Shane Curley (Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State, Deputy Canney, will speak first for ten minutes and then we will have the group spokespersons for seven minutes each. All other Senators will have four minutes each. The Minister of State can then reply not later than 5.50 p.m. The statements will conclude at 6 p.m.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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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.

Imelda Goldsboro (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for coming in this afternoon. This is a great opportunity to comment on the all-island strategic rail review, a landmark initiative jointly commissioned by the Department of Transport in Ireland and the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland. The review sets out a bold and strategic vision for the development of our rail system across the island of Ireland over the coming decades.

Rail is one of the lowest-carbon-emitting modes of transport for both passengers and freight. It offers a powerful tool for both jurisdictions to meet their commitments to achieving a net-zero carbon transport system and economy. If we are serious about tackling climate change, we must be serious about rail. We need to see a major modal shift in how we move around this island. Our overreliance on cars is unsustainable. Rail offers a cleaner, more efficient and more inclusive alternative. It is a vital step toward connecting the unconnected and bringing opportunity, mobility and economic growth to communities that have long been left behind. The decisions and investments we make in rail this decade will shape the lives of Irish people for generations to come. That is why it is so important to plan our rail network in a holistic and strategic manner that considers the impacts and benefits across all regions of Ireland - not just Galway and Mayo - including Tipperary.

We must be honest about where we are today. There are significant gaps in rail network coverage. Service frequencies and speeds are relatively low compared with railways in similar countries like Scotland and Denmark. The quality of service does not consistently meet customer expectations. Four of the five busiest airports on the island, including Dublin Airport, the busiest in Europe without a rail or metro connection, remain disconnected from the network.

The differences are striking when we compare today’s rail map with that of 100 years ago. The emergence of two separate jurisdictions in the 1920s disrupted traditional patterns of trade and travel. Customs controls on the new Border led to the closure of almost all cross-Border routes by the 1960s, leaving counties like Cavan, Donegal, Fermanagh, Monaghan and Tyrone without any rail services, except for the lone line between Dublin and Belfast. Today, we have a chance to reverse that legacy. Denmark has shown us what is possible, achieving average rail speeds between major cities that are twice as fast as ours, largely through investment in existing infrastructure. We can do the same. We are no different. If all recommendations in the review are delivered, over 700,000 more people could live within 5 km of a railway station, a 25% increase in population catchment. Every county in Ireland and every local government district in Northern Ireland would have at least one station served by regular passenger rail.

The all-island strategic rail review and the national development plan represent the first of three decades of delivery, with projects benefiting the national network, sustainable transport for major cities and the expansion of the role of passenger services and rail freight all under way. The projects in the current NDP are essential prerequisites in the context of the ambition of the all-island strategic rail review. They include: the DART+ programme; the Cork area commuter rail; the national train control centre; investment in Galway, Limerick and Waterford; Rail Freight 2040; the new Enterprise fleet; new stations; the Navan rail line; east coast rail infrastructure protection projects; and capacity enhancement studies for a range of routes including Wicklow, Limerick to Galway, Limerick to Limerick Junction, and Galway to Dublin. Iarnród Éireann is working with the Department of Transport, the European Investment Bank, the National Transport Authority and others on the preparation of a plan to implement the all-island strategic rail review recommendations, including a comprehensive investment plan for the next ten years.

We are already making progress on progressing rail projects across the country. These efforts support not only our national goals but also our European decarbonisation commitments. Let us not forget the role of affordability. Travel costs are subsidised by the Government to ensure public transport remains accessible to all.

My principle when it comes to public transport is simple: if we provide a good service with frequency, we will offer a compelling alternative to the car. That is how we shift behaviour. That is how we build a better future. Today, I am seeking commitments from the Government that it will continue to push forward. Let us invest wisely, plan strategically and act boldly. The future of rail in Ireland depends on it, and so does the future of our people, our economy and our planet.

Rónán Mullen (Independent)
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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.

Mark Duffy (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for joining us for such an important discussion on the all-island rail review. I acknowledge and compliment that 7,000 submissions made, the truly inclusive nature of the review and, in particular, the work of different advocacy groups, including West on Track. While I do that, I acknowledge the late John Bradley, who was dedicated in his advocacy as a former economist with the ESRI and an advocate for West on Track and the western rail corridor in particular. He passed away recently while, sadly, on a rail journey, I believe, between Dublin and Mayo. I thank John and pay tribute to the dedication and advocacy he persisted with and maintained through his constant reports. When Ernst & Young created a report that belittled the western rail corridor, he counteracted it and kept the argument and fight on the table. I acknowledge and pay tribute to him and offer my sympathies to his wife, Mary. I thank him and the West on Track team that has advocated for the western rail corridor.

As has been mentioned, the increase in passenger numbers over the past number years, especially since Covid-19, have been significant. In Mayo, I have advocated for the addition of the early morning rail service connecting commuters with a 5.05 a.m. train into Heuston Station in Dublin at 8.30 a.m. We have also seen the addition of later evening services arriving into Mayo between 10.30 p.m. and 11 p.m. What is being noticed anecdotally is that all of these routes are now at capacity. We need to improve the capacity, speed times, service and experience on each rail journey, whether that is ensuring there is good security but also catering services, which is something that has been widely discussed.

I want to focus on the western rail corridor, in particular. I know the Minister of State believes in and is passionate about the opportunity that exists for the north west. If the all-island rail review is realised, 700,000 more people will live within 5 km of a railway station. That is an incredible statistic and something that is very achievable considering the fact that the western rail corridor in particular remains in public ownership. It can connect Ballina, Westport, Castlebar, Claremorris, Tuam and Athenry, all the way down the western seaboard to Limerick, Cork, Foynes and Waterford. The first phase between Athenry and Claremorris is a total open goal and such a great opportunity to revitalise and give a vote of confidence for transport infrastructure in the north west.

I acknowledge the Northern and Western Regional Assembly which has done a lot research in terms of the disparities in transport infrastructure investment. Senator Mullen acknowledged that the north-west region ranks 218th out of 234 European regions in terms of the quality of its transport infrastructure.For people who commute to appointments, whether from Galway to Mayo or vice versa, but also students given that the costs of living, housing and student accommodation are so high, improved connectivity between towns can make a difference. It can mean that young people who have grown up in towns such as Tuam, Ballina, Westport and Castlebar can at least hypothetically continue to live in them while studying in Galway or Sligo. That has a huge and positive social impact on everyone.

It is fair to say the Minister of State has the full support of the House on the western rail corridor. He has every bit of support I can lend to help him to realise it. Whatever can be done to ensure it is a priority should be done. Can the Minister of State provide an update on when we may have further progress on the realisation of the first phase of the western rail corridor? This is only phase 1 of a two-part trick. The northern route to Sligo is a no-brainer for all the reasons outlined in respect of connecting the whole north west. The line remains in public ownership. A shuttle bus connecting the nearest station to Ireland West Airport Knock could have a transformative impact on the whole north-western region. We cannot forget about phase 2 but we do need to see action, ground-breaking and progress on phase 1. We need to have metrics for success. There is a danger of underselling the potential of the Sligo line because of low passenger numbers. We need to see what success looks like for phase 1 so we can justify phase 2.

I thank the Minister of State for all his work on this. He has been steadfast in his support for the western rail corridor and indeed rail investment. I look forward to hearing his contributions and to supporting him in realising this significant project for the north west.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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Before calling the next speaker, I welcome to the Distinguished Visitors Gallery our great friends from South Dakota State University: Dennis Hedge, the provost and vice-president for academic affairs; Sally Gillman, director of the study-abroad programme; and Dr. Joseph Cassady, dean of the department of agricultural, food and environmental sciences. I am not sure if Dr. Cassady is any relation to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Rónán Mullen (Independent)
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Cassady is a good Irish name. Come west.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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The other guests from South Dakota State University are Rosemarie Nold, assistant dean and director of global agricultural leadership, and Joseph Santos, academic director and professor. They are most welcome to Ireland. I note they were out earlier with staff from University College Dublin, building on collaboration. Ireland is a gateway to Europe, but South Dakota, like Ireland, is a small state where you can get things done and you are always about one phone call away from the person who can make it happen. I thank our guests for coming to Seanad Éireann today.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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Are our guests coming to Galway?

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I believe they are going to the Minister of State’s house for tea.

Joanne Collins (Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the opportunity to speak on the all-island strategic rail review and to put on record the needs of Limerick and the greater mid-west when it comes to rail. I also welcome the all-island approach taken by the review. For far too long, transport planning has stopped at the Border, and too often it has actually stopped at the M50. For decades, successive Governments have presided over line closures, chronic underinvestment and a transport policy that overwhelmingly prioritised Dublin and its commuter belt. That is not balanced development; it is centralisation by neglect.

Limerick has the potential to be a true rail hub for the mid-west, connecting the western seaboard, the south and Dublin. The review identifies routes such as Limerick–Galway, Limerick–Cork and Limerick–Ballybrophy, but until we have new rolling stock and proper investment, those ambitions will remain promises on paper.

We are told that additional trains will not arrive until 2027 because the DART+ project will take priority. Once again, it is to stop at the M50. Limerick commuters already face overcrowding. Their link to Cork is irregular and the link to Dublin is painfully slow. A rail link to Shannon Airport is only a concept on paper, yet Dublin Airport, even with all its resources, will not see heavy rail until the 2040s. After decades of campaigning, the Foynes line is finally reopening, but only for freight. Passenger services will have to follow. The Foynes–Limerick line could be the backbone for the mid-west commuter network, linking people to jobs, education and Shannon Airport eventually.

The Dublin–Belfast economic corridor shows what ambition actually looks like: six ports, two airports, strong road and rail services, and growing cross-Border co-operation. Investing in high-speed rail along this corridor could reduce congestion, cut emissions and open up opportunities North and South. That is the real meaning of an all-island economy. However, to achieve balanced growth, that same ambition must reach Limerick, the west and the north west. Since the review was published, the Government has had several chances to act, yet the national development plan review contained nothing new for regional rail. The only big announcement was MetroLink but, again, it stops at the M50. The Minister of State is going to be sick of me saying that.

Budget 2026 included no new capital funding for rail. There was even talk of fare hikes. Raising fares while failing to expand regional services is not policy; it is punishment for living outside Dublin. There is a theme to my speech. We need to maintain the fare reductions and at the same time extend them to rural and regional services so no community is left behind.

Sinn Féin’s vision is a rail system that connects every part of this island – from Foynes to Derry, from Cork to Collooney and from Belfast to Dublin. Having the Dublin–Belfast economic corridor as the northern spine for transport and opportunity means completing the western rail corridor to Sligo, reopening the Navan line and giving cities like Limerick the same level of investment and ambition that Dublin has enjoyed for decades.

I do not often take the train. The first time I took a train, I was 15 years old, and the second time I took one was in February of this year to come to Dublin. I drive everywhere because I live in County Limerick. There is no public transport that can get me to where I need to go. If I want to go to Sligo from Limerick by train, I first have to drive for 45 minutes to get into Limerick city because there is no train station near me. I then have to go from Limerick station to Dublin, get off at Heuston Station to travel to Connolly Station, and then get a connection to Sligo. It takes seven hours to go from Limerick to Sligo by train. It is not right or fair to people living on that side of the country. It is crazy to think you would have to seven hours travelling to Sligo if you wanted to go there to see family or for another reason. It is no wonder people are still driving. We need a rail system that suits every part of this country.

Nessa Cosgrove (Labour)
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I welcome the Minister of State. His being here again is a reflection of the interest we have in rail in the west. He knows this well himself. For once, I am not going to be talking about the western rail corridor. I will refer to it only at the very end.

I have a picture to hand to show the significant rail gaps referred to in the all-Ireland rail review. The document recognises there are significant gaps in rail network coverage. There was never a truer word. Nothing grabs attention like a map. A picture paints a thousand words. From it, we can see the complete lack of provision in the north west. It is so obvious from the presence of all the Senators from the west how much they are interested in and need rail. My parents are both from Cork. If they want to see me, they have to travel to Dublin, get the train from Heuston to Connolly and then go across to Sligo. We have an interest in rail. Build it and they will come. I will get to that concept in a second but first I want to describe what we feel in the north west.

I compliment Dr. John Bradley of West on Track and his family. Dr. Bradley has worked so hard on this. The Minister of State is an advocate of his work. Dr. Bradley’s reports were dismissed but he has a huge legacy. The extension from Athenry to Claremorris is included in the plans, but would it not be brilliant if, before the next election, the line from Claremorris to Collooney were included, as Senator Mullen said?

Donegal, north Leitrim, north Sligo and areas of the North of Ireland are completely devoid of rail. North of Sligo and east of it, as far as the proposed line, there is a vast rail wilderness. There is a lack of hope if you look at Donegal, Cavan, north Sligo and north Leitrim. Recently, I visited the homestead of one of our heroes of the 1916 Rising, Seán Mac Diarmada, in Kiltyclogher.While Kiltyclogher feels remote today, the tour guide when we were there, who was wonderful, made the point that in 1915 Mac Diarmada made his way to Dublin from the local Glenfarne station, which was part of the Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway. Glenfarne and Kiltyclogher did not feel remote in 1916. They were very much a central part of a united Ireland with a functioning rail network. The title of the all-island rail review makes clear that the Border does not make sense in terms of rail infrastructure and the absence of railways makes our area of the nation more remote.

The attention shown in the plan to improving the cross-Border offering in the east, with the Belfast-Dublin line, is only right and demonstrates the importance of rail in our network with our neighbours. In this spirit, I welcome the long-term reinstatement of a spur from Letterkenny to Derry as well as Portadown to Mullingar. However, the lack of attention, the absence of railway and the lack of ambition to build railway infrastructure is symptomatic of the neglect shown to the north west as a region as a whole.

In terms of building capacity on the existing infrastructure between Sligo and Dublin - I use this train as I get it up every Tuesday and back every Thursday - the frequency, the length of the journey time and the capacity all need to be improved. I love the train. It is so comfortable. The Wi-Fi is really good on it. The plugs are really good on it. We have a lot of space. They are wonderful trains but we need more. We need more train lines and I suppose we need the catering cart - I will get to that in a second as well. We welcome the new carriages which came in last year and we are looking forward to receiving second-hand carriages when new ones come in on the east coast.

To move pastures from road to rail, travel needs to be quicker and more efficient. I can see in the railway review, because I spent a lot of time looking at it, that we have, on pages 103 to 105, a list of short-term, medium-term and long-term targets which set out potential projects which could be delivered by 2030, 2040 and 2050. The short-term targets in the review include introducing hourly services between Dublin and Belfast, Cork and Limerick, and Galway and Waterford. In terms of frequency, Sligo is relegated to an ambition of a two-hourly service. That is not a great level of ambition considering that the timetable is nearly two hours at present. It also directly contradicts exchanges that I have had with senior members of Irish Rail who have told me explicitly on two occasions that they are targeting a move to an hourly service within the next two years. I would like to know if the Minister of State could clarify that. Is there going to be a move to an hourly service?

A more urgent immediate ambition, and one which has been proven will work thanks to the great work of an engineering graduate of ATU Sligo - it is lucky that I am on the transport committee - is the delivery of an early morning commuter train from Longford to Sligo and possibly an evening return train. This would benefit students, workers, tourists and people attending medical appointments. No doubt some of my colleagues will probably raise this as well. I was reassured yesterday to hear on RTÉ radio Barry Kenny of Irish Rail say that he hoped in the relatively short term to be delivering this and that it does not want all the commuting to be focused on Dublin. To ensure this, a suggestion for an easy initiative to improve customer experience is the reintroduction of the catering cart. It is an easy win. It is back on the Dublin-Cork train. It is back on the Dublin-Belfast train. I hope we will get it. It is something that could be delivered quite easily.

To go on about the spine of Connacht, it is fantastic that the Athenry-Claremorris section has been committed to but, as Senators Mullen, Duffy and Collins said, we need it in the west of Ireland. We need this connectivity. The Minister of State will remember the wonderful song, "The West's Awake". Let the west be reawakened. Deputy Canney knows it because he lives there and he is a great advocate for it. Could we see an addendum put into the all-island rail review to review dealing exclusively with and positively discriminating in terms of the west and north west and that section of the railway? It is in public ownership and that section of the railway should be included in the review.

Shane Curley (Fianna Fail)
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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.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome Deputy Cormac Devlin and his guests, the Rev. Chris Hudson and his brother, Fintan, to the Gallery. I hope they are enjoying their visit to Leinster House today. They are very welcome.

I understand that Senators Nelson Murray and Brady wish to share time. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Linda Nelson Murray (Fine Gael)
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According to the most recent census, Meath had a population of 230,000 in 2022. No doubt the figure is more than that now. Only yesterday, I left my house in County Meath at 7 a.m. and it took two hours to get here - a 27 km journey. This morning, I left at 8 a.m. and I got here at 9.55 a.m. I cannot get those four hours back. We have an excellent bus service, the NX. When I say "excellent", it is excellent on weekends or at off-peak hours. Try getting it at peak times and there is a high chance it will drive straight past you. The people of Meath spend more time commuting to work than those of any other county in the whole of Ireland. We are desperate for the rail line in Navan. When the public consultation was released on this two years ago, 4,000 people responded, such was the want from our county. This project was promised 20 years ago and many people bought their houses in Navan in good faith expecting the train line, but nothing materialised.

The Minister of State mentioned in his opening statement that many of the train tracks are there since the 1800s. We had a train line in Navan from the 1850s. Some 175 years later, we learn that we are going to get the train. Consultants have been appointed and we are on our way. I was informed at a meeting with Iarnród Éireann that a route will be identified by the end of this year and decided upon by next year, with public consultation as part of the process. However, it is very tough waiting all the time for this and to hear people in Navan tell me they will not be around to see it happening. I want to assure the people of Navan and County Meath that they will be around to see it happening. When the Minister of State is looking at where he will spend his money under the NDP, I would urge him to put what he can for the rail line to come quickly to Navan in County Meath.

Paraic Brady (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for taking the time to be here today. I, too, would like to address some of the issues regarding the Sligo to Dublin rail line. As the Minister of State knows, we have two train stops in the county of Longford, one in Longford town and one in Edgeworthstown. The one in Edgeworthstown catered for the whole of the Cavan-north Longford region where we have seen a huge influx of people. Where this can have a huge effect is that house prices in Longford are approximately €320,000-odd. We have students renting accommodation in Dublin for extraordinary rents. It took roughly two hours and 15 minutes the last time I travelled from Longford to Dublin. I am asking that we would have, not a high-speed rail - I am not asking for the bullet train they have in China - but at least a train that travels at normal speed. Everyone knows the train itself is safe and there is no fuel burden. A person can get on and relax and do a day’s work on the train. They can sleep or do whatever they want to do. They can talk to somebody. It is a great spot to meet new people, even students. What it provides is a link for older people who do not like driving.

As the Minister of State knows, when one leaves Longford, we have a single carriageway the whole way from Longford to Mullingar that then comes on to a dual carriageway. As a county in the centre of Ireland, on both sides of Longford there is a motorway and dual carriageway, even down into the west. We feel we have been left behind, certainly when the road infrastructure has come in, so we certainly do not want to be left behind if a high-speed train comes in. I urge that we at least look at making that train high speed and put some investment into it.

A small issue has cropped up a number of times, which is that some of the machines on the platforms regularly are not working. When a person gets on the train, they cannot purchase a ticket on the train without paying a fine. That is something we need to address. Further, I know it is not the Minister of State’s remit, that it is private, but I hope the coffee cart on the Sligo train will be reinstalled sooner rather than later.

Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State, Deputy Canney, is very welcome to the House this evening. I echo his words of good luck to Mr. Jim Meade. He has been a phenomenal CEO and has worked very well with everybody across both Houses.

I have every faith in the Minister of State to get that rail line opened from Claremorris to Athenry. He has even converted me, and I was hedging my bets for a long time with the greenway and the blueway and the railway. I am absolutely converted. It is the right thing to do. Covid showed us that. We need it. Our population needs it. We do not have the capacity in Galway to support the young people from a housing perspective, but one thing is for certain, they are getting their education in Galway. They are driving up and filling the buses. If we had a functioning railway line, it certainly would happen.

I am not leaving the people of Sligo or Donegal or anywhere else out. We are always one step short in the west because we do not have the railroad. We do not have trains coming in but we have them coming from everywhere. We are leaving the cousins off in Mayo, Donegal and Sligo. From the perspective of the youth, they have changed. They are way ahead of the curve. They are quite happy not to have a car and to use public transport, and it has been made available to them. We have encouraged them over the past number of years. However, one thing is for certain, on a Sunday night, when you have a teenager going back to college in Dublin and they cannot get a ticket, you have to drive to Limerick Junction to put them on a train to Dublin. It is not that I mind going to Limerick Junction or anywhere else like that, but there are capacity issues. There is no doubt about that whatsoever. The trains are full, the youth are using them and we need to encourage them to do that.

On safe access to our trains, something I am sure the Minister of State read in The Connacht Tribune himself over the past week was an article about bringing animals on the train. It is not that it is not something we would encourage people to do, but certainly, after the fair in Ballinasloe, there were animals brought on the train and it made a lot of the passengers quite uncomfortable. We do need to ensure passengers are safe on our trains, the Luas and the DART. As a west of Ireland Minister of State at the Cabinet table, I have every faith Deputy Canney will ensure that, when that NDP purse is opened, he opens it good and wide for the people of Galway and the west and delivers on his ambition of a railway station in Tuam and in Ballyglunin so that people will be able to access that travel option. There is no pressure whatsoever because I have complete faith he will do it. He has already put in the funding for the regeneration of the platform. It is a shovel-ready project. What we now need to do is ensure that his Department works with him to deliver it.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State is very welcome. First, I acknowledge and commend both the Department of Transport and the Government on commissioning the all-Ireland strategic rail review and the advocacy of the then Minister, Deputy Ryan, and that of the Minister of State. The review is a coherent document and it gives us a picture of where we are at the moment and where we can get to in that vision, which is important for our rail network. The renewed investment in the country's rail infrastructure is very welcome. For too long it was a case of closures and retrenchment. Now it is a case of acknowledging the sustainable and dependable mode of transport that is rail. If we look at where we are at in Europe, we have more to do. The investment received and the work that has been done is hugely important. Looking closer to home, I have been a long-term advocate for the western rail corridor, as has the Minister of State, who has led the charge on this, along with people like Éamon Ó Cuív and Pauline O'Reilly. It is important that we acknowledge those because there were some difficult times, and I have to say there were some nasty online campaigns as well over the years. That was not pleasant.

Phase 1 of the western rail corridor reopened in March 2010 and, after a slow start, understandable in terms of the economic situation at the time, we have seen a growing service. More than 70,000 journeys took place in 2024, far above the levels anticipated during the planning of this. I look forward to investment in some of the stations in phase 1, which was previously inadequate in terms of the length of the station platforms. We need longer trains to cater for the demand and, obviously, longer platforms. For too long, passengers in the first phase had to stand for long periods because we did not have the extra carriages.

Oranmore station was built as part of phase 1. It is now an extremely busy station with a packed car park and work under way to facilitate a second platform and provide a public transport corridor to Galway for the new Oranmore suburb of Garraun, which has plans for large housing developments. Last week, the underpass was completed to help increase the capacity of Oranmore, and a multistorey carpark is also planned. None of this would have happened without phase 1 of the western rail corridor. It was criticised at the time. Those who advocated for it and supported it were laughed at. There is no one laughing now. It is seen as a strategic, proper, sustainable investment.

The next stop is Tuam and Claremorris, and it is very heartening to see the next phase of the western rail corridor included in the strategic review. Tuam, with a population of 10,000 and a hinterland of tens of thousands more, will be connected to Galway, Dublin, Limerick and Mayo by train. The station in Tuam, with its large land bank ,will be focused on investment, transport and business, fitting for the largest town in the county. Its residents will have an alternative mode of transport to Galway if they want to avoid the traffic jams around the city. Thousands of people from north Galway and south Mayor travel to Galway every day for college, work, healthcare and business. This takes too long, but at last, the decision to turn north from Athenry has been made. I hope I get an invitation to the turning of the sod, whenever that is, which I hope is soon. The redevelopment of Ceannt Station is very welcome and it is great to see the increase in capacity and number of platforms. I see the review indicates double-tracking the line between Athenry and Galway, and I wonder if there is a timeframe for that work.

There is no better builder of balanced regional development than good infrastructure. Along the Atlantic arc we need good roads, good grid capacity and good rail service.The review is very welcome. We need to see it implemented as a matter of urgency. I acknowledge the Western Inter-County Rail Committee and all the local authorities, from Clare to Donegal, that have supported the cause of the western rail corridor and done much to preserve the alignment and track. I also acknowledge the West on Track community organisation, which drove the project in a determined, professional and focused way, as well as my colleagues, Councillor Peter Feeney, the Minister of State, Councillor Michael Connolly and others in the region. Of course, Dr. John Bradley, who passed away recently, played a pivotal role as well. While Claremorris is the first phase, we need to progress this to Sligo and onwards towards Donegal. This is a great opportunity to connect the Atlantic corridor in terms of rail infrastructure.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I apologise. I am being tight on time because I am trying to fit everyone in, if that is okay. I call Senator Tully.

Pauline Tully (Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the all-island strategic rail review. It makes sense to plan our rail system on an all-island basis. The fact that it will be reviewed on a regular basis is also welcome to ensure that we are meeting the different targets set out, including the short-, medium- and long-term targets. I live in County Cavan where there are currently no rail services. Monaghan, Fermanagh, Tyrone, Donegal and north Leitrim do not have any rail services either. That leaves the whole of the north-west region without a rail service. We are in the bottom 20 of more than 200 EU regions for infrastructure development. I acknowledge there are plans to put in place a railway service form Portadown down through Monaghan and Cavan. I was told its timeline is around 2040, so I am not sure whether that is a medium- or long-term plan. That would still leave quite an amount of the north west without any connectivity. It is unfortunate because we had better connectivity 60 or 70 years ago. My parents remember using a rail service that came into Cavan, but next thing the whole thing was stopped. If the rail line had even been maintained at the time, it could have been upgraded. Instead, it was lifted and people were allowed to build over it and so forth. It is very unfortunate. I welcome the fact a rail service will be restored. I also support Senator Nelson Murray’s call for the rail service into Navan because that would help a lot of people from Cavan who would travel through Navan and on farther if they had a rail service from there.

At times, I use the M3 Parkway to park my car and take the train in, which connects at Clonsilla with the Maynooth train to get farther into Dublin. If the Maynooth train is late coming back from, say, Connolly Station or Drumcondra and people miss the connecting train to the M3 Parkway, they end up waiting most of an hour for the next train. It could be tied in better. If the train coming back to Clonsilla is late, most of the people going to the M3 Parkway are coming from that Clonsilla train.

Cavan people can use those train services, but a lot of Cavan people, especially those living in the south Cavan area, use the Sligo train. They board it somewhere in Longford or Edgeworthstown or maybe they go over to Dromod in Leitrim. For people working or going to college in Dublin, that train leaves Dublin at 5 p.m. Most people do not finish work finish work to get to Connolly Station by 5 p.m., however. They then have to wait until 7.30 p.m. A lot of people depend on that train but it is regularly late. People who get it in the morning are often late for work or college and it is often delayed in the evening by at least 15, if not 30, minutes. When it arrives at different stops, there are sometimes Local Link services that are not connected up with the train times. It would make sense to connect them so that people can do their whole journey using public transport rather than a five-minute delay causing people to miss the Local Link service, leaving them waiting half an hour or longer.

We need to ensure we have connections with our airports as well. The MetroLink to connect Dublin city with the airport in Dublin will be great when, or if, it happens. We also have airports in our different regions, such as Knock and Shannon airports. Public transport is needed in order that people can access those airports and that people, as I said, are less dependent on their cars. We need to do so for environmental reasons. As Senator Rabbitte said, a lot of young people are keen to use public transport for all the right reasons and we need to do as much as possible to ensure they can do so without depending on the car.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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I propose that we extend the sitting for an additional ten minutes. We will call the Minister of State to respond at 6 o'clock.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Is that agreed? Agreed. I thank the Minister of State for agreeing to the extension. I call Senator Flaherty.

Joe Flaherty (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for facilitating the additional time to hear the very important issues from Longford. I know that is why the time was extended. Obviously, at the risk of giving a history lesson, we could blame Henry Ford for the state of our rail service. That is probably why we have no one from Cork in the Chamber to take responsibility because they claim him as a Cork man. Certainly, we had a much better rail service 150 years ago. Obviously, the advent of the car and car transport and the fact that it became so cheap to buy cars changed how we travelled in Ireland. We are now looking to go full circle to some degree. When I hear people talking about the western rail corridor, I wonder would they swap the Wild Atlantic Way for it, large tracts of which are built on what was a railway track. Would they swap one for the other? It is important we get more people back on our trains.

I am delighted to hear many people mention Jim Meade. He was a force for great good in Irish Rail. He drove through phenomenal change and he took on the agenda of getting us back on trains. We have a lot to be proud of with our rail service in Ireland, notwithstanding the challenges we have. In comparison with the UK, where there are multiple operators, we have one single operator in Ireland. Our trains are much cheaper and efficient and our staff are better. We have a lot of positives but we certainly need to make rail travel more accessible.

Speaking specifically on the Sligo to Longford rail line, when I met Jim Meade, he assured me at the time that Irish Rail was conducting a review of the route at that stage to establish the exact point where two trains cannot pass each other. For example, if both the Dublin-bound train and the Sligo-bound train are coming, one has to stop, which can often add up to 45 minutes to the journey time. The journey time at the minute is 2 hours and 15 minutes. If that journey time could be reduced to one hour and a half, it would mean that it would be quicker to travel to Dublin by rail than by car. I am being told unofficially that the cost of those works would be €250 million. In the context of the infrastructure challenges we have in Ireland at the minute, that is money well spent and should be included in the national development plan. As Senator Brady referenced, Longford is very much in the commuter district now. Those early morning trains in particular are full. If we were able to achieve that journey time reduction, it would ease the situation with regard to the demand for housing.

In those discussions, Mr. Meade assured us that we would have an hourly train service from Longford to Dublin by early 2027. It is critical we follow through on that. Ideally, if we could get that earlier, it would be much better. We also need a later train. Mr. Meade told me that, as part of those plans, we would have a late train leaving Dublin at 8 p.m., which would be welcome. I would like to see that go to 9 o'clock, but his issue in that regard was the time the train would be arriving in Sligo for staff. We need more late evening trains to take account of people trying to get to Dublin for events and concerts.

Many people have mentioned the food trolley or the food carriage. I listened to Mr. Barry Kenny speak on the radio during the week where he explained that it is not Irish Rail that provides those food carts. Rather, it is an outside provider which Irish Rail pays to provide this service. There is an opportunity for Irish Rail in this regard. If it works with local communities, it may find a young person who wants to open a food truck outside the station. I am sure Irish Rail is not getting that food carriage service cheap. If it could redirect that money and give it to the local community or some guy who wishes to start up a food business, let those people operate and it would be money very well spent. I hope engagement could be had in that regard.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. I know he fully understands the benefits of rail travel. I also wish to be associated with the comments regarding Jim Meade. I used meet Jim regularly enough travelling the early morning trains from Ennis to Dublin. He is a good Clare man. I also wish Ms Mary Considine, the incoming CEO of Irish Rail, the very best of luck. She is another Clare woman. The future of our rail service is in good hands.

I have three issues. First, I 100% support the Minister of State, Senator Kyne and others on the western rail corridor. When the Ennis to Galway section was opened, people said it would never work or be used. To be fair, at the start, it was not regularly used.Now, though, you cannot get a seat on it in the mornings because of the amount of students travelling to Galway, the amount of people who are working in Galway and travelling from Ennis, and the people from Galway travelling to Limerick and Ennis as well. It is absolutely fantastic to see how successful it has been. We could do with another railway station or two on the line and with taking over some of the crossings to speed it up a little bit. Crusheen is an obvious railway station. An economic benefit study was done recently, so I would be interested to hear the Minister of State's views on Crusheen railway station. The Moyross station is happening, which is very welcome. We need more frequency of services between Galway and Limerick specifically, Ennis and Limerick, and Ennis and Galway. There are flooding challenges at Ballycar. An interdepartmental and interagency report was done on that. It will cost a few million euro but at some stage - hopefully, later rather than sooner - we are going to see the flooding back and buses transporting people, which is not ideal and not what we need to be seeing.

I travel by train every week, sometimes daily. One of the benefits are the staff. The Iarnród Éireann staff are outstanding. Obviously, everyone would like to able to get a cup of coffee on the train and it would be nice to see that service return.

There is a discrepancy. When I am in Dublin, I stay in Maynooth a lot of the time and I get the trains in. People tell me on the trains that it is good value, yet it is dearer to get the train from Ennis to Limerick or from Ennis to Galway. These journeys are more or less the same distance. We need to see a kind of standardised rail cost and ticket fare. Why should somebody living in Ennis be paying more to go to Limerick, which is more or less the same distance as from somewhere like Maynooth or Kilcock to Dublin? That needs to be looked at in the upcoming review.

Are there any plans for a rail link from Ennis to Shannon and Shannon to Limerick? That would be very useful. I welcome the fact that we are looking at developing the Foynes to Limerick route. I know the Leas-Chathaoirleach would agree with me that a DART-type system around Limerick would be very useful because the structure is there. It would make sense if there was light rail system supporting Limerick city.

Investing in rail ticks a lot of boxes and it achieves a lot. Rail transports a lot of people very quickly. The train services out to Kildare in the evenings and in the mornings are full. You can barely get standing room, so this proves it works. From a Clare perspective, I would like to see more frequent services between Ennis, Limerick and Galway, I would like to see the Crusheen railway station back on the agenda, and I would like to see more frequent services between the two cities and Ennis.

Niall Blaney (Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State, Deputy Canney, is welcome to the House. I thank him very much for outlining the plans thus far in relation to all-island rail projects.

We have had statements in the House numerous times, certainly during the last term, where the all-island rail review was talked about. In particular, I remember when the former Minister, Eamon Ryan, was here. We were pushing hard to have it published. The Northern Ireland minister, Ms Nichola Mallon, was a great advocate for the Belfast-Derry link, given the massive population between those two cities and the substandard level of rail there at the moment. In fairness to then Minister, Eamon Ryan, he wanted to hold back the rail review until a new minister was in place once Ms Mallon stood down.

What role does the Minister for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland now play in the all-island rail review and in these projects? I have concerns on a number of fronts. Back in 2000 when the first national development plan was announced for road motorways, we were left out at a time when there was the same daily traffic at the halfway point between Dublin and Donegal in Omagh as the Galway-Dublin route had. The latter has its motorway now but we are still fighting. I heard a Sinn Féin representative talking about the Sinn Féin vision. The Sinn Féin vision has left us, now for the second time, without the ability to go ahead with the A5. I wonder what impact, or what role the Northern Ireland minister, has and how much the North is pushing the Belfast-Derry route.

City status has now been given to the region. I listened to my colleague talking earlier about looking to have money for a business case analysis. We do not want and do not need a business case. We have been kicked down the road far enough. We have the population. The connectivity from Letterkenny to Derry is in the review. We need to get things moving now. Currently, the rail journey from Derry to Belfast takes 2.5 hours. You would not need a massive spend on the existing rail line to get it up to a decent standard. A smart approach would be to look at that sooner rather than later.

We are finding it hard to catch up in the west and the north west. Given that we have lost out so much since the 1960s, particularly in relation to rail, I would have thought more emphasis would be put on the rail review being front-loaded and bringing the areas that were deprived up to speed with the rest, as other Members have talked about. I ask the Minister of State to go back and have a review of our strategy. Moreover, I would like to see the rail review actually set out a programme of events whereby we timeline these projects, as TII does for roadway projects. Until we get there, we are not really going to know where we are with any drive for rail or with when our projects are going to start and finish. It has to happen. All of those projects have to be laid out.

In Donegal, I do not get a chance to take coffee on a train - I take a coffee in my car at the local petrol station - but I look forward to the day that I do. Connecting Donegal is not that difficult. There are three avenues. Outside the Down connection, there is also the avenue we used to go by, down by Dungannon, and also a connection via Sligo.

One of the picturesque old photographs still around is of the Barnesmore Gap. The old train used to go there and there are sill photographs of it here and there. I heard what somebody said about upping tourism. It would be a great advantage to the Wild Atlantic Way to have a better rail service in the west.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Before the Minister of State gets up to speak, and as Senator Conway has said, a light rail system in Limerick would be welcome any time. I just want to put that the record. The Minister of State is very welcome.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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There is no pressure at all on me, I would say.

I thank Members for their contributions. Sometimes, I have to pinch myself when I hear people talking nowadays compared to in 2004 when I joined the intercounty rail committee. We were maybe an organisation that was not proud of what we were doing. We had the vision but it took us a long time to get to a stage where we could convince people, including politicians. Between 2016 and 2020 - actually, it was later - we drafted a letter that we sent to the then Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan. We had every party and none sign that letter supporting railway. When I listen to what everybody wants, I say, "Jeepers, there must be something here". And there is. We have a huge success story but we have not matched it with investment over the years. A simple example is the western rail corridor phase 1 from Ennis to Athenry. That line sees 750,000 passenger journeys per year now. Back when it was opened in 2010 or 2011, that number was something like 132,000.

When people say they want more carriages - I talk to Mr. Jim Meade about this - it means we would have to extend the platforms. That is grand and we will get on and do it. It is a great story that we are talking about it. I do not think there is anybody in the House who has any doubts about what we want to do, and not just in the context of the all-island rail review. At this stage, I want to do one thing. I also acknowledge the work of the Athair Mícheál Mac Gréil. This is just the vision he had back in the seventies when the railway line between Athenry and Claremorris was closed. He insisted that Irish Rail leave the line in place. Now we can actually do that project without the need for a rail order. We are refurbishing it. The same thing has happened between Limerick and Foynes Port. That is being done. The railway is there. It is freight only at the moment, but it has the capacity to take passengers. The next phase is to put in all the signalling and junctions and then commission the line and test it with trains. I am expecting that we will have that up and running with trains on it in 2027. We will build on that then.

I am picking these out as I go along. Taking Sligo as an example, I refer to the Claremorris to Collooney line. Irish Rail has confirmed that this line is not available for anything other than railway use. Going back to 2004, there was a very slim chance that we were going to build any railway or do anything with rail. The whole thing has changed. What we need to do is change with it and change our attitude. People in my neck of the woods are wondering about the western rail corridor. What we are doing with all of the projects is that some of them are with the European Investment Bank, which is preparing the cost-benefit analyses. I hope to have a version of those in the next month or so. Then we will see what we are going to do.

As Senator Blaney mentioned, we need a programme. That programme will set out all the projects we have to do and will indicate when they are going to start and when they are going to finish. Some projects are shovel ready. There are about 20 passing lanes needed in different places around Ireland. Planning permission and all of that is required in respect of those. These passing lanes mean that there can be additional frequency. Senator Kyne knows how long it took to get the Oranmore project up and running. Irish Rail has the expertise to help us deliver on our ambition.

One of our sons was in London for 14 years. He never had a car because he had access to public transport. If he needed a car, he could hire one for a weekend if he was going someplace. He never needed a car. We have train stations that are closed. If they reopened, there is probably ten to 15 acres of land beside each of them that could be used for park-and-ride facilities and to allow pedestrian access. Most of these stations are located within the centre of the towns. The philosophy is easy. What we need to do is get going with it. My commitment to the House is that the Department and I will continue to work closely on this to ensure that we get projects that are shovel ready started as quickly as possible and that we prepare other projects in order that we will have a pipeline for the next 20 years.

In relation to the Sligo line from Claremorris to Collooney, there will be a review of the all-island rail review in about ten years or so. It might be quicker than that depending on the success of projects ahead of it. When Eamon Ryan decided to build a line from Limerick to Foynes, he probably tripled the cost-benefit analysis case for opening the western rail corridor because now there is a port in close proximity. We also have a connection between Ballina, Westport and all these places down to Clare and then on to Foynes. We can go down to Cork and to Waterford Port. We have three ports. I call it the Atlantic rail corridor. It is also the Atlantic economic corridor. We need rail to do that.

There are a lot of eggs in the basket. I have to start picking out eggs, cracking them and frying them. How many projects can we do over the lifetime of the national development plan in order that there will be a continuous roll-out? Can we have confidence in the industry and civil engineering business to build these over the next ten, 15 or 20 years? It is important that we answer these questions. That is where I am at with it at the moment. There were a lot of issues, including safety. When the number of train journeys per year increase from 132,000 to 750,000, you are going to have problems. Safety is an issue. That is being looked at by Irish Rail in conjunction with the Department.

Just going through the other things, we also have the issue of Meath. I know all about it. Deputy Gillian Toole lives in this area.

Linda Nelson Murray (Fine Gael)
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I will have to take the Minister of State's word for it. Say something wonderful now.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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That is on track to get moving. Sometimes these things move slowly when there is a public consultation or whatever. It is not a shovel-ready project, but we will push on with it. In addition, people are looking for additional stops and connection from Loughrea. These are things we can look at. If they make sense, then we are in business. Our biggest success story over the past ten years is public transport. That is why we were talking about doing more and more. We are demanding more and more now. It is great. The challenge for the Government is to get the money to deliver it.

We have a good national development plan, which gave us a good kick-start to get the next five to ten years planned out. When you build a railway line, it will be there for 100, 150 or 200 years. It is that kind of an investment. The amount of maintenance required is not like a road. It is simpler. Irish Rail has Jim Meade as its CEO; he has built a fantastic team. I visited Kent station in Cork, Corbett station in Limerick and Galway. I have other places to go to. When you look at the work they are doing. It is not up in big lights, but I was in Cork station and I thought it would not look out of place in any city in Europe. That is the good news. All they are saying is that is they need more carriages and faster services and that they need them now.

As regards people getting a cup of coffee, in fairness, Irish Rail has tendered the contract out. It stopped during Covid. After that the prices went through the roof. Some of the services are back. It is looking at how it can innovate. We do not need to get breakfast on the train; we are interested here in people getting a cup of coffee on the way onto the train. There are ways we can do it. We are looking at that to see how we can improve the service and the delivery of the service.

Senator Conway mentioned Crusheen and Moyross in Clare. I have seen the plans and the feasibility study for Crusheen. It is an exciting project. That is something we have given the Department to have a look at. Moyross has gone for planning permission.

I am back to Donegal-----

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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If the Minister of State can deal with it, I wish to raise the issue of flooding.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I will come to that. Going back to Donegal, that area is ripe for development in terms of connecting with Derry, down through Donegal into Sligo, connecting the north-west and the south of Ireland. We have an advantage in that we have the tag of being a lagging region or a region in decline. We are in NUTS II. Let us make use of all of the acronyms to go to Europe. I have asked my officials to do that in order to try to garner more funding to positively discriminate toward this region to allow us to can tilt the balance. That is the only way to do it.

Shane Curley (Fianna Fail)
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Hear, hear.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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We have TEN-T funding for some projects, including the western rail corridor, but, again, you have to apply for it. The funding is there, so we should apply for it aggressively.

Back to Ballycar. I was down there in 2016 when I was Minister of State for the OPW. We set up the interdepartmental working committee. Everything was going fine until somebody mentioned the price tag and asked who was going to pay for it. Everybody ran for cover. I will check it out and see where it is at because it is a huge negative if there is a flood and you cannot use a train for maybe six or eight weeks. It is disrespectful for the passengers who use them and to Irish Rail to have to try to manage all of that. It also creates a lack of confidence in passengers when they continue to use it or buy a car or whatever.

I have tried to cover as much as I possible. I cannot disagree with anything I have heard.I want to make sure that we try to squeeze as much as possible out of the lemon and get as much done as possible over the next five years and over the ten years after that. I thank Senators for their contributions. The Chair said, "Light rail for Limerick". Is it going to Galway as well?

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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Let us get the ring road done first.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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People say we should have light rail in Limerick and Galway. In fairness to the people who are advocating for that in Galway city, research was carried out. It has been deemed that it would be feasible in certain circumstances. What we need to do is prepare for it rather than saying we will do it. Let us create the corridors with buses first and plant the light rail on top. The way we can do it now is a lot simpler than was the case 20 years ago, in that there is light engineering. Works do not have to be as disruptive as when they where done in Dublin. You set the rail 18 inches into the ground and do not have to dig huge foundations. We have all of that going with us. We have a journey to take.

I am delighted that so many Senators waited for the debate. That demonstrates the interest. Senator Mullen apologised because he had to go. I do not know if I gave him any answers that he liked, but like everybody else, he is passionate. It is not just regional. It is an issue right across the country.

In the national development plan, €2 billion is allocated to MetroLink. That is in addition to what is in the budget for public transport. It is important to state that money is not being robbed from the public transport allocation. It is a stand-alone project, and it is important. If I dare say it, the project gives us an opportunity to press further for connections to Knock and Shannon airports. It is important that Senators keep that on the agenda, as I will.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Before we adjourn, I welcome former Deputy Olivia Mitchell and her grandchildren. I hope they enjoy their visit to Leinster House.