Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will hone in on Senator Blaney’s point, which is the word “connectivity” and, in particular, the north west. Unfortunately, the north west and midlands are not served properly. We are the only area in the country that is serviced by our motorway. This is an issue I have raised with the Minister and it is disappointing that funding was not in place to progress the works with regard to putting in a proper, safe road that would continue from Mullingar and connect in with the works that were done farther west. We are entitled to it. The reality is we do not have a proper train line service either from the midlands back out. It is a single-line track for a majority of it and, therefore, we have infrequent service. There are a significant number of services from Mullingar or Maynooth, which I use when I travel particularly to rugby or football games in Croke Park or the Aviva. I would actually drive as far as Maynooth and take the train in. It is a fantastic service and it is great value. I compliment the Minister on the reductions that have been put in place there. People are using them more.

However, farther out from the city and into the regions is where we are lacking infrastructure. There is infrequent service.I understand there is just one morning service at 5.30 a.m. coming from Longford for people who are working in Dublin. As I said, there is an infrequent timetable due to the fact it is a single carriageway in much of that area. I want to put those points on record. Any investment that goes into rail or otherwise must service the entire country.