Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)

I thank the Acting Chair very much. The Senators' faces are all very familiar. For some reason, Galway and Mayo have taken over here. I thank Senators for inviting me to address the House. I welcome the opportunity to provide an update on the all-island strategic rail review.

Rail lines built in the 1800s are still carrying passengers today, and the decisions and investments we make for rail in this decade will similarly benefit the Irish people, the economy and the environment to the end of this century and beyond. This is why it is so important to plan our rail network in a holistic, strategic manner, looking at the impacts and benefits across all regions. This is a key strength of the all-island rail review.

Before I discuss the review, I would like to provide an update on the progress we are already making in advancing rail projects across the country. We have invested significantly in recent years in our national rail network to create a more efficient, safe and better rail service for the people of Ireland. Most recently, Woodbrook DART station in south Dublin opened to the public in August of this year. The station is the 147th station on the Irish rail network and is at the heart of a large residential community. The new station will enable transport-orientated development, supporting the delivery of housing close to high-capacity public transport services.

The opening of a new "through" platform at Kent Station in April represented a landmark day in the delivery of the Cork area commuter rail programme. I visited this station earlier in the year. I am very impressed with the work there. This platform will facilitate Cork commuter trains to travel through Kent Station from Mallow to Midleton or Cobh without requiring passengers to change service, which will support a better rail service. This platform is just the first element of the Cork area commuter rail programme to go live. Works are also well under way on two other work packages, namely the twin tracking of the Glounthaune to Midleton line and a significant signalling upgrade. These elements of the programme are on course to be delivered next year and, together with the new platform, they represent phase 1 of the Cork area commuter rail programme. That will help deliver a more frequent, efficient and reliable rail service to the people of Cork.

A public consultation on phase 2 of the programme, which includes the delivery of eight new stations and provides for the electrification of the Cork commuter rail system, concluded in July. The opening of the new platform at Kent Station is part of a series of train station upgrade works being progressed across the country, with works progressing at Ceannt Station in Galway and the development of a new Plunkett Station in Waterford. Works at Oranmore Station in Galway commenced earlier this month to deliver an additional train platform and a passing loop, and a planning application was lodged with Limerick City and County Council to construct a new train station at Moyross in August.

These station upgrades will provide enhanced passenger experience and improved accessibility. Crucially, they will enable increased capacity on the network, helping us plan for the future. For example, the upgrade at Ceannt Station in Galway will increase the number of platforms to five, which will support a growth in frequencies envisioned under the all-island strategic rail review.

In the Dublin region, DART+ is the most significant expansion of the electrified commuter rail system since the introduction of the original DART service in 1984. The DART+ programme will bring electrified DART commuter trains west as far as Maynooth and M3 Parkway, south-west to Hazelhatch and Celbridge, and north to Drogheda. It will double the city centre rail capacity from approximately 26,000 to 52,000 passengers per direction per hour, and triple the electrified network, from circa 50 km on the existing DART line to 150 km.

We have seen positive news emerge from the planning system with An Coimisiún Pleanála granting conditional planning approval of the DART+ West project and the full planning approval of the DART+ South West project in 2024, as well as the DART+ Coastal North project in August this year. It is on the northern rail line from Connolly station to Drogheda that the public will get to experience the first element of the DART+ programme, when the new battery electric DART carriages, which are currently undergoing testing, are brought into service. These new carriages are not just significant because they will provide greater capacity and a better passenger experience, but also because they are helping us to meet our decarbonisation goals. They may also be used to enable the extension of DART services in other parts of the network in advance of the roll-out of overhead wires, such as the DART extension to Wicklow, planned for around 2029.

The programme for Government is clear on the need to continue investment in our rail network, noting that we will work collaboratively to act on the recommendations from the all-island strategic rail review to improve connectivity across the island of Ireland. The review, which was published in July last year, was led by my Department and the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland. This groundbreaking report sets out a strategic vision for the development of the rail system across the island over the coming decades.

The final review report sets out 32 strategic recommendations to enhance and expand the rail system over the period to 2050, aligning with net carbon-zero commitments in both jurisdictions. The recommendations seek to transform the quality of the rail system to the benefit of passengers and wider society on the island, through additional capacity on the rail network, increased service frequencies and developing new rail lines. These investments will support higher frequency and more efficient passenger and rail freight services. On this basis, the report's recommendations envisage huge benefits being created for rail on the island. Much of the single-track rail network will be upgraded to double-track, with four-track in some areas to provide additional capacity. New 200 km/h intercity trains will provide faster services, with rail journey times between cities significantly reduced and, in some cases, halved. There will be higher frequency train services, at least hourly between cities and at least every two hours on regional and rural routes. In line with Ireland's decarbonisation goals, there will be a net carbon-zero rail system, primarily through the overhead electrification of intercity routes and new electric trains.

Creating wider connectivity, the rail review recommends that the rail network route length on the island increase from approximately 2,300 km to almost 3,000 km, with the reopening of former and new rail lines, including the western rail corridor.

Wider access will be facilitated by new rail routes in the north midlands and north west, meaning 700,000 more people would live within 5 km of a train station. High-level economic analysis conducted as part of the review indicates that the benefits of the package of recommendations broadly equal their cost, indicating economic feasibility.

I am delighted to say that included among these 32 recommendations is the reinstatement of the western rail corridor between Claremorris and Athenry. The reinstatement of this line has the potential to support both passenger and rail freight services, allowing a direct route for freight services from Ballina and Westport to ports on the south coast that avoid the more congested part of the rail network around Dublin. This route would also reconnect Tuam to the railway and enable direct passenger services between Galway and Mayo, supporting regional development in the area. This project serves as an example of the types of benefits that interventions proposed under the rail review can provide right across our rail network.

My Department is working with the European Investment Bank, EIB, and rail stakeholders across the island, including the National Transport Authority and larnród Éireann, to consider how best to sequence and implement the recommendations of the rail review. This work includes the preparation of a project prioritisation strategy.It considers how best to optimise the sequencing and implementation of the rail recommendations, including in the context of short-term interventions and longer term projects.

More detailed analysis on eight rail projects - including FourNorth, the purpose of which is to address capacity constraints between Connolly Station and Clongriffin on the northern commuter rail line - is also being progressed by the EIB and other rail stakeholders. This analysis will support the preparation of project appraisal documents, which should help expedite their approval and may also assist in accessing EU funding to supplement Exchequer funding to advance these projects from planning and into construction.

The recently concluded review of the national development plan, which was published by the Department of public expenditure and reform, has confirmed my Department's annual capital allocations from 2026 to 2030. My Department is currently reviewing key programmes and projects in the transport sector in the context of that capital funding envelope, including plans for investment in the rail network. A decision on a programme of delivery within the available funding envelope will be made in the coming months. However, the NDP will help provide funding to advance the protection and renewal of our rail network, deliver a new train protection system to safely cater for growth in rail traffic levels and funding to advance projects across the rail network, including helping to progress elements of the rail review.

I look forward to working closely with the National Transport Authority and Iarnród Éireann in the coming years to make these investment plans a reality. I look forward to hearing the contributions of Senators. I wish to acknowledge work of Jim Meade, who will be retiring on Friday from his position as chief executive of Irish Rail. I thank him for the Trojan work he has done to bring this story to life. Mary Considine is taking over as the new chief executive. I met her in Galway last week, and she is very enthusiastic about her new role. I look forward to working with her and wish her well.