Niall Blaney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister here to have this discussion on the rail network and, moreover, the all-island rail review. Following the formation of Government and the announcement of an all-island rail review, as party spokesperson on Northern Ireland, I went to Derry and met with the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, SDLP, Colum Eastwood. We discussed this on the back of that. The Minister then had negotiations with Minister Nichola Mallon. This became a two-way proposal on the all-island rail review. At that stage my interest in meeting the leader of the SDLP was particularly in relation to the north west, which, as the Minister knows, used to have reasonable rail coverage. However, it has lost it for many decades now. Proposals are afoot for high-speed rail from Belfast to Dublin and possibly on to Cork. However, infrastructure west of the Bann has been lacking over the past number of decades; moreover, there is a lack of infrastrcuture on the western seaboard as well and counties are continuously downgraded. The push and the argument was to have high-speed rail connectivity from Belfast to Derry and, on the back of that, it was the perfect opportunity to have rail connectivity back into Letterkenny and Donegal again.

Originally, the rail connectivity would have been from Letterkenny down through Strabane, Omagh, Tyrone, Monaghan and onto Dublin. Considering that footfall of population in Derry, Belfast, Newry and Dublin, there was an opportunity and we went for it. The Minister asked for submissions on the all-island rail review. I believe up to 40% of the submissions came from the north west on that connectivity, and we are delighted with that.

My point is in relation to that review. There is an impasse at the moment and the Minister has not been able to announce that review. Even if there was a protocol deal tomorrow, it would not mean Stormont would be up and running in the next two months. We may not even have Stormont up and running in the next six months, with all things falling in the right direction and everything going according to plan.

I listened to Alastair Campbell and Bertie Ahern at the IBEC event this morning. They both agreed that if the protocol is not agreed in the next two weeks, there probably will not be another go at it until the next government. That means that the Minister’s rail review will not be allowed to happen. I already raised this with our party leader, the Tánaiste. I ask the Minister to go to Northern Ireland, sit down with the political parties there and discuss his plans and their aspirations. The Minister’s original plan was a southern Government proposal. Given the impasse and situation we are in, he has the perfect opportunity to discuss it with them, take their views on board and go ahead and announce this plan. Otherwise, I fear that we will get to the end of this Government’s term and we will not have any work done on an all-island rail review and its implementation. That is my main call today.

I saw where, a couple of weeks ago, the The Journal.iepublished an article that mentioned a couple of connectivity points and Letterkenny was mentioned. I was delighted to read that, but it is not enough without that high-speed rail from Derry to Belfast. The speed of the rail is too slow. It is imperative that the north west is looked at. I have been pushing this agenda from the point of view of the shared island funds. While the first tranche of funds may go towards the Belfast-Dublin line, the next Government should examine and put in place high-speed rail from Derry to Belfast and have connectivity to Donegal. It is the best opportunity for Donegal. If the Minister has plans for other connectivity from the South, we would absolutely take them with open arms. Moreover, it is time we got this plan and the discussions with political parties in Northern Ireland moving. It is a practical step and I think it is one they would welcome as well.