Cabinet Committees
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-19
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Peadar Tóibín (AON), Meath West

County Meath is the fastest-growing county in the country and Navan is the largest town in the country without a rail line. Some 90,000 people are commuting from Meath daily and 60,000 of those are commuting by car because of the lack of a public transport option. It is taking between three and four hours to get back and forth to work every day. People are living in commuter hell. It is costing them in terms of family time and in their pocket, and it is also impacting the environment. The rail line was first proposed by Fianna Fáil in 1994. Its earliest delivery date is 2036. People who started working when it was announced will be on the pension by the time it is completed. It is glacially slow. The proposed railway order for that rail line has been delayed from 2026 to 2027 and now to 2028. Why can we not get planning right in this country? The Meath on Track campaign has done a terrific job in pushing this project forward and there will be a public consultation tomorrow in relation to the routes, and it will be announced.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-19/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:46+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-19