Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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627. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if European funding is available for the railway system, for example, the re-opening of Dunleer railway station in County Louth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7952/15]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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EU co-funding is potentially available for qualifying rail projects under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) 2014-2020. The vast bulk of the CEF funding is provided for projects on the Trans European Network (TEN-T) Core Network, which on the island of Ireland comprises the Cork-Dublin-Belfast rail line and the freight only line to Shannon-Foynes Port.

All TEN-T projects put forward under CEF must be supported by the relevant Member State, demonstrate that it will  contribute to developing the Core European rail network and have a strong business case including a positive Cost Benefit Analysis.  In addition there must be a committed national funding source for the balance of funding which could be as high as 90%.

Under the current capital plan the focus of Exchequer funding available for heavy rail is on protecting existing assets and maintaining safety standards. There is no Exchequer funding available for the re-opening of train stations such as Dunleer. Moreover CIE is in a difficult financial position and it has no resources of its own available to fund new stations. 

If additional funds become available under the next capital plan currently under consideration, there will be many competing projects from all transport modes in all regions.  Any additional funds will be prioritised for projects for which there is a clear need, which are affordable, have a sound business case and add value to existing infrastructure. The availability of non-Exchequer funding sources including under TEN-T will also be taken into account in prioritising projects.