Written answers
Tuesday, 19 July 2016
Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Rail Network Expansion
Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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85. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to establish a rail link between County Donegal and neighbouring rail networks which operate in counties in Northern Ireland and here; and if he has considered the possible economic benefit which such a project would accrue for both the north-west region and the all-island economy as a whole. [22171/16]
Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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The current position regarding the funding of the railways in Ireland is that the bulk of funding is provided to Iarnród Eireann for the maintenance and renewal of the heavy rail network. Analysis has shown that the Exchequer contribution for the heavy rail network per annum is considerably below the amount required to maintain the existing network.
In an environment where funding remains constrained, it is not possible to make exchequer funding available to open new rail links in the North West, or anywhere else on the network and no such funding has been provided in the Capital Plan.
Mike O'Meara
Posted on 7 Sep 2016 11:52 am (Report this comment)
It looks to me like Minister Ross is again, like his predecessors, a prisoner of the anti-rail civil servants in the Department of Transport.
Any kind of proposals for rail expansion are always viewed with horror by the civil servants and they will do their best to ensure their Minister is entirely on-message in the Dail.
A rail link from Letterkenny to Derry as suggested by Deputy Doherty would be viable and would open up Donegal to Belfast and beyond. In the longer term NI Eailways will be running direct services between Derry and Dublin. A further link to Donegal would not only bring benefits to the North West, it would show that Dublin is serious about not isolating Donegal any further from the rest of the State.
At what point do our elected politicians take courage and take control of the state from the unelected elite who have ruled this country since independence?