Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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285. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if a feasibility study has been implemented in accordance with the capital plan to examine options for expanding freight on the railways; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43116/18]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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My Department is reviewing how it intervenes in the various freight modes of road, rail, maritime and air, to identify how we can best support all involved in the logistics chain, including producers, retailers, importers, exporters and transport providers. The proportion of freight in Ireland moved by rail is low at present, at a little over 1% of total domestic freight tonnage. Under the Government’s Capital Plan, the key priority for investment in the rail network is to protect investments made to date and to maintain safety standards. In the context of national and EU objectives to shift to lower-emission modes of transport, growth in the role of rail freight is desirable and my Department will continue, in co-operation with Iarnrod Eireann, to examine how such growth may be promoted.