Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 11: To ask the Minister for Transport if he will introduce measures to revitalise rail freight here in view of the fact that just approximately 1% of imported goods are transported by rail; his views on introducing an incentive such as a rail freight subsidy on a per tonne basis for materials that are transferred from existing road freight onto rail freight; if he has examined the programme of the Scottish Executive to encourage rail freight; his views on emulating same; the amount of the rail network here currently electrified; the measures he plans to introduce to develop a more widely electrified rail network; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13686/09]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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There is substantial ongoing current and capital Exchequer investment in the development and operation of the Irish railway network. Total Exchequer funding allocated to Iarnród Éireann for 2008 amounted to more than €720 million and freight services benefit from this investment also.

I propose to establish in the coming months a forum on the movement of goods as set out in Smarter Travel — A Sustainable Transport Future, which was published earlier this year. My Department is currently undertaking preparatory work on the membership, tasks, and timescales for the forum. The forum will address both economic competitiveness and environmental sustainability matters associated with the movement of goods by air, sea, rail, and road. The realistic potential for rail freight and its role within an integrated freight transport strategy including issues such as a rail freight subsidy and international experience in the promotion of rail freight will be among the matters explored by the forum. When the forum has deliberated, the question of introducing additional funding for the railways to promote rail freight will be considered at that time and also in the context of other demands for funding in the transport sector and the level of availability of Exchequer funding at that time.

In the meantime, Iarnród Éireann continues to pursue a policy of growing its rail freight business where opportunities present and of returning the rail freight business to profitability. In that context, Iarnród Éireann has made progress in recent years in growing the rail freight business in areas where it holds a competitive advantage over road haulage, e.g. large volumes or trainloads over longer distances, which are not time sensitive. The rail freight market has been fully liberalised since 1 January 2007, and while no applications have been made for entry to the market to date, any expressions of interest would be welcomed.

The position regarding the electrification of the rail network is that only the DART line from Malahide to Greystones is electrified at present. Transport 21 provides for the completion of the electrified DART Underground project by 2015. It is anticipated that the existing DART line will be extended (through electrification) as far as Balbriggan and that the Maynooth line would be electrified as far as Maynooth, and the Kildare line as far as Hazelhatch. The start and completion dates of Transport 21 projects in planning, such as the DART Underground project, will in each case be determined by the outcome of public consultation, the statutory planning approval process, the public procurement process and the availability of financial resources.