Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senators O'Reilly and Chambers for bringing forward this matter. As Senator O'Reilly quite rightly said, this is about town centres, sustainable transport, balanced regional development and tackling climate change. This is an important matter.

As the Senators will be aware, the Minister is a firm believer in the positive potential of increased and expanded sustainable mobility options, whether walking, cycling, bus or rail. The Senators referred to a new report on the western rail corridor, a copy of which I understand the Minister received in the past few days. This report is the third such report published this year on the corridor, although it is the first produced by those campaigning for a reopening of the line between Athenry and Claremorris. As one might reasonably expect from a campaign group, the report is positive about the potential reopening and the benefits it might bring.

As I said, this third report on the western rail corridor was published this year. The first report was the EY report referred to by the Senators. That report was commissioned by Iarnród Éireann and conducted by EY consultants with the assistance of specialist engineering experts. It was commissioned in line with the decision of the previous Government and was a financial and economic appraisal of the potential reopening of phases two and three of the western rail corridor. I understand there have been some criticisms of the EY report, as Senator O'Reilly stated, particularly by those campaigning for a reopening of the western rail corridor, who, in turn, commissioned this most recent report in response. However, there was, in fact, an independent review commissioned by the Department of Transport upon its receipt of the EY report and prior to the Minister, Deputy Ryan, bringing the issue to the Government last December. The second report, known as the JASPERS review, was carried out by the agency known as JASPERS, which was established by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank to assist member states in making investments in European regions such as the west of Ireland. The JASPERS review concluded that the findings of the EY report were not unreasonable. Specifically, as regards the projected cost and demand, the areas of the EY report that have been criticised by this new report, the review found them to be within reasonable ranges, although perhaps based on a design solution and an operational plan that might be considered overly optimistic.

More important than that, however, are the four key observations of the JASPERS review which are fundamental to the future development or otherwise of the western rail corridor and indeed our rail network generally. The JASPERS review noted that the proposed reopening of the western rail corridor did not address any identified social or transport constraint, did not fit with any broader strategic framework for the development of rail in Ireland, did not contribute towards our climate action challenge and would not attract EU funding in its present form. In response to these issues, the Minister has committed to an all-island strategic rail review to examine all aspects of inter-urban and inter-regional rail on the island of Ireland, including lines such as the western rail corridor. The review will also consider where it might be appropriate for high-speed or higher speed rail on the network. In addition, it will examine the role of rail and freight and how best to decarbonise Intercity and inter-regional rail services. It is this strategic rail review that will provide the strategic framework for the development of rail in Ireland, identify the social and transport constraints that rail can help to address, set out how to move towards net-zero railway in the future and ensure that our rail investments are fully aligned with EU policy in this area. I understand the review will commence very shortly, and the Minister looks forward to its completion.