Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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101. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the steps his Department is taking to improve regional and rural transport connectivity in the west of Ireland, with particular reference to rail and bus links serving County Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51780/25]

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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Will the Minister outline the steps he and the Department are taking to improve regional connectivity, particularly rail and bus services in Mayo?

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Lawless for raising the importance of rail and bus connectivity in County Mayo. As Minister of State at the Department with responsibility for rural transport, I am delighted to say we have seen considerable investment in services throughout the country under the Connecting Ireland rural mobility plan. In County Mayo especially, funding has gone up by 56% over the past two years. We saw a boost in passenger numbers by 72% between 2023 to 2024. As Deputy Lawless knows quite well, a great example of this continued investment can be seen in the launch of routes 460a and 460b, as recently as Monday of this week. These new routes will offer connectivity to regional bus services, Castlebar Station, Mayo hospital and the villages and areas between Castlebar and Achill Island.

I am also pleased to share that in July of this year, Ireland's first-ever smart demand-responsive transport service was launched in Achill in Deputy Lawless's county. I commend the Minister, Deputy Calleary, for his role in this, along with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and the Minister of State, Deputy Canney. This pilot marks a major milestone in rural mobility innovation. It is a flagship initiative designed to revolutionise how rural communities access public transport. As Deputy Lawless knows, the service introduces a flexible, door-to-door, app-based transport model tailored to local needs, offering greater convenience, accessibility and frequency. I and my colleagues in the Department look forward to seeing reports on its implementation over the coming months.

As Deputy Lawless knows, Connecting Ireland has been a major success, with over 175 new or improved services since 2022, linking 240-plus towns and villages to public transport.

It has delivered 61 healthcare connections, including connections in the Deputy's county of Mayo, 41 connections to higher education and 71 linking to rail. In 2024 alone, nearly 8 million passenger journeys were made. Our Department supports the continued expansion of rural transport in line with our commitments in the programme for Government.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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Will the Minister of State please focus on regional rail? The Dublin to Westport line has had no significant upgrades in quite some time. From Westport to Athlone, we are still operating off a single-carriage line. The distance from Westport to Dublin is 262 km. The journey takes three hours and 20 minutes, which means that the average speed is 80 km/h. There are tractors in Mayo that can reach 80 km/h.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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Can the Deputy tell us which tractors?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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A Massey Ferguson.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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The distance between Cork and Dublin is the same. Trains on that route reach Dublin in two and a half hours. The TGV in France has an average speed of 300 km/h. With such average speeds, it would be possible to get from Westport to Dublin in under an hour. In many cases, the people of Mayo are waiting in Roscommon for half an hour for a train to pass because of the single line and because the speeds needs to be increased.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I call on the Minister of State to respond. The Deputy will have another minute.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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Does the Minister of State have any plans to upgrade the Dublin to Westport line-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The Deputy will have another minute.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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-----particularly with regard to the speed of the trains?

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I want to get the details of the tractor the Deputy is referring to because that would be a fair old tractor no matter where you are coming from. Without being flippant, the Deputy is right. The Connecting Ireland rural mobility plan is important. As he knows, the Government is very much committed to rural Ireland. This year's all-island strategic rail review made 33 strategic recommendations, which include a proposal to reinstate the western rail corridor with a connection between Athenry and Claremorris. In addition, the review also noted other potential developments, including improved rail service frequency between Mayo and Athlone through the building of more passing loops. The Deputy makes a good point regarding frequency, connectivity and speed. It is all about ensuring the west of Ireland benefits equally, as the Minister, Deputy O'Brien has referenced, for example, through the upgrades at Ceannt Station and Oranmore Station. It is also about the expansion of rural transport in County Mayo under Connecting Ireland. I do not have time to go through them but the Deputy will know the routes in County Mayo that have been significantly improved and which are seeing increasing passenger numbers.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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The big point is that in recent years the housing crisis has pushed a lot of people from Mayo out of Dublin. Covid and working conditions also played a role. We have seen many young people returning to live in Mayo and commuting to Dublin, if you can believe it. Many of these people travel to Dublin one, two or three days a week. The point I am making is that a journey of almost three and half hours on the train line from Mayo is unacceptable. The average speed is 80 km/h. Does the Minister of State have any plans to increase capacity and speed and develop a double carriageway rather than a single one in order that the people of Mayo can get to Dublin in a timely fashion? The distance from Cork to Dublin is the same, but there is a difference of an hour in the commute time. It is about two and half hours versus just under three and half. That is the point. Does the Minister of State have any plans to improve the line?

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Lawless and remind him that the Government has invested €84 million in the rural transport programme. Some €116 million has been allocated to regular rural services. In addition, €40 million has been allocated to new services including new town services under Connecting Ireland and BusConnects. There has been success in rural transport. Some 70% of those living outside our cities will have access to public transport services providing at least three return trips to a nearby town each weekday. I take the Deputy's point about people moving back home. There is housing challenge, which Government is committed to, but more than 100 new county town connections from settlements around county towns and 60 new regional intercity connections of all types have been put in place. Government is committed to rural Ireland. We are committed to investing in public transport. The proof is the envelope, that is, the funding I have outlined to the Deputy. We are investing. Contrast that with ten years ago and look at where we are today. There is a much better service and much better connectivity with an increased population.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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I am glad the Minister of State mentioned ten years ago.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The Deputy is out of time.