Rónán Mullen (Independent)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I was thinking of Percy French because the debate got off to a rather slow start. I was wondering whether we would get there before the night.

As I was listening to the Minister of State the thought occurred to me that if the review recommendations were to be implemented, the rail network would increase from 2,300 km to 3,000 km, which would be commendable. However, I was wondering how many kilometres of rail there were at the time of the West Clare Railway. We have a long way to go in the important task of restoring rail transport to the very central place it should have in the ordering of our transport system, including for the sake of trade. One can think of the potential of the western rail corridor; the opportunity for decongestion - a full intercity train would take 275 cars off the road as we know; decarbonisation; and of course the social dimension of it. We all need our cars; that is understood. However, in thinking about the loneliness in our society, one can see that the car is almost a symbol of that every time somebody makes a solitary journey, which is sometimes necessary. However, it would be great if we could get to the point where people would make journeys not in cars but on communal transport as much as possible.

The Department of Transport press release on 8 October gives us to understand that the next phase of the western rail corridor from Athenry to Claremorris is to be restored as a priority project, as cited in the strategic rail review. That is very much to be welcomed. This is a shovel-ready project. It will connect all the main towns of Mayo via Tuam to Galway and take thousands of cars off the road every year.It would also offer a direct gateway to the southern ports of Foynes and Waterford for those major exporters currently using sustainable rail services out of Mayo but in a way that would avoid the more congested Dublin zone. That is what I mean when I talk about trade. The success of the Galway-Limerick route proves that when rail services are put in place, they will be used. Oranmore Station, which opened in 2013, demonstrates that the appetite is there for park and ride. Passenger numbers have increased by 1,100% in the past ten years. Establishing similar facilities just off the N17 in Milltown and at the N63 near Ballyglunin will take commuters off the already crowded road network before they reach the first of the morning tailbacks.

The N17 north of Tuam has seen a 47% increase in traffic in the past ten years. At the same time, as I have said, a single full intercity train can displace close to 275 cars. Fewer cars means less congestion on the approach to Galway and it means safer driving conditions. It is worth noting that rail as a commuting option is nearly 30 times safer than road transport.

Following the publication of the revised national development plan, it is now vital that the next phase of the western rail corridor project commences without delay. The whole project will happen inside Irish Rail's fence line, meaning that commuters from Mayo and Tuam could be on the train to Galway city in less than four years. Would it not be a wonderful thing if the Minister of State was facing into the next general election having posed on a train or outside a train in Ballyglunin where my late uncle, Jim, worked for five wonderful years when they made "The Quiet Man" or in Tuam station where he worked for 20 years?

Beimis uaillmhianach. We need to be ambitious. I hope the Minister of State does not stop until that train goes all the way to Sligo. That western rail project is a testament to the tenacity and determination of many good people. It is time when we have the resources that we see that project through to completion. The reopening of the railway would help reduce congestion on the approaches to Galway and it would offer hard-pressed commuters a sustainable alternative to tailbacks and gridlock. It is very much a case of enough talk, we need to see shovels in the ground.

We live, as the Minister of State knows, within the northern and western region which is one of the three regions in the Republic of Ireland and one of 240 regions in Europe, including the eight outer most regions. Of the three, our region, the northern and western, is the only one categorised as a NUTS II region or a region in transition. The other two are developed regions. In 2022, our region was downgraded to a lagging region by the European Commission when our GDP per head of population fell to 71% of the European average. We are ranked 218th out of 234 in terms of infrastructural development. Only 16 regions are in a worse position than us. When we talk about increasing rail services in the north west, it is no special pleading. It is central to the long-overdue revival and enhancement of this region.

I will mentioning something briefly that we do not really have time to address, which is the social dimension of rail transport. We need to keep a close eye on the behaviour of people on our transport network. We need to consider what it says about our society and what it is becoming if there is unacceptable behaviour, if people are in fear or if they are in any way being intruded upon in way that used not to happen to the same extent. We need not only to keep a close on eye on it but also to consider how to address it so that people not only have access when they take the train or other forms of public transport but have safety and comfort as well.

It might seem like a trivial matter in comparison, but I cannot honestly say what the current position is on the improvement of catering facilities across the rail network. There was a time when you could get breakfast and know for sure when getting on train that there would be a shop or somewhere to get refreshments. That is a very important part in making rail transport attractive again.

Looking to the future, I was listening to the BBC the other day and it was marking the 200th anniversary of rail in Britain this year. In nine years' time, we will be marking the 200th anniversary of the beginning of rail in Ireland with the opening of the Kingstown line which, if I am not mistake, goes back to 1834. Let us hope that when we get to that point, and the Minister of State may be Taoiseach at that stage, we can say that, in the past decade, we really took rail transport seriously, especially and including the western rail corridor, by ensuring an extension of high-quality and, in places, high-speed rail transport that also offers people comfort, security and safety so that we again put rail transport at the centre where it should be for all sorts of environmental, financial and trade reasons.