Joe O'Toole (Independent)

That rail link should take approximately two and a half hours at an 80 mile an hour average speed. That is what happens in other countries. Because that does not happen here – I could give 25 more examples – that student must live in Dublin. There are immediate effects, such as the cost, the pressure on accommodation in Dublin, congestion in Dublin and the fact that people are taken away from their roots at an important time in their lives to the detriment of everything from the local football team to eventually settling down in that area. The lack of infrastructure is denuding the west. The Minister should grasp the nettle. The Sligo to Limerick line or the Castlebar to Dublin line is as important as the N5. All the parts of the infrastructure are important and they are the way forward. The Minister should not only push to protect and save these lines, including the Athenry connection, but also to develop, promote and market them.