Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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65. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans for commuter rail development in Galway in view of major traffic congestion issues in Galway and our commitments under the Paris Agreement to reduce carbon emissions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6107/17]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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The Rail Review was published in November 2016 and a public consultation on the report concluded on 18 January.  The purpose of the consultation was to open up a public discussion on the current and future role of rail in Ireland as well as the funding of the rail network and services.  No decisions will be taken on the future of the rail network or rail services until the public consultation process has been evaluated.

As the Deputy will be aware, the National Transport Authority (NTA) collaborated closely with Galway City Council and Galway County Council on the development of the Galway Transport Strategy which was adopted in 2016.  I am advised that the Strategy indicates that demand would be insufficient to warrant a high-capacity rail-based system in Galway. Rail services would have to operate at low frequencies in order to meet demand and this would be less attractive to passengers than a higher frequency bus-based service.  Buses provide greater flexibility within transport systems, catering for high volumes of demand in the city centre as well as diverging out to less-dense suburban areas.

Funding is provided by my Department, through the NTA, for the provision of public transport and sustainable transport infrastructure in the Regional Cities, including Galway, in order to encourage people to use public transport or more active travel modes including cycling and walking in order to reduce congestion and tackle emissions from transport.  The Regional Cities Programme funds the development of bus lanes, green routes, other bus priority measures and safety measures for pedestrians and cyclists. 

In line with the Paris Agreement and the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015, the National Mitigation Plan, is currently being developed. The draft mitigation plan will be available for extensive public consultation before being submitted for approval to Government. Transport will, of course, have to play a significant role on the national mitigation effort and the investment being made in public transport and sustainable transport measures in order to promote modal shift will be critical in this regard.