Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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The all island strategic rail review is a positive step.

We have to acknowledge that, but only if it leads to real delivery across the whole island and not just around Dublin. As Sinn Féin spokesperson for rural and community development, I have to say the current approach to transport planning is failing our regions. The national planning framework in inadequate. It continues to prioritise the capital while neglecting infrastructure for rural and regional communities. The review cannot become another glossy document that locks in underinvestment west, south and north of the M50. We need rail to connect communities not just to Dublin, but across the regions. That means serious investment in regional rail, frequent and reliable services, and the reopening of disused lines where there is demand. A functioning, balanced, rail network is essential for rural sustainability, economic development and regional balance.

The Youghal to Midleton railway is a community-led project that deserves Government backing. There is a wide campaign in east Cork, but also in west Waterford. Somebody might ask why a TD from west Waterford is supporting an additional rail line stretching from Midleton to Youghal. It is crucial, not just for east Cork, but for west Waterford and the wider region, as it will take cars off the road, assist commuters travelling into Cork, including Little Island and Cork city, for work, and provide options to people for either park-and-ride at Youghal or to drive on less congested roads. Reopening this line would allow those travelling from Waterford to Cork to get to work on time with minimal stress. It would take cars off the road. The physical corridor is intact and runs beside the existing greenway. The community is on board. There is broad support across business and communities for this. Once again, however, we see no plan, no funding commitment, no engagement from the Government. That is not good enough. This is exactly the kind of strategic investment that could deliver real change for regional communities. I am calling on the Government to support the extension of the Cork-Midleton rail line into Youghal.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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I support my colleague. I well understand why Waterford people might want to come to Cork. I do not think we should deprive them of that opportunity at all.

Any time there is a debate on rail infrastructure, there is a fair bit of interest right across the country. That reflects a significant shift in people's mentality in the last 20 or 30 years. If we go back 50 or 60 years or even more recently, rail lines were still being closed. There has been a shift. It reflects that people want the opportunity to use rail and if it is there, they will take it. Anywhere rail lines have been reopened or new rail lines have been initiated, they have been a success.

I acknowledge the work that has been done in Cork by Iarnród Éireann, led by A.J. Cronin's team, including Kieran Murphy and Stephen Hackett. A lot of progress has been made and there is more to come. There will be decisions in the forthcoming period about electric carriages and where they will go. We want to make sure that they are everywhere. If they are delivered to Cork on time, it will ensure some of the new routes being talked about become viable at the frequencies that are necessary.

I will briefly touch on the issue of a Luas for Cork. It is a vital piece of infrastructure. I welcome that we are now talking about it in real terms. We need to learn from the mistake in Dublin, where there were two routes that were not connected. We need to move the Cork plan from one route to two so that most of the city is served east to west and north to south. There is a gap for places like Douglas, Rochestown and into Carrigaline. They are big, populous areas with heavy traffic. We should be connecting the north of the city as well. It is an area that is often neglected in terms of infrastructure. Due to the way the Dublin Luas is set up, we imagine that such operations have to be run through private contractors. I do not believe so. I do not see any reason a public body should not be able to run the Cork Luas, and who better to do that than Iarnród Éireann? Clearly from the public point of view, it is the agency that could do it. That needs to be considered and is something I would support.

Ciarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I am delighted to speak on the all-island rail review. We need to see a major modal shift in how we get ourselves from one place to another on this island so that we are not so dependent on our cars. Rail will obviously play a huge role in that. We have a somewhat sorry history in this country when it comes to rail infrastructure. What was once a fairly comprehensive rail network in the early parts of the 20th century was progressively ripped up as time went on. There are a number of reasons for this but it was mainly due to the proliferation of private car use. With that, rail infrastructure made way for road infrastructure, not least in Dublin city, where our tramlines were ripped up.

I want to get us back to where we were previously in terms of coverage and to restore that once great rail network. I hope that this strategic review can provide some of the impetus and a template to do just that. I have concerns, though. They are not necessarily about what is included in the review, but what is omitted. I am conscious that this is not a policy document, but something to inform policymakers. I encourage this and future Governments to implement the recommendations that have emerged from the review but also to go beyond it and fill in those gaps that have been missed.

Others have and will raise their own concerns and mention where they think improvements could be made. I will come back to mine and begin with the positives. There is a lot to be positive about in this document. As the Labour Party's spokesperson on climate, energy and environment, as well as our transport spokesperson, I welcome the fact there is a strong focus on decarbonisation in the review. The DART remains the only electrified heavy rail line in the country and the last significant project undertaken here, in terms of electrified heavy rail, was the DART extension to Greystones 25 years ago. We need to do so much better than this. Rail has a big part to play in helping us reduce our transport emissions and the electrification of our rail lines will be key to that. I recently met Iarnród Éireann CEO Jim Meade and I know he is very keen on this element. I left that meeting with Jim Meade thinking he should be running the country, to be honest. I also welcome the focus on improving frequency and efficiency for service users. That would be key to encouraging people to use our rail systems. That is something we could really do with in the short term.

Broadly, we need to be more strategic and flexible in our timetabling. We could be doing better around facilitating more frequent services during peak demand times or when big events are happening. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, will be aware of the situation with the DART services following the recent Charli XCX concert in his constituency.

I appreciate the focus on interconnectivity between our major cities. This is crucial to regional and balanced economic development. However, regarding emissions, I question why a direct line between Cork city and Limerick city has not been included. I also question why the western rail corridor has not been extended to Donegal in this review. The north west has been abandoned in terms of rail infrastructure and the proposals in the review do not rectify that to any great extent. If we do want to achieve balanced regional development, that needs to be looked at.

Staying with the west, I will raise a matter on behalf of my colleague, Senator Nessa Cosgrove. The review mentions reinstating the Athenry to Claremorris line but not the Claremorris to Collooney line. We would like to see that line reinstated.

I have not spoken about MetroLink, as I am sure my colleague, Deputy Duncan Smith, is going to cover that. However, as a TD for Dublin South-West, I reiterate my call for an independent feasibility study for a metro out to there. It was included in the programme for Government but is nowhere in the strategic rail review. We would like to see that. There are more than 350,000 people living in Dublin South-West with no access to rail infrastructure unless they live on the very edge of the constituency. All I am asking for is a fair assessment of the case, given the issues identified with a previous feasibility study.

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour)
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I welcome the time to speak on this topic. The northern commuter line is one of the most stressed lines in this country. The plan in the all-island strategic review, which is a long-distance project, aims at four-tracking that line. That is a must for towns like Donabate, the population of which is going to increase by up to 5,000 people in the next couple of years, or 25%. It is the first stop outside the DART line and the last stop on the northern commuter line coming in. They are unable to get on the train at peak times. Where this Government is building houses, it needs to put infrastructure. There is a plan for a spur from Clongriffin to the airport. In the context of the MetroLink examinations, it was proven that would not work unless there was a four-track provision along the northern commuter line all the way into Connolly Station. We need MetroLink. We expect a decision very shortly. It is the most vital transport project for Dublin, particularly for the northside of Dublin. I hope we will have a positive outcome for the planning process soon and we can get building that.

There is an awful lot to welcome in this all-island rail review, but the northern commuter line needs massive upgrading and investment.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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I want to talk about my hometown of Athy. I have been dealing with Irish Rail over the last period about increasing the frequency of rail services from the commuter town of Athy into Dublin. I was pleased with a recent response from Irish Rail that told me the imminent DART+ fleet coming on stream would free up additional carriages. We are looking for an hourly service from Athy and also on the Waterford line. That would definitely benefit the huge increase in the population of Athy but also the commuting towns right down to the city of Waterford. Unfortunately, Athy has an overreliance on private transport. Having an hourly service from the town into Dublin would be most welcome.

Irish Rail's reply stated that it would be based on demand and the NTA's approval.

In the past three or four days, I put a petition online and it already has 2,000 signatures, which I will share with the Minister of State at the end of the day. There is demand for an hourly service from Athy to Dublin for all those commuting. As part of this review, I hope the Minister of State will consider that hourly service from Athy and other commuter towns along the Waterford line to Dublin and providing the additional carriages on the line to accommodate it. The demand is obvious from the petition I put up online recently. I hope the Government will give the people the necessary services they deserve.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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I will cut to the chase. North Drogheda objectively needs a train station. It should already be in place. I was on Louth County Council more than 20 years ago when we masterplanned the provision of 5,000 new homes. Half of those homes have been or are in the process of being built. These plans included a site for a train station, but then came the crash. Up to half of those homes, as I said, have been built or they are in process and we still do not have a new station.

The profile of the new residents of that area suggests that a high proportion of them are commuters. Getting from that side of Drogheda, which will be Ireland's next city, Ireland's smallest city, to the train station can be a real challenge in the morning. DART+ will create capacity issues. As Deputy Smith said, we need four-tracking and suggestions have been made for a four-tracking initiative parallel to the M1 up to Clongriffin. It is an intriguing suggestion and absolutely makes sense.

Let us get to the point where we can establish the Drogheda east station. That is how it is referred to in the plan. Let us get it up and running, even with a limited service for now to relieve congestion and provide those commuting opportunities from north Drogheda for the thousands of people who live there at the moment. Will the Minister commit to including the provision of the Drogheda east station in the policy initiative that I understand will be developed later this year based on the rail review proposals? The review does not mention Dunleer station at all. It was closed a few decades ago. Will the Minister confirm whether, if there is no mention in the review of a station reopening, it means the prospect of opening it, that is the station in Dunleer, is buried or gone once and for all?

Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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As a public representative from the west of Ireland, I want to talk to the Minister of State as another public representative from the west of Ireland about the need to connect Shannon Airport to the rail network. This can be done within five years. It needs to be included in the NDP review. What a testament it would be to the Minister of State and what a legacy he would leave if he was the person to deliver it and get it over the line. It could even be named "the Canney train".

There is existing commuter rail infrastructure in Limerick. The line from Limerick to Ennis and on to Galway works well. It was said the western rail corridor would be a flop. It is not a flop. It works so well that on trains from Athenry to Galway people are like sardines at the moment. We need to deliver a direct train from Limerick to Cork and get the rest of the commuter rail network in Limerick activated again. The plan is there. It needs to be included in the NDP review. It is the solution to all our traffic problems in Limerick because none of this infrastructure was ever taken away. The rights of way are there. There is no compulsory purchase order, CPO, involved. It has been transformational to see how quickly Limerick to Foynes has gone from being a litany of derelict sites to the point that signalling equipment is being put in, which is happening at the moment. That can be done with the rest of the network. Let us get the suburban rail network in Limerick, as is being done in Cork at the moment. I imagine there is some political pressure there because of the Taoiseach being a Cork man. I want to make the case strongly for rail in the NDP.

Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I have listened in envy to some of my colleagues talk about the wonderful rail services they have and how much more they need, because in this rail review the Rosslare line was an afterthought. Hardly any consideration was given to improving the services south of Wicklow town. While I welcome that we are talking about extending the DART services to Greystones in Wicklow, it is intended in this review to force passengers south of that line - those who get on in Rathdrum, Arklow, Gorey or stations further south - to change trains in Wicklow or Greystones. That is not going to happen on any other line. On a cold wet morning, commuters will have to change trains and no consideration has been given to those with disabilities or mobility difficulties.

There is talk of doubling the number of lines from two to four on the northern line. Can we also consider doubling it on the Rosslare line from one to two? We hear colleagues talking about the services that are provided. Let me look at the services for commuters in areas around the country that are equidistant from Dublin. For those coming from Dundalk or Drogheda, as Deputy Nash does, there are 16 services available every day. From Portlaoise, which is also the same distance from Dublin as some of the areas I represent, there are 32 services. From Carlow, there are 11 services. However, if you are travelling from Rathdrum, Arklow or Gorey to Dublin there is a maximum of six services on any day and we are served by the worst rail carriages in the country. When I raised this recently with Iarnród Éireann, the promise for improving carriages was, that when it puts all the new carriages on all the other tracks, it will give whatever is left over to Rosslare.

The problem is we are not seeing improvements to the M11. I raised this when Eamon Ryan was Minister for Transport. The M11 is the spine that runs through Wicklow and Wexford and links us with the capital. If we do not see improvements on that route, one would expect us to be trying to get people onto the trains, but the rail service serving the east coast is not fit for purpose.

Part of the challenge, especially when coming in from Bray, is there are six level crossings that delay some of the services. Can they be removed? Equally, commitments have often been made around areas to allow the trains coming from Rosslare to pass the DART on the southside of Dublin. All we are asking for is that we would go some way towards providing a service for counties Wicklow and Wexford to match the services in other parts of the country. I will quite happily call it "the Canney train" if the Minister of State delivers it. We might even go so far as to call it "the Canney line".

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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No pressure.

Keira Keogh (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for being here. I will address the all-Ireland strategic rail review from the perspective of its profound significance to County Mayo. I am lucky to have a door-to-door service from Westport to Dublin, but if I want to go to Galway, which is the nearest city, I would have to go to Athlone and then back to Galway and if I want to go to Sligo, I have to drive or take the bus. It would be fantastic if students in particular were able to get from Mayo to Galway by train, especially as we are struggling with the housing crisis. We want a more connected and more equitable Ireland.

Some 32 strategic recommendations came out of the review. One of the lines to be reinstated has to be the western railway corridor between Claremorris and Athenry. Deputy Sheehan spoke about the success of the new route in Limerick. Lots of compliments have been thrown out, but if we got a train all the way to Ireland West Airport, we could call it "the Canney Express". We are all bidding for the Minister of State's attention.

In all seriousness, the Claremorris to Athenry line is a vital piece of railway. It would be a lifeline for regional development and would restore a vital link between Mayo and Galway, offering new economic, tourism and commuter opportunities. Reconnecting the rail line from Claremorris to Athenry would enable students from the west to more easily access third level education in Galway and Limerick. It would be an equaliser and would also ease pressure on some of the urban housing hotspots if people could travel from rural areas in the west into cities such as Galway.

Ballina also plays a regional key role as a freight hub that connects Mayo to industries in Dublin Port. With strategic investment, that link could be strengthened, making Mayo a logistics leader. As I said, if we get the train to Shannon Airport and the train to Knock Airport, just imagine the industry we could support. It would also reduce the number of freight trucks on the roads, lowering our emissions and supporting our climate commitments.

I acknowledge a huge increase in the number of services on the Dublin to Westport route. There are now five services from Monday to Thursday and six on Fridays. However, it is recommended we have a train every two hours. As a new TD, I tried to take the train to Dublin to reduce my emissions.

Three times I took the train to Dublin and three times I had to rent a car to get back to Mayo in time for meetings. Increased services would help our students, workers coming from the west to the east and families and tourists alike.

I will finish on this note. We need to bring the trolley back on trains from Dublin to Westport. It sounds like a nice-to-have but it is a journey of three and a half hours for some people. Many members of the older population and tourists get on the train without realising there is no trolley service. There is not a bottle of water available if there is an emergency. There are no vending machines. I consistently receive emails from my constituents about this. Having raised the issue with the NTA and recently with Irish Rail, I feel the promise to bring the trolley back is going backwards, not forwards. Mayo cannot be left behind.

Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I am very pleased to contribute to these important statements on the all-island rail review recommendations. This is a chance to make a generational change, transform people's lives, connect people and communities across the island, strengthen our economy and, importantly, reduce our carbon emissions.

Fianna Fáil welcomes this work, which was undertaken by the Department of Transport and the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland. The Belfast-Dublin line highlights the shared ambition to deliver a decarbonised, modern rail system by 2050. The 32 recommendations are comprehensive. They envision faster trains, new and reopened lines and, ultimately, a tripling of rail journeys. It is essential that all of us here, as public representatives, make sure that no community is left behind.

That brings me to County Louth, which occupies a unique and pivotal position in the conversation around rail investment and connectivity on the island. We are the bridge between Belfast and Dublin and the gateway to the north east. The region has been experiencing enormous demographic change and economic growth and dynamism. Louth is the fastest growing county in Ireland. Drogheda is now the our largest town, with Dundalk a very close second. We will soon eclipse some of the regional cities. Mid-Louth communities like Dunleer are expanding rapidly as well, as is that town's need for housing. Dunleer is close to both Dublin and Belfast, and also close to the economic hubs of Dundalk and Drogheda. The Enterprise service has been increased and is so much of a success that we need more services and more carriages on the line because there is standing room only in the trains.

We have to be very clear when we are implementing this review. We need to make sure the specific needs of Louth's communities are at the forefront. The Department of Transport and Iarnród Éireann need to increase the rolling stock on the Belfast line, strengthen existing demand for train services and make sure there is capacity to deal with a surge in the number of people moving to Louth over the next couple of years. It is also time to make sure we have footprint stations and extra stations in the county. The growth in north Drogheda means there are thousands of new homes and thousands more people in the area. They need to be able to access rail easier. There is potential to open the line at Dunleer and open a new train station in north Drogheda. We need an extra station in Louth given the growth in the population growth and the importance of the county.

I look forward to working with the Minister of State. I have worked with Irish Rail and raised concerns with it about resourcing and expanding the rail services from Dundalk to Dublin and Dundalk to Belfast. I wish the Minister of State luck in his new role. He has our support in the House.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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I congratulate the Minister of State on his appointment. It is good to have someone from the west in this role. I know he has always had a strong commitment to the development of the western rail corridor. It always strikes me that the western rail corridor only extends halfway up the west. We need to bring it the rest of the way. It is clear from the map produced with the proposals in the rail review that there is a massive gap. From north Mayo upwards, there is nothing. We need to ensure that changes. A fundamental change that needs to happen is to open the western rail corridor all the way to Sligo and beyond. It needs to go right up the west coast to ensure we can develop and open up the whole region to meet its potential. The places on our island with the most potential are those that have had the least investment. If they got that investment, they would flourish and rail is key to that happening. We have a lot of work to do in that respect.

The rail review was an all-island review, which was very welcome. It looked at all parts of the entire island. It talked about the need for decarbonisation and developing alternative modes of transport that are less carbon-intensive than those we are currently using. An awful lot of freight is moved by road on trucks. Much of that could be moved on rail. Our public transport services need to be enhanced. Most Deputies from the west, including me, drive up and down to Dublin every day. If I came from Sligo by train, the train home would be long gone by the time I was finished here. That is the problem. The last train leaves at 7 p.m. That need to change. I know Mr. Jim Meade and the people in Iarnród Éireann are working towards greater frequency and better planning in respect of all of that but that will require investment. I hope the Government will see the dividend that would pay. Investment is not spending money but investing it for a return that will have a multiplier effect for the regions in which it is invested and for the economy and ecology of the country. That needs to be made very clear.

In many parts of the country, including Mullingar and Athlone, additional train tracks and more double-tracking are needed. We need greater frequency of train services, which can only be done with investment in double-tracking.

With regard to the key airports, one of the strange things about this island is that our airports do not connect to rail. Shannon Airport has been mentioned by some of our colleagues. Clearly, a rail line to Shannon Airport needs to be a priority but so too does a line to Dublin Airport. The metro line has been baked in the oven for a long time. An awful lot of money has been expended so far but nothing has been built. Alternatives need to be looked at. A DART service to Dublin Airport could be done from the north line. This needs to be done much faster. That is not to say that the metro should not proceed. It certainly should because our capital city needs proper transport infrastructure and an underground put in place.

There is a lot of work to be done. The rail review has put a template in place but it does not go far enough, particularly when we look at the space left vacant in the north west.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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I welcome the all-island strategic rail review. It is a vital step towards connecting the unconnected throughout the country. Ultimately, however, it is a missed opportunity because it is not ambitious enough. Even if it were fully implemented, the review would still leave us behind the Ireland of 1906. It is not often that we look back at the country 100 years ago and say, "Jesus, if we were only there now with all those railway lines and rail services." That fact alone is damning.

Fermanagh has been entirely excluded from the review, Donegal is barely included and towns with a population of under 10,000 are ignored. This really limits future growth and opportunity. It is shocking that there is no mention of coastal erosion in this document. We are developing a 25-year plan while ignoring the rising sea. Abandoned lines like Claremorris-Sligo are being left untouched. One of the biggest issues is that the plan has no deadlines, urgency, ambition or accountability. We need a transport system that meets climate targets and serves communities, and we needed it yesterday.

This is not just about having rail in place. It is also about the experience of using it. I have contacted the Minister on this because it is not just about where the train goes but what it is like to be on that train. That is why I am calling for quiet carriages on all intercounty trains. These carriages support our neurodiverse passengers and create a calmer space for people with anxiety, PTSD or sensory issues, and they ensure equal access to public transport for all, which is really important. They also serve commuters, patients, students and remote workers - anyone who needs a bit of quiet space to rest or work in peace. They make travel time more productive, reduce stress and support the flexible workforce. It is a low-cost, simple measure that could be put in place, and is already in place on the Cork-Dublin line, on which it works very well.

When I contacted the Minister, and I am not sure if it was the Minister of State or the line Minister who responded, apparently they are not going to be rolled out across all lines. They are being considered for the Dublin to Belfast route. However, there are no plans to expand quiet carriages beyond that because of capacity concerns. Instead, passengers with sensory issues are being offered a pair of sunglasses, headphones and a fidget spinner. That is not inclusion; that is tokenism. Where we could quite simply roll out these sensory carriages, I ask the Minister to look into it. That is the least commuters deserve.

I will take a moment to talk about my own constituency of Wicklow. It has been raised here already but the train services in Wicklow are beyond bad. We have seen improvements year after year on all the other routes but for some reason, despite Wicklow's increased population and the fact so many people commute, we still have a single line and only six trains going from Wicklow town to the city. It is not acceptable. There have been promises of a battery electric DART to Wicklow town. Previous Ministers said that was going to happen in 2025, but then it was 2026. It is now targeted for 2029. At the same time, carriages that could have been applied to that Wicklow line have been set aside and are going to Drogheda. When that system and those carriages go to Drogheda, it is making an already good line even better. Whereas Wicklow, which has an incredibly poor line with absolutely insufficient rail services, should be brought up to some level of standard. That should have been the priority and not an already well-serviced and functioning line. I ask the Minister to look into that because people need to have proper rail services available to them.

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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I represent Dublin South-Central which is a densely populated area. A huge amount of building is going on, particularly in areas like Bluebell, Inchicore, Ballyfermot, Park West and around that area. Our access to rail is actually quite limited. The Luas goes through it but it is constantly jammed. Bus services are being re-evaluated at the moment in terms of BusConnect and people are quite unhappy about that.

I love that DART+ is going to come out. Kylemore and Ballyfermot are future-proofed but when I did the research, I realised that will be in 2050. I will be 75 years old then. That a long time off. There are many things that need to happen over the next while. It is great that we are future-proofing it, do not get me wrong, but I spent quite a lot of time in Europe where the rail service is excellent, and in a capital city such as Dublin there is no reason for us not to have that here, particularly in Dublin South-Central with so many tourist destinations and people coming to visit. It is really important.

We also have a climate crisis at the moment. We really need to make sure that our rail services reach every part of our city thereby removing people from their reliance on the car. For such a short distance coming into the city, Dublin South-Central really should be very reliant on rail, bus and other active travel methods. It is great that there are going to be expansions but I would love the NTA and Irish Rail to make sure Dublin South-Central is not forgotten when it comes to the rail service.

Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)
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There have been some exciting developments in east Cork rail over the past 16 years. The return of the Midleton to Cork line in 2009 has been hugely progressive for the region and the number of passengers is increasing year on year. Ten-minute frequencies from 2026 onwards will be a game changer as will the proposed new stations for Water Rock and Carrigtwohill west. Cobh, Carrigtwohill, Glounthaune and Midleton are all very well connected with the city by rail. However, Youghal has been totally left out of these advancements and is suffering in several key respects as a result. The quality of life of students and workers travelling to Cork city on what is a primitive bus service through congested roads is severely impacted by the lack of a train service. We are not seeing the density of new housing development and associated population growth in Youghal, which would occur around a functioning train station. Our increasing population demands the return of the rail link. Despite the epic investment into Dunkettle interchange, journey times into Cork from Youghal and Midleton remain unpredictable in duration and are prone to significant delays. Some €215 million later we are probably seeing reduced traffic flow at peak times coming into the Dunkettle interchange.

We have a crisis of traffic congestion on our roads in east Cork that is eroding away precious family time every day for people caught up in it. There is such a sense of futility about this. Our car dependency means our carbon emissions are increasing, our air pollution is worsening and it is also leading to more accidents and more fatalities.

Returning the Youghal to Midleton line would be a challenging project in light of the greenway development. However, we have reopened closed lines before and we can do it again. The Limerick-Foynes line is already being reinstated. Let us bring this ambition to Youghal. When this service is eventually linked up with light rail in the city it will be transformative for the region.

John Connolly (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the outcome of the rail review study. I particularly welcome the outcome as it pertains to the recommendations it makes for my own constituency and for the west in general, especially the doubling of the rail track to Athenry and the proposed reopening of the western rail corridor. I know the Minister is familiar with this. However, I go back to the publication of the national planning framework about a month or six weeks ago. In the national planning framework for each of the regional cities of Cork, Limerick and Waterford and Galway, a number of key enablers were outlined as to how these cities can be developed and what infrastructural projects will be required for these cities to develop. For Limerick, Cork and Waterford, the key enablers all included some reference to rail transport or rail projects. However, there was no reference in the national planning framework to reopening the western rail corridor or to doubling the rail track between Galway and Athenry as part of the key enablers for Galway city. That was regrettable given the strong sense that came from this review of the all-island strategic rail review to include both projects into the future. Other Deputies mentioned their own constituencies but when Galway and Cork are compared, Cork has a double track to Mallow and a double track to Cobh. In Limerick work has started on progressing the double track between Limerick and Limerick Junction. Yet, I do not see the same intent arising from this report.

I put down a number of parliamentary questions as to how we are going to move from this report towards the implementation of both of those objectives in terms of doubling the track to Athenry and reopening the western rail corridor and I am finding it difficult to see real intent and to be able to say purposely and specifically that this project is going to progress. As I said at the time of the publication of the national rail review, I hope the national development plan reviews it in terms of rail infrastructure for Galway and clearly highlights that both the doubling of the track to Athenry and the western rail corridor are part of the national development plan.

It was mentioned earlier in the Dáil today and it is worth reminding ourselves of the recent cost of congestion report in Galway city which showed that the cost of congestion in Galway city is going to double between now and 2030 and is going to reach a level of €107 million. Clearly, that report is saying we need to do more in terms of infrastructural development to tackle congestion in Galway city. The two moves included in this report will go some way towards reducing the congestion in Galway city and reducing the cost associated with that.

There are just one or two operational matters regarding rail services in the city I want to draw people's attention to as well. There is a very positive project at the moment in terms of the redevelopment of Ceannt Station. However, Ceannt Station will now have five platforms, yet we will only have a single track into the station. It is going to be very difficult to make the most of the redevelopment of Ceannt Station without doubling the rail track to Athenry. That should be borne in mind.

I recognise and welcome that there is the project to develop a second platform in Oranmore and a passing loop. It is a start but I would like to see greater intent as to how we are going to progress the recommendations in this study as they relate to Galway and rail infrastructure in Galway.

One other operational matter I will mention is that I understand that Galway County Council is soon to progress the enhancement of the carpark at the Oranmore railway station which will make it more amenable for people who want to use the station there to park and ride between Oranmore and Galway city.

I ask Irish Rail to look specifically at the car park in Athenry and to do something similar there. It should be opened up for the public to use. We should reduce the cost of using it and increase the flow of people using rail services from Athenry in Galway.

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am sitting here kind of amused though I probably should not be. There is obviously a regional disparity in the investment in rail services. I listened to the contributions of the Social Democrats and there is obviously a Cork bias because the Cork representatives, even within my own party, seem reasonably happy with the level of investment we are receiving. Things in the west are starkly different from what is happening in Cork, where it is predominantly a good news story. We are getting massive investment not just in heavy rail but also in the light rail system for the future. There is much to be hopeful about. Speaking strictly geographically and with a geographical bias, it is clear that in Cork anywhere up to 11 new stations are planned. I am being told that at least three, if not four, of those can be delivered by the end of this decade. That will predominantly benefit my constituency. We are looking at the possibility of an additional station at Tivoli. There will definitely be additional stations at Dunkettle and Blackpool and there will possibly be another at Blarney. That is without mentioning the stations that Deputy Quaide referred to in east Cork. For us, that allows travel every 15 minutes. We also benefit from the double-tracking to which Deputy John Connolly alluded. To be fair, it has been transformative for people on the eastern line, in particular, where I am living in the Little Island area.

In conjunction with that, we are also looking at the additional park-and-ride facility. At the new Dunkettle station, in an area called North Esk, there is due to be a park-and-ride facility. We have spoken about that facility for 20 bloody years at this stage but I am hoping that the National Transport Authority, NTA, will finally give Irish Rail the funding to deliver it and to alleviate some of the traffic problems Deputy Quaide spoke about, particularly at the interchange.

A bugbear of mine is that even though we talk about the increased frequency from which we are all going to benefit, lazy people, such as me, still opt for the car. It is partially out of laziness, and I hold my hands up in that regard, but the timetable can be very rigid. I hope when we have the full benefit of electric lines and double-tracking that we will be able to move having a train later at night. We are talking about the late-night economy in Cork city centre, in particular, but to facilitate that, we will have to put on extra buses through BusConnects and extra trains on the newly developed electric lines. That needs to be scrutinised.

I know that light rail is not exclusively covered under this plan, but we have a problem in Cork that is similar to the problem in Dublin. There is talk of bringing the metro to Dublin Airport. People might consider the heavy rail option of connecting Clongriffin station to the airport in Dublin. That could be achieved in a relatively quick time compared to the plan for the metro. The situation is similar in Cork. We have no plans to connect light or heavy rail to the airport. It is about providing connectivity and giving people the option. That needs to be reflected in the review.

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy and very much welcome this debate. As my colleague, Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan, has set out, a major plan, the Cork metropolitan area plan, has been set out and was published on 18 June. Public consultation is currently taking place and it is important that people engage. We are not just planning for the next five or ten years but for the next 50 or 60 years. One of the things that will happen in Cork is a growth of population. The most recent census reported that Cork had a population of 581,000. It is now well over 600,000 and will continue to grow because of the growth of jobs in the area. It is interesting that Apple is going to increase its workforce by over 1,500 people. The company is now running a bus service from the train station in Cork because many of its workers live outside Cork city and use the train service to get to work. Apple runs buses from the train station to those workers' place to employment. We must work with businesses to ensure that more people who are working in the city or in the outskirts of the city can get access not only to the train service but to the follow-up bus service without having to use motor vehicles.

My colleague has set out the development in Cork, including the Cork to Mallow rail line and the stations that can be built along the line. That opens up the opportunity for a greater number of housing developments and a higher level of employment in those areas. It is important that people are able to travel from Charleville and Mallow into Cork city, but also on down to Midleton or Cobh, wherever they may be working. We need to fast-track all of these proposals. The metropolitan plan prepared by Cork City Council, Cork County Council, Irish Rail, the NTA, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, and Project Ireland shows that everyone is working together to deliver a really good transport infrastructure. That will, as a result, reduce the number of people who have to travel to and from their places of work, or wherever else they are travelling, because they have access to public transport and rail transport, in particular.

It is important that the light rail proposed for Cork does not take 15 to 20 years. It is important that we fast-track that project. The population of Dublin is now well over 1.3 million. In 1841, Cork had a population of over 854,000. We are currently at 600,000, but that shows the potential for growing the number of jobs and businesses in Cork. At the same time, we must ensure that we build adequate housing and allow people to travel from their homes to the services they require and their places of work. I welcome the debate and the forward planning that is now in place in the Cork region.

Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin (Wicklow-Wexford, Sinn Fein)
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We must do far better for the people of Wicklow and Wexford. For years, I have raised the issue of the inadequate rail network in these counties, including most recently last week at a meeting in Buswells Hotel with representatives of Iarnród Éireann. My hopes were briefly lifted with the all-Ireland strategic rail review when the Wicklow and Wexford rail line was mentioned. However, unfortunately, this optimism was very short lived. The report suggests that solutions for this vital region on the east coast and in the south east would be "costly and ... unlikely to be justifiable". According to the review, the rail line could not be expected to have more than one or two trains per hour in each direction. How can we accept such a conclusion when over 4,000 people are crossing the Wexford-Wicklow border on their commute every morning?

In the region that contains Carlow and Kilkenny, 46% of students and 69% of workers commute to Dublin. These are real people. They are workers, students and families who struggle through gridlock every morning and evening. They rely on a transportation system that fails to meet their needs. Only 11% of them are using public transport, including coastal rail and bus services. A staggering 70% are forced to use their cars. Is this the future we want for our communities and for the island of Ireland?

In 2021, it was reported that we need to reduce car journeys by half a million per day under the Government's climate action plan. In 2019, Irish Rail announced 41 new carriages but not one for the Wexford-Wicklow area. If you live in Gorey, there are only six services per day and the latest leaving Dublin for Wexford is just after 6.30 p.m. There are trains from Arklow at 6.03 a.m. and 6.57 a.m. They are full by the time they reach Wicklow town. We wonder why only 11% of people use this service and we have gridlock on the M11 every day. I experienced it this morning.

If we are serious about reducing car dependency and protecting the environment, we need to commit to investing in the rail network. Wicklow and Wexford are beautiful counties that hold immense potential. They connect the capital to the gateway to Europe, which is Rosslare Europort. The port is currently expanding due to the evolving trade arrangements between Ireland, the UK and the EU. The two counties have a population of over 300,000.

We are at a pivotal moment. This is our chance to transform the role of rail along the beautiful east coast of Ireland. Enhanced rail connectivity would not only improve people's quality of life because they are not fighting traffic gridlock every morning but would also boost tourism and benefit the environment. The time to act on the Wicklow-Wexford rail line is now. Let us invest in the Dublin to Rosslare rail line and leave a legacy for future generations. I will leave the Minister of State to ponder those points. I hope he can have an input.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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A map of Ireland's railway network in 1906 that is often shared online provokes passionate debates about the state of our current rail network. We used to have 5,000 km of railway and more than 1,000 stations connecting all corners of the island. Today, the network is just a fraction of what it was at its peak. These debates show one thing very clearly: people want to see increased investment, increased capacity, the reopening of stations and the return of rail to every corner of our country. For the first time, we now have an all-island strategic plan agreed North and South for the development of rail on this island over the coming decade. It is a realistic and costed plan, and offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape how we move people and goods around our island.

Bold ideas, though, have to be backed by bold action and guaranteed capital investment. The public deserve clear answers. When will the Government publish a detailed, phased implementation plan for the all-island strategic rail review so we can track progress and hold people to account concerning what they said they will do? What projects are first in line? When will construction begin? Given the scale of investment, which is estimated at €35 billion up to 2050, how much will be committed via the review of the national development plan due to be published this month? Delays would not only threaten our climate targets but also the economic and social gains this plan offers. I therefore urge the Minister of State to commit to publishing the full implementation plan and to publish it without delay. I also urge him to redouble his efforts to secure the necessary capital funding in the NDP review. Without this money, this vision of the all-island strategic plan will never be more than a pretty graphic.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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The year 2024 was the hottest on record. Temperatures were 1.6° above the historical average. Europe is now in the grip of another heatwave. In France, 300 people have been hospitalised, and two people have already died from the heat. They will not, unfortunately, be the last to die this summer across Europe. We urgently need to stop pumping more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Fossil fuels must be completely phased out as fast as possible. This is what the science demands. We know transport is our second biggest emitting sector, contributing 21.5% of total emissions in 2023. The EPA predicts this will increase to 21.6% by 2030 with the existing measures. It is doubtful, however, that the target for those existing measures will even be reached. It is based on getting 560,000 electric vehicles on the roads by 2030, when there are currently around 73,000 such vehicles. Between 1990 and 2021, passenger car numbers increased by 178% and transport emissions more than doubled.

To reverse this situation, what is needed is a massive modal shift away from car dependency, whether fossil-fuelled or electric, to public transport and active travel. In light of this, the target in the review to increase the tiny 3% share of rail in passenger journeys to a slightly less tiny 6% is unambitious. Yet, this Government is unlikely to come close to this target. This Government is allergic to public investment on the scale needed to provide fast, free and frequent public transport for all. It continues to force more and more people into long, car-dependent commutes because this is the only way they can find semi-affordable housing. It is greenlighting and subsidising new domestic flights to Derry rather than building the railways we need. The programme for Government promises to act on the recommendations from the all-island strategic rail review. Which of the recommendations will actually be implemented within the lifetime of this Government? What share of rail in passenger journeys will result? When will we see new railway lines like metro south west? At the very least, will we see simple, obvious things done by 2029, including new train stations on existing lines in Ballyfermot and Cabra and more trams on the red line?

Another way of encouraging a modal shift to public transport is reducing fares. These were cut by 20% in 2022 as a temporary cost-of-living measure and then kept, just like student fees. In light of the Government saying we will not have another cost-of-living package, is it also saying transport fees are going to increase, just as is threatened in terms of student fees? Can the Minister of State give a guarantee that public transport fees will not be increased in the coming budget?

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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There are many rail issues in Dublin West. I will briefly mention them and then make some general points. In Ashtown, there is just development after development and high-rise apartments flying up regularly. It is happening at such a rate that the rail service the area does have is jam-packed and dangerous, according to many residents. Either a stop will have to be put on planning permissions granted, which none of us wants because we all know there is a housing crisis, or the transport issues will have to be addressed. There are also many issues further out in the Dublin 15 end of Dublin West. There are no lifts and no disability access in Castleknock train station. This is not acceptable in this day and age. Regarding seating in the Navan Road Parkway station, it has been pointed out by several workers that pregnant women have nowhere to sit.

On the Dublin West and Dublin 15 area more generally, we frequently hear TDs from rural areas talking about people in Dublin having a train or a bus outside their doors. There is no such thing. Huge chunks of Dublin 15 are badly served by public transport. Most of Dublin West is reliant on buses. The 39 bus is known as the "coffin ship into town" because every time there is a new development, it is just added on to the 39 bus route, rather than a new bus route being created. It takes one student trying to get to UCD from Ongar three hours to get in at peak time. You could get to Greece in three hours. Turning to ghost buses, I refer to the 37 bus, the Go-Ahead Ireland buses in Tyrrelstown and disappearing bus stops for people in the area. Workers who work in St. Vincent's Hospital and UCD had their journeys significantly added to by changes made by Irish Rail last year. It has meant their journey times to work were severely added to.

We need a Luas. We need a light rail system in Blanchardstown. It is just so obvious. We have every multinational out there and a massive number of workers. The Broombridge station is nearby. We need that extended from Broombridge to Blanchardstown. It is quite a greenfield site at the moment and it could and should have been provided. We have had Taoisigh and Ministers, but none of them have ever provided Dublin West with the transport system we need. We now have to say, "Enough". The misery of people's lives now trying to get into town or across the city in built-up urban areas of Dublin is outrageous. This is especially the case at a time when we want people to use public transport because of climate change and just a better quality of life. We are actually making it impossible for people. It must be addressed. It is so obvious we must invest in public transport in large, extremely built-up urban areas. Essential workers cannot get to their place of work and students cannot get to college. The situation is really eroding people's quality of life.

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, Deputy John McGuinness, for allowing me some of his time. I wish to speak on this issue because Cork East is receiving the largest single investment in an active rail project anywhere in the country now, with a €1.6 billion investment into the Cork area metropolitan transport strategy. I note Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan from Cork North-Central is in the Chair. Both our constituencies are beneficiaries of this investment. The project is advancing at a rapid pace. I was lucky enough to be down on the site more recently with the appointed contractor and Irish Rail's project manager, A.J. Cronin. Phenomenal work is being done and I commend it.

It would be remiss of me not to bring up the restoration of the railway line further east towards Youghal and the restoration of the train stations at Killeagh and Mogeely. It goes without saying that a state-of-the-art greenway investment has been put in place costing a very significant amount of money - shy of €20 million. It is heavily utilised and has been quite successful but members of the public constantly raise this with me as a TD representing east Cork. I feel obliged to tell the House that I have done some research into what the cost of restoring that railway line would be. I am told by the appointed contractor of the Cork area commuter rail programme rail improvement scheme, involving double tracking to Midleton, that it would cost around €300 million. It is important to put on the record of the House that the cost of restoring the line and having a fully equipped electrified rail connection back to Youghal would probably come in at around that amount, which is a very substantial sum of money for the catchment area of east Cork that I represent. Ultimately, this should happen but in consideration of the fact that the greenway is in place, assessing the economic success of that greenway and the impact it has on the tourist economy in Youghal. I want to add my own two cents to the argument because I am a believer in investing more in public transport, especially when we are expecting a significant increase in the population in east Cork with the development of residential housing at Water-rock, and the further expansion of housing stock in the Carrigtwohill-Glounthaune area.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Like most Members of the House, I met with Iarnród Éireann recently when it gave a presentation and made its officials available to Members to put their case and highlight the issues in their constituencies. I will get directly to the point. The south east, particularly Carlow and Kilkenny, has very poor connections. Regardless of whether one is en route from those locations to Dublin or down to Waterford, not enough times are available. I can get to the Oireachtas at one time but I cannot get home at the time when we might conclude. That is very unreasonable in terms of what we are trying to achieve in the economy and the challenges we face regarding climate action. That people cannot get trains at the appropriate times to suit them is also unfair to those who work in Dublin or along the route of the train service. If we are going to change as a country, there is an opportunity for us to introduce a dynamic rail structure to accommodate the communities that are anxious to use the train rather than the car, and to allow those who do not have a car to commute properly and efficiently to a job, school or college. We have to think of those who are studying or working in Dublin and need that transport timetable to meet their needs.

I wish to raise another issue relating to infrastructure, namely, the fact that the railway stations in Kilkenny and Thomastown need investment. The property held by Iarnród Éireann in Kilkenny city is in a disgraceful condition. People, including tourists, arrive there on the train and see nothing but a derelict building with an asbestos roof, a building that is falling down and a very poorly maintained station. I ask the Minister of State to intervene with Iarnród Éireann and ask it to upgrade the station buildings that are lying derelict. I would like the Minister of State to ask Iarnród Éireann to bring them up to a standard that will meet that of the neighbouring properties such as MacDonagh Junction or the hotel that will be built there. It is not right that a company like Iarnród Éireann would not invest in its property and try to keep the image of the city in which it is located to the standards to which we are accustomed.

I ask the Minister of State to tell Iarnród Éireann to approach the problem at O'Loughlin Road railway bridge and deal with the wall for which it is responsible. It is creating a problem for those who are driving or walking the footpaths. It has gone on for decades. Engineers have visited while the Minister has been down there as well. Iarnród Éireann must take the first step to provide the safety that is required. I am asking the Minister of State to intervene and demand of Iarnród Éireann the action that is required to make that part of O'Loughlin Road railway bridge safe and to provide us with the times to facilitate those who wish to travel on public transport to and from Dublin or the locations along the route.