Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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124. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will seek to have the Western Rail Corridor included in the TEN-T programme in advance of the publication of the all-Ireland strategic rail review as has been done in the case of the DART+ project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21091/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The EU Commission published its proposal to revise the TEN-T Regulation in December and negotiations on the text are underway in Brussels. These negotiations are expected to continue until at least the first quarter of 2023.

In its proposal, the Commission updated the map of Ireland's TEN-T rail network to reflect the alignment of the DART+ South West project. The design phase of this project is underway and was awarded €8.8 million in funding from the EU's Connecting Europe Facility in 2020.  Information on this and other elements of the DART+ Programme can be found on the DART+ website. 

Regarding Ireland's wider rail network, the all-island Strategic Rail Review, which is being undertaken in co-operation with the Department for Infrastructure Northern Ireland, is ongoing. This Review will set the direction of the development of Ireland's rail network for years to come. It will consider the scope for improved rail services along existing and potential rail corridors, such as the Western Rail Corridor. As the Review is focused on inter-urban and inter-regional connectivity, Dublin commuter rail including the DART+ project is not included in its scope.

The results of the Review are expected in towards the end of this year and my Department will seek to have these results reflected in the TEN-T maps.