Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail)

I join my colleagues in welcoming the Minister to the House.

I welcome the report and congratulate the consultants, Booz-Allen Hamilton, for what is a comprehensive document. It sets out an excellent framework for the development of the railways. I do not agree with every element of it and, like my colleagues opposite, I will deal with some parochial issues later. However, it represents a good discussion document and I am heartened by what the Minister has said in relation to its not being the definitive Government policy, but rather that it provides the framework.