Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

We should be doing a number of things to improve rail transport. None of the 400 new rail carriages being purchased by Iarnród Éireann is for the Sligo to Dublin line — we will get the hand-me-downs from the Cork line. We will be glad to get them, considering the 18th century stock we are currently using, but there is no visionary approach to the fact that 1 million people will locate around Dublin between now and 2020 and we want to accommodate them. Land prices and the costs of production, building and infrastructural improvements will be much lower if we look at the gateways and hubs that lie north of the line between Dublin and Galway and decide to invest in them and create the capacity for people to live. That will make these areas more attractive to foreign direct investors and stimulate indigenous industry.