Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom tréaslú leis an méid a bhí le rá ag an Seanadóir Lawless ní ba luaithe maidir le reifreann ar chearta vótála i dtoghcháin uachtaránachta.

I second the remarks made by Senator Lawless on the referendum for presidential voting rights. To be fair to officials and the relevant Ministers, the heavy lifting has been done. There is a growing consensus among political parties, civic society and diaspora groups and it is now time to put the question to the people. The Convention on the Constitution has agreed it. The Senator made the imaginative proposal that the question should be put before the Government travels all around the world to tell the diaspora how much it values them. Perhaps now is the time that the Government showed them by initiating the referendum.

I call for a debate on cross-Border transport and travel, which is an issue that I have raised on several occasions since I became a Senator. Today, I found out via the Twitter account of our colleague, Senator James Reilly, that the Cabinet has approved a feasibility study on a cross-Border Dublin to Belfast train with a reduced travel time of one hour. Belfast City Council and councils along the eastern corridor have voted in favour of this and, indeed, Belfast City Council has initiated a feasibility plan to consider the issue. A feasibility study is a significant and necessary step forward by the Government, and I welcome the announcement. Rather than make an announcement via the Twitter account of the Senator, who happens to be an election candidate but I shall let people make their own minds up on that aspect, it is important that we get the stakeholders around the table for a discussion. We must get the chambers of commerce, the councils, local authorities, the Departments in the North and South and, indeed, the Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas and other elected representatives who have advocated and lobbied for the initiative. A feasibility plan is vitally important. However, we need to move on and see it inserted into the capital plans. The project must become a major priority for the Government, not least given the current political and economic climate and the threats posed by Brexit. We must all work in collaboration. I hope and certainly Sinn Féin hopes that the rail link will not be confined to just being between Belfast and Dublin but can expand across the island and, therefore, address some of the historical infrastructural neglect.