Pat Casey (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. Senator Malcolm Byrne outlined our concerns with regard to the Minister of State's response to this issue.

The Dublin-Rosslare east coast route has probably suffered from the least amount of investment over the 200 years of its history since it was delivered. It has great potential and provides an opportunity to take people off the road but we are not availing of it. The recently released report stated that we need an additional €230 million just to maintain the track that is in place before we try to deliver any additional services. In fairness, with regard to commuters from counties Wicklow and Wexford, once a person leaves Greystones there is an almost non-existent service. I got into my car at Wicklow this morning at 7 a.m. and got to Leinster House at 9.15 a.m. There was only one train that left Wicklow during that period.

Not alone are we talking about investment to try to maintain the rail route; we need significant and far-reaching investment to provide serious train potential for our commuters. If that is what we believe in, we need to invest in it.

The current proposed draft policy with regard to the transport strategy for the greater Dublin area does not do justice to Wicklow once a person leaves Greystones. The line from Wicklow, Rathdrum, Arklow and then on to Wexford is not getting the level of investment that is required. It needs to go further. We need to start talking about putting in lay-bys and double tracks where trains can pass one another freely. We are wasting our time investing €230 million unless we go that step further. The greater Dublin transport strategy does not go far enough in what it is proposing. We need significant investment if we are going to move people out of their cars and onto the train.