Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. I am interested in the delivery of public transport to rural areas, particularly train services into the west. The NTA published a report last year suggesting that train services to the west of Ireland could be shut down because of the lack of money at Iarnród Éireann. I do not know if this is just scare tactics or is something that is really being contemplated. What is the Minister's vision for investment in rail for the west? Would it include further investment in the western rail corridor, which has great potential? In terms of services out of places like Ballina and Westport, the biggest impediment to increased passenger numbers is the length of time it takes for the trains to get to Dublin. Sometimes it can be quicker to travel by road, although the roads in the west are another issue of concern.

A lot of our economic policy is demand led. Where there is a critical mass of people, money is invested. I do not think that is going to be a solution in terms of our ambition to improve public transport. We must up-front a lot of investment to get to the desired position, namely a satisfactory rail service which will be attractive to potential passengers. In that way, we will reduce our carbon emissions. I would like to hear about the Minister's plans in this regard. I would also like to hear his response to the suggestion that all rail services to the west, except those serving Limerick, should be shut down. I believe that is unjustified. I further believe it should not be arising regularly as a suggestion. It is a purely economic view, emanating from Dublin and it has no sympathy with our ambitions to reduce our carbon emissions and to rebuild rural Ireland.

The services of Bus Éireann are also heavily relied upon in rural Ireland. In that context, we need buses and good roads. If one draws a line from Galway to Louth, there are no major interurban routes north of that line. There was no investment, even during the Celtic tiger period, in major interurban routes in that part of the country. Connectivity is sadly lacking in that regard. The Government is currently drawing up a new ten-year capital investment plan and is working on a new planning framework. These areas have not benefitted from the roads investment that we have seen in other parts of the country. They are being left behind in terms of investment, jobs and growth. They are also losing their population, mainly because they are not attractive but are considered peripheral by potential investors. These areas need to be looked after and I would ask the Minister to prioritise them when it comes to spending money on roads, particularly on national primary and secondary routes, to make up for the lack of investment during the Celtic tiger years.There are facts and figures to back up what I say, namely, that this is a disadvantaged region. Bus Éireann needs proper roads to travel. We have a bridge on a national primary road, the N26, at Swinford - Cloongullane Bridge, which dates from the previous century. A car and HGV cannot cross it at the same time. An application has been before An Bord Pleanála for a new bridge for some time. An oral hearing has taken place and I hope we get a positive outcome. However, funds will be required. I would like to hear the Minister's plans in that regard.

I wish to raise the way the motor taxation system operates currently. Senator Humphreys has talked about getting diesel cars off the road. If we succeed in doing that it would be a reverse-throttle policy on the part of the Government when one considers all the incentives there have been to invest in diesel cars, including cheaper motor tax for people after 2008.