My colleague, Deputy Martin Browne, from Tipperary will refer to that in a moment.

Passenger numbers can be increased for work, tourism and shopping. At present, one train leaves Limerick at 7 a.m. for Ballybrophy. It sets off on the return journey back from Ballybrophy at 10 a.m. and arrives in Limerick at 12.05 p.m., but the train sits there all day and is unused until 4.55 p.m. when it sets off again on the just over two hour journey back to Ballybrophy.

To make better use of this line and train a number of low-cost actions need to happen. A company engineer needs to review and do a full report on line speeds and take account of the track upgrades that have been done to shorten journey times. All tracks, to my understanding, must be inspected every three years and have reports done, and this one has not been done for a number of years. A new timetable should be put in place for the train to leave Ballybrophy earlier in the morning and for the return train to leave Limerick after 5 p.m. which would facilitate workers and students. The option of putting on a midday train service should be looked at.

Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle. I am here to talk about the need for a better service on the Ballybrophy rail line. The Ballybrophy line in my county which serves the towns of Roscrea, Cloughjordan, Nenagh and Birdhill remains undervalued and has been for years, and it is true that the potential has not been realised. If one wants to open up rural Ireland in a way that means we do not have to rely on our cars then the Minister has to act. One should listen to the North Tipperary Community Rail Partnership for whom this is a very important issue and who have done extensive research into this issue. On local radio recently one of its members pointed out that in 1962 the journey time was one and a half hours. In May 1987, it was an hour and 17 minutes. It now takes two hours. It is crazy to think that it takes longer now, after some 50 years, which is even after work has been carried out on the track. That is unacceptable in this day and age on such a major issue. The partnership is now calling for the following: line speeds to be increased on the sections of the track that have been developed into continuous welded rail; a review to take place on the lifting of existing overall speed restrictions from 50 mph to 60 mph; a service to be provided in the middle of the day to be added in both directions; and the timetable to be reviewed, as stated by Deputy Stanley. We need a proactive approach to be taken by the Minister and also by the rail management. With this in mind I make another call on the Minister to appoint a regional rail manager who would develop the line's potential.

The Ballybrophy line has a level of regional importance that nobody in a position of authority wants to see. The people of Tipperary need to see the Minister share this vision and to recognise what this line has to offer in tourism, third level education, in giving access to industry and as a means to get to work. The group has met with Iarnród Éireann on this matter. Can the Minister now tell me what he will do to show that his green agenda extends to the rail transport in my part of rural Ireland?

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I thank both Deputies for raising this Topical Issue matter and I welcome the chance to discuss the future of the Ballybrophy to Limerick rail line. This Government is committed to investment in the public transport network, to increase the size of the rail fleet in order to address the capacity constraints and to expand services in many parts of the country. Initiatives such as the Cork line relaying programme will improve journey times for passengers and will increase rail as a sustainable transport option. Further ambitious fleet investment programmes will see the overall Iarnród Éireann fleet grow over the coming years with 41 additional intercity rail carriages currently contracted and a further contract for up to 600 over the coming decade set to be awarded next year.

These initiatives will help expand capacity in areas where it is badly needed and in areas where future population growth and development are expected. Unfortunately, the Ballybrophy route has to date been struggling to accommodate large passenger numbers. Iarnród Éireann identifies this service as a continually low-density passenger numbers route although the company has over the years operated varying levels of service during periods of both economic growth and recession. I understand that Iarnród Éireann has undertaken both national and local promotions on the route but that such efforts have not resulted in any significant uptake and passenger numbers have remained low. In this context, the National Transport Authority has no plans at present to increase services on this route.

larnród Éireann promotes usage of rail services, both in national promotion and through local initiatives. I am told it has a number of partnerships which support this, including on the Ballybrophy to Limerick line.

The company has stated it will continue to promote all routes and engage with local communities to seek new business opportunities and examine the potential for revisions and enhancements to timetables that will benefit specific customer groups.

Furthermore, larnród Éireann has advised that the infrastructure on this stretch of line does not facilitate higher-speed rail services. The current speed profile on this section of the rail network is consistent with the age and condition of the track infrastructure and the greater number of user-operated level crossings, which would pose safety risks with increased speed.

The moneys that would be required to improve the line significantly to address these matters are not available within the present national development plan, NDP, envelope, which envisages investment of up to €8.6 billion over the period 2018 to 2027 to further develop sustainable mobility options. Given the pressures and opportunities that have already been identified and that will need to be addressed in the NDP, it is unlikely that the upgrade of this line would be afforded greater investment priority than other proposals for capacity elsewhere on the rail network and other public transport and active travel projects.

I advise the Deputies that the draft Limerick-Shannon metropolitan area transport strategy includes some proposals in regard to encouraging greater use of the line as a commuter route into Limerick. I assure the Deputies that these and other proposals are under consideration now that the consultation process has ended. I look forward to working with them to promote such possibilities as ways of improving the rail services in this area, as we are going to do around the rest of the country.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. It is very disappointing. Of course there is not a struggle to accommodate large numbers but the point is that the existing infrastructure is not being utilised. We have not got bang for our buck for the commuters or in terms of economic development along the route. There are a number of low-cost steps that can be taken. The reason Deputy Browne, as a Tipperary Deputy, and I, as a Laois-Offaly Deputy, are raising this is that we have met people along the line who use the service, from Cloughjordan, Nenagh and Ballybrophy itself. A report needs to be produced on the line because there has been significant investment in it. I refer to a low-cost measure that can be implemented. One could have faster trains on the lines because there is continuous welded track. A new timetable needs to be produced. The timetable can be tweaked. A train should not sit idle all day.

Continuity of service needs to be addressed because the reliability of the track is being undermined by the frequent line closures without sufficient notice. That does not cost money to address. The timetable needs to be publicised. Social media can be used. Iarnród Éireann can publicise via Twitter, Facebook and other media.

Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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This line has more to offer than I mentioned. It is worth bearing in mind for the future. I have given an example of how the location of the line works for the region. If services on the Ballybrophy line were aligned with those at Limerick Junction, it would yield an opportunity to link with the Dublin-Cork line. It makes sense; it is as simple as that. It opens up the region. That is what Deputy Stanley and I want, and that is what the people in the region deserve.

When I speak of Limerick Junction, it should be noted that the Waterford service has particular problems that also need to be addressed. Tipperary town is on the N24, the main route to Waterford, but it is clogged with traffic. One reason for this is the timetable for the Tipperary-Waterford service. It just does not suit people. The south of the county is poorly served by rail and the north of the county is also.

If the Minister wants rural Ireland to progress and work, he will have to commit to engaging personally with us and Iarnród Éireann on a vision for moving forward. Sixty years on, it should not take an extra 30 minutes to make the journey. It is absolutely crazy given all the money spent on the line.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I thank the Deputies. Deputy Browne is absolutely right that the current arrangements are not satisfactory. The timetables, journey times, lack of frequency, poor quality of the line and the fact that the carriages are left in Colbert Station in Limerick for the rest of the day are not satisfactory. Everyone recognises that. Deputy Browne is absolutely right that the services are very much analogous to the current services on the Waterford-Limerick line. In effect, we are maintaining the line but we are not really utilising it to the full extent.

We are at a point of change. The Government is committed very much to towns-first policy. One of the characteristics of the two rail lines I have mentioned is that they go through a series of towns that would benefit greatly from development, particularly close to their centres, where railway stations tend to be. Therefore, I do not disagree at all with the Deputy's intention. The question is how to get the numbers up to justify the investment we need to make to rectify the problem. It has partly to do with the poor service but even if there were an increase in that regard, we would have to remember that the number of passengers in the past four years on the Ballybrophy line, for example, has ranged from about 100 to 150 per day. This is very low.

I mentioned the question of whether it may be possible to start increasing patronage of the line for commuter rail services to Limerick. The Limerick metropolitan area transport strategy cited Castleconnell station, for example. One could go even further out and consider commuter numbers from Nenagh to Limerick and determine whether improving the service and providing new really high-quality electric battery trains would increase the volume of passengers. Would a metropolitan-type commuter service, in turn, start to turn around the prospects for the whole Ballybrophy line because it would start to see usage and patronage that might make it more viable?

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I thank the Minister. I am sorry for rushing Members but we are way over time this evening.