Shane Curley (Fianna Fail)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as ucht a bheith anseo anocht.

On a light note, because I am going to focus on the infrastructural side of things, I concur with Senator Cosgrove, who mentioned the song, "The West's Awake". When it comes to getting caffeine on the Dublin-Galway train on the way home on a Friday evening, the west is definitely asleep because we cannot get a cup of coffee and a Dairy Milk. It used to be lovely when I was coming home from college in the 2010s but it is a pity that is gone. It is back on the Dublin-Cork train, so what is wrong with the west? Let them give us back our trolley and the cup of tea. Anyway, that is on a lighter note.

One of the first things that I have been asked to raise tonight by an awful lot of people in the west of Ireland, particularly in our own constituency of Galway East, is a timeline for the Athenry to Claremorris phase of the development and when we may see boots on the ground, the sod being turned and development. As well as that, there is a small point. When we did the county development plan in Galway in 2022 when I was a county councillor, I got a nice little line inserted into the county development plan that plans would be put in place for Loughrea to be reconnected to the Galway-Dublin line. There was strategy behind that. There is a huge benefit to having people from as far south as Nenagh connected by rail as they go north to Loughrea to take the traffic bedlam that is Bóthar na dTreabh and reduce the number of cars on it. It would be hugely beneficial.

I have been contacted by councillors in Galway, Mayo and Sligo who have serious concerns regarding the extension which would connect Galway and Sligo, two of the biggest urban centres in Connacht. That is hugely important. Will there be a commitment to see this vital piece of rail connectivity realised?

I have also been contacted in relation to Donegal by a lot of councillors up there. Some simply want the north west to be included in genuine expansion plans. Some want to ensure that the county of Donegal sees rail connectivity to both Sligo and the North, up to Derry. Some are concerned that Letterkenny to Derry is the only consideration and that towns such as Buncrana are also hugely important in considerations. One councillor contacted me in relation to a feasibility study which, it was suggested, could be funded by the shared island unit because of the cross-Border element of it. Where does that stand? Has there been talk about it in the Department as regards funding the Letterkenny to Derry feasibility study through the shared island unit?

There is an argument to be made that an ambitious expansion of rail would open up huge tourism opportunities, both to Galway East and from Galway East up to the north west. Connecting large urban centres, such as Sligo, up through Donegal county and all the way up to Derry would provide such opportunities both to and from our constituency at a time when the midlands-north-west has been designated as a European Union region in decline. That is regrettable, but rail could play a huge part in upping our tourism output in Galway East and for everybody else in the north west. Not only that, it could have other benefits such as decarbonisation and reduction of our vulnerability to fines of up to €26 billion by 2030 if we do not cut down our carbon emissions. Rail takes a huge amount of cars off the road. People trust rail because it is usually on time, there are rarely delays, it is a safe mode of transport, and it gets you to and from the place comfortably.

I look forward to working with the Minister of State in the years to come. I hope we can see rail going through Tuam and up into Mayo, Sligo, Donegal and up to Derry as the years go on.