Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

I join my colleagues in welcoming the Minister to the House and in congratulating the Department and Booz-Allen Hamilton on the publication of the review.

The review sets out a solid and reliable framework for the development of the rail network over the next 20 years. There is no doubt it is a very comprehensive report. It is clearly the most significant review and rigorous analysis of the rail sector ever undertaken. It was the first major report in the history of the State to recommend the revitalisation and rebuilding of railways. For this reason, it has a valuable contribution to make to the debate on the future of the railway network.