Kieran Phelan (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister and the Minister of State to the House and congratulate them and the Department of Transport on the tremendous work they have done in the past year. The need for a dedicated transport Department has been vindicated by the tremendous strides they have taken on transport policy.

I welcome the main thrust of the strategic rail review, particularly with regard to its overall emphasis. I concur with the Minister, however, that it is not ambitious enough and I hope he will take this into account when deciding on future policy.

The Minister described the report as a road map and not a pair of handcuffs. I hope this is true because I am concerned about the call for the retention of rail links that are commercially viable to Iarnród Éireann. That standpoint casts serious questions about the future of the Ballybrophy-Limerick line. The report recommends against investment in that line, which could pave the way for its closure if such an approach is adopted by the Government. Such a decision would have a profound effect on the towns located along the line. As a representative from Laois, I am aware that any downgrading of this line will negatively affect the people of the county. We need to improve the level of infrastructure on the line because it will play a crucial role in rural development of this part of the country. How can we expect to implement the national spatial strategy if we are to remove one of the pivotal lines of infrastructure for such a large part of the country? We are not only talking about County Laois being affected; counties Offaly, Tipperary and Limerick will also suffer if this line does not receive the attention and funding it deserves.