Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It has said it will be restored to InterCity services but that does not clarify the position for other routes such as that from Heuston Station to Westport and Ballina. I congratulate Iarnród Éireann on the service it is running at the moment. We have six services from Mayo to Dublin on a daily basis. They are on time even though the time it takes now is nearly the same or maybe 20 minutes less than it took 100 years ago, but Iarnród Éireann is doing its best due to the single track for half the journey. However, on a number of occasions on a weekly basis, there are not enough carriages on the service and the train is overcrowded most of the time. It is great to see people using the train service throughout the country and a great service is being provided, as I have said. At the same time, there is a lot of overcrowding on our route from Heuston Station to Ballina and Westport. Particularly on a Monday, the 1.45 p.m. service may have only four carriages and it is not adequate to cover the number of people who want to travel.Many people go to conferences, concerts and other events in Dublin weekly and go home on Monday on a midday train but there are only four carriages and they are completely overcrowded. We need extra carriages on those routes and if something could be done to reduce the time it takes to get from Westport and Ballina to Dublin, it would be greatly appreciated. It is three hours from Castlebar, three hours 20 minutes from Ballina and three hours 15 minutes from Westport. That is a considerable length of time and could be shortened. Will the Leader seek clarification on the service being brought back to where it was a number of years ago?