Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House and congratulate him on his appointment. I have found to be extremely courteous over the years. I often felt he was ahead of his time in some of his ideas but now time has caught up with him and he has a great opportunity in government for the next three or four years to deliver on some of his great ideas. We look forward to exciting times ahead in that regard.

As somebody who does not drive because of my eyesight difficulties, I use Iarnród Éireann on weekly travelling to Dublin. I have got to know all the staff on the railways over the years and they do a fantastic job for Irish Rail and being ambassadors for our country with tourists. Since he took over as CEO of Irish Rail, Jim Meade, has made a significant difference and we see the work taking place at Limerick Junction which will speed up the times on the Cork to Dublin rail line.

In that vein, I concur with other speakers on the necessity to invest in rail.In terms of rail safety, the Department must upgrade the capital programme and buy out the network of level crossings in order to increase train speeds. The rail journey from Ennis to Galway takes about an hour and a half but it should not take so long. One will get from Ennis to Galway by bus a lot quicker. The problem is that there are many level crossings along that route which create speed restrictions. I would like the Minister to consider an investment programme aimed at taking over many of the level crossings on our railway network.

I also wish to refer to the Crusheen railway station campaign which has been ongoing for a long time in County Clare. Given that so many railway stations are automated now, there is no reason not to reopen the station at Crusheen. Perhaps the Minister could influence his Department which is not favourably disposed to this project.

I travel several times a week from Ennis to Limerick but for several months of the year every year, bus connections form part of that journey because of flooding at Ballycar. The Oireachtas committee dealing with rural affairs prepared a report on this some time ago and asked Clare County Council to come up with proposals to address it. There is an opportunity now for the Department with responsibility for transport to provide funding to carry out the necessary capital works to ensure that such flooding does not happen again. There is also logic in increasing the speed of trains travelling between Ennis and Limerick. That journey takes about 35 minutes but it should not take so long. Again, a capital investment programme to take over some of the level crossings on that route would address the issue. The train journey from Ennis to Limerick should be much quicker.

In terms of this legislation, rail safety is extremely important. It is worth pointing out that the railway network in this country is extremely safe. There have been incidents involving Luas trams periodically but overall our trains are very safe by international standards, with very few crashes. Full credit is due to Iarnród Éireann and the operators of Luas and the DART service. This legislation is important because safety should always be our number one priority and I know it is the priority of the team providing public transport in this country. I am glad to see that there is all-party support for this legislation.