Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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675. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to reopen the Tuam to Athenry railway line in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25882/15]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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​The extension of the Western Rail Corridor was postponed by the Government in 2011.  Furthermore, under the current capital plan the key priority with the level of resources available for heavy rail is  to protect existing infrastructure and to maintain safety standards.  In 2015 capital funding of €118 million will be provided for this  purpose from a total budget of €269 million for public transport. This is still below the required level for the existing network. My first priority therefore if additional Exchequer funding is made available  for heavy rail is to increase the funding for steady state maintenance and renewal programmes. This will improve the performance of the existing network. There will not therefore be Exchequer funding  to reopen heavy rail lines anywhere on the network. 

For such projects to be  prioritised there would have to be a very strong business case and clear evidence of need such as an ability to address congestion.