Charles Ward (Donegal, 100% Redress Party)
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93. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport whether he intends to develop or reinstate railway services in Donegal; whether any progress has been made in the north west since the publication of the all-island strategic rail review last year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52139/25]

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I am taking this question on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, who regrets he cannot be here. As the Deputy will be aware, the final report of the all-island strategic rail review was published in July of last year. The review's recommendations for County Donegal involve the development of a new rail line from Letterkenny to Derry, which connects to a new proposed rail line linking Derry to Portadown.

The programme for Government commits to working collaboratively to act on the rail review. Assisted by the European Investment Bank, EIB, advisory services, my Department, the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland and agencies across the island are working to progress the rail review's recommendations for the years ahead. As part of this, a project prioritisation strategy on how to optimise the implementation of the review's recommendations is planned for publication later this year. Officials from my Department and the Department for Infrastructure have also been in contact in relation to sharing the findings of a high-level feasibility study from Translink examining the review's recommendation of connecting Derry and Portadown with a proposed spur to Letterkenny. This study and the ongoing EIB work will help to inform the progression of rail projects into the future.

In addition, the Connecting Ireland rural mobility plan saw the roll-out of a number of new and enhanced bus services in the north west last year, including to Letterkenny and Donegal town, implemented by the Donegal-Sligo-Leitrim transport co-ordination unit, TCU. As the Minister of State responsible for rural transport, I commend Mary Coughlan and her team in the Local Link service in Donegal, which is a phenomenal success. The volume of people using those buses is extraordinary.

More generally, the recently concluded Government review of the national development plan, NDP, has confirmed my Department’s annual capital allocations from 2026 to 2030, and a decision on a programme of transport delivery within the available funding will be made in the coming months. The important issue of connectivity in the north west will be considered as part of that final decision.

Charles Ward (Donegal, 100% Redress Party)
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It is shocking that in this day and age that there is still no significant investment in regional rail in the north west. People in Inishowen who travel to Letterkenny or Donegal town must travel by bus. I know an 82-year-old man who travels on a bus to Donegal town to see a relative. He is on the bus for the guts of two hours. Many of my constituents do this and are travelling long distances. It is outrageous. The lack of sufficient healthcare is not addressed. There is a lack of transport. There is a litany of neglect in Donegal. Will the Minister commit to ensure Donegal will have a rail service that connects us to the rest of the west, the capital and the North into the future, so that we can give people something to hope for?

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I assure Deputy Ward that the Department, the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, and I are aware of the needs of Donegal, which I visited in July. It is not correct that the Government has not invested in transport in Donegal. I referenced the Local Link service. We can see the phenomenal investment and growth in that service. I fully acknowledge the Deputy's personal stories of people who have to travel. I met some of those people on my visit to Donegal during the summer.

It is important to recognise that the Department is reviewing the key programmes and projects in the transport envelope in the context of the national development plan. That capital funding envelope will include investment in the rail network. As I said, a decision will be made in the coming months within the available funding. The Government is prioritising connectivity in Donegal and the proof is in the roll-out of new and enhanced bus services. I take the Deputy's point on the need for further investment. We are looking at that.

Charles Ward (Donegal, 100% Redress Party)
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Donegal is the only county in the whole of Ireland in which the rail network was removed. We are so far behind that it will take billions of euro to get us up to date. When the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, was Minister for housing, he turned his back to us. I ask him, as Minister for Transport, not to turn his back on Donegal again.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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I never turned my back on Donegal.

Charles Ward (Donegal, 100% Redress Party)
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Will the lack of infrastructure investment in Donegal be addressed in any way in the budget next week?

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I do not want to get into a political back and forth with Deputy Ward because I respect where he is coming from. However, if we look at the Local Link service in Donegal and talk to the TCU manager there, Fionnuala O'Shea, we see the investment in the 966, 959, 957, 954, 952 and 953 routes. People are using Local Link. If the Government had turned its back on Donegal and was not investing in it, as the Deputy claimed, those routes would not be there. We are investing.

I take his point that Donegal is the only county, or one of the few counties, with no rail link. However, in terms of rural transport, the Government is connecting people. I meet them every day. I was struck by the people I met in Donegal in terms of the mobility and connectivity available to them. If we took out the bus service, there would be nothing; I take the Deputy's point on that. However, the Government has been investing in those bus services, which he has not acknowledged at all. We are investing in new routes, new ideas and new connectivity, reducing socialisation marginalisation and connecting people. One example of that is students being able to travel to college.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you, Minister, you must conclude.