Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House and wish him well in his portfolio. I have no doubt he has a huge interest in the railway network. Rail safety is a hugely important issue. I come from a county where we have had our fair share of tragedies at level crossings over many years. Some of those level crossings have been upgraded to automated level crossings.

There is one in my area, Kilnageer crossing, between Belcarra and Castlebar, where a tragedy nearly happened a number of months ago. The community are up in arms in relation to work that should be carried out. They are looking for this to be either automated or the implementation of a scheme the council have put forward where traffic would go over the railway line. In any event, it will take a considerable period to carry out the works, particularly if it is roadworks or a bridge over the railway line. I cannot see why level crossings cannot be automated quite easily and I ask the Minister to look into this as a matter of urgency. I appreciate major strides have been made in recent decades automating many level crossings, particularly in County Mayo. We have a considerable rail network in the county from Westport to the Roscommon border and from Ballina to the Roscommon border. We hope the southern route will be extended from Athenry to Claremorris, which could take some time but it is something the Minister should look at.

I welcome the legislation. It is not before time that rail safety was made an issue. I wish the Minister well with the Bill.