Dáil debates
Wednesday, 22 November 2023
Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate
Rail Network
9:40 am
Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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This is a long-running saga. I recall 30 years ago coming to Leinster House to fight for the survival of the Dublin-Sligo train line. We are very proud of the line but I do not think it gets the attention it deserves. Something is happening in Sligo and the north west. I always say Sligo is the new Galway of the north west. The number of talented young people who have come to our area, whether to Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon or Donegal, is incredible.
We now need a train service. We have a train service that leaves Sligo early in the morning at 5.40 a.m. but it takes more than three hours and ten minutes. If I want to get back to Sligo as well, the latest time is 7.15 p.m. and it gets into Sligo at 10.33 p.m. We need more services. I know it is not an issue of timetables. If I was to go from Ballyhaunis on the Castlebar-Ballina-Dublin line into Heuston Station, I would do the same distance in half an hour less. If I wanted to go from Galway to Dublin, which is 10 km longer, I would get to Dublin 40 minutes quicker than going from Sligo to Dublin. We want parity of esteem. Regarding our roads, we have the N4 and the N17, which get access into Sligo. We need much more attention to the Sligo line and therefore we need many more trains.
So much is happening in Sligo. There is the ATU, the new Atlantic Technology University, which has more than 25,000 students. Many people want to come to the north west. There is the new National Surf Centre in Strandhill. A businessman in another town told me they are finding it hard to get people to work there because people want to work four days a week - they want to go surfing in Strandhill on a Friday. That is what is happening and it is something.
We need now Irish Rail and the Government to, let us say, match up and put in more and perhaps quicker services. How will they do that? I know there is a problem from Maynooth into Connolly Station. However, we need to be a bit more adventurous and we need to look much quicker.
In Carrick-on-Shannon, there is the new Carrick Business Park, which was the MBNA facilities. Leitrim County Council bought it. Paddy Whiskey will be in the Lough Gill distillery. It will be the new Midleton or Bushmills of the north west. There is the Shed Distillery in Drumshanbo as well, which many people come to.
Something is happening in Sligo but we need more connections. We need more and quicker trains. We need the N4 and N17, which is not in the Minister of State’s brief today but we certainly need it looked at.
9:50 am
Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important topic. I wish to clarify that the Minister for Transport has responsibility for policy and the overall funding for public transport, but neither the Minister nor his officials are involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services. The statuary responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally rests with the National Transport Authority. The NTA works with the public transport operators that deliver the services and have responsibility for day-to-day operational matters. That said, I reassure Deputy Feighan that the Government is strongly committed to providing all citizens with reliable, realistic, sustainable mobility options, and public transport plays a key role in the delivery of this goal.
To support this objective in budget 2023, the Department of Transport secured €563.55 million of funding for public service obligation and TFI Local Link services, which was up from €538 million in 2022. More recently, under budget 2024, a funding package of approximately €611.813 million has been secured for PSO and Local Link services. This includes funding for the continuation of the 20% fare reduction on PSO services, the young adult card on both PSO and commercial bus services, and the 90-minute fare until the end of 2024. Funding has also been secured to support new and enhanced bus and rail services next year.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Government is committed to improving public transport, both bus and rail, and is backing up that commitment with significant investments across the network. This includes initiatives such as the DART+ programme, the arrival of new DART+ fleet, the proposed replacement of the current Enterprise fleet and the introduction of an additional 41 intercity railcars or ICRs. These improvements will have short-, medium- and longer-term benefits for the rail network. More immediately, while the existing Iarnród Éireann operational fleet is already fully deployed on scheduled services, earlier this year, Iarnród Éireann took delivery of the final batch of the 41 ICRs. The NTA has advised that there are plans to utilise the new ICRs to extend the length of multiple train sets operating on the current rail network and passengers can expect to see longer trains in operation from the first quarter of 2024 once the commissioning phase for the new carriages is complete.
Regarding the Dublin to Sligo line, I understand that Iarnród Éireann continues to operate the pre-Covid schedule on this line, with eight train services each way daily. The route is expected to carry approximately 1.2 million journeys by the end of 2023. I am advised that Iarnród Éireann's Strategy 2027 envisages supplementing the existing service between Sligo and Dublin with additional trains for part of the route to provide an hourly service from locations such as Mullingar or Longford. However, I understand that there are some constraints on the expansion of services on the line because it is predominantly a single line section of railway between Maynooth and Sligo, meaning additional services must cross each other at passing locations between two and three times per journey. The operation of Sligo services is further impacted between Connolly and Maynooth due to stopping commuter services operating within this section coming from Maynooth, M3 Parkway and Phoenix Park tunnel lines. While the Sligo intercity trains are planned to operate unhindered in this section, this is not always possible as commuter service levels increase, which results in limited track capacity and the ability to operate additional intercity services that require large gaps in service to operate unhindered. Nonetheless, the introduction of new DART+ fleet from 2025 will free up intercity trains for use on the national network and enable the company to assess, with the NTA, possible service enhancements, subject to demand on the network at that time.
Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for her reply. This is an issue that many people have brought to my attention and I see it myself. There are times that we want more trains from Sligo going through Ballymote, Collooney, Boyle, Carrick-on-Shannon, Dromod and Longford. If I want to get from Dublin to Longford, that is fine, but we want to get to the north west.
I thank the Minister of State for the work that has been done. The reduction in fares makes it much more affordable and encourages more people to use the line. As she said, 1.2 million will be using the line. However, there are constraints on the expansion of the line. As she said, it is a single line between Maynooth and Sligo and additional service must cross a passing point between two and three times. Hopefully there is work done to look at the Sligo line and it will get the attention it deserves, because we do not have the transport infrastructure.
Much good work is being done. In respect of Local Link, one can see the number of buses going between Sligo, Coolaney, Ballymote, Boyle, Manorhamilton and Ballyshannon is making a difference. It is money well spent. Many people who were not used to using public transport are now beginning to use it. That takes many more people out of their cars and it is providing a service, but we need to do much more.
I wish to try to reduce the times between Sligo and Dublin from a little over three hours. As I said, we are the new Galway of the west and we want to be given the same treatment. We want to get to Dublin as quickly as possible. However, more importantly, we want people to come from Dublin to Sligo as quickly as possible to see all of the great things on offer there. I know the Leas-Cheann Comhairle is from Galway and she would not mind us getting the same parity of esteem as that wonderful city of hers.
Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I am not sure how the Galway TDs might feel about Sligo being described as the new Galway of the west. However, I appreciate the Deputy’s advocacy for Sligo. I note what he said about the fact there is a new surf centre in Strandhill, the new Atlantic Technological University, the Carrick Business Park and the Paddy Whiskey and Drumshanbo distilleries, which is bringing much attention to Sligo. I will bring the Deputy’s comments back to the Minister for Transport. I note he is looking for parity of esteem and more trains in a speedier way. I will certainly bring those comments back.