Where complaints and allegations are made about the illegal transfer of either munitions, parts of munitions or dual goods, items that could be used for military use, that is taken very seriously. We have a process that is long-standing in Irish law. Our legislation is very clear in that regard, with domestic orders going all the way back to 1973 and reaffirmed in 1989. I take the allegations seriously. It is appropriate that those allegations are given due care and consideration in a structured and forensic way. T…

I never turned my back on Donegal.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ucht an cheist seo a ardú, ach níl sé ceart faoi ar chor ar bith. He is not correct at all in his assertion. We have the largest ever national development plan, with €105 billion of investment between now and the end of the decade, and €245 billion-plus in total. Those are the facts. Now it is about delivery and we are seeing lots of our projects across the country coming through planning and starting to commence. I am sure the Deputy shares our commitment under the NDP and welco…

Capital has been secured through the NDP. It is a fully funded multi-annual plan. In the coming weeks, each Department, including my own, will publish departmental NDP plans setting out specific projects. I could stand here for the next two hours listing the projects that are under way but I will give only a couple of examples. Phase 1 of the Cork area commuter rail programme is scheduled to be completed next year. There are ongoing station upgrades at Galway Ceannt and Oranmore, as well as the construction of a ne…

Last year we saw the highest number of public transport passenger journeys that we had ever seen. There were about 330 million passenger journeys. The good news is that in the month of August we were up about 10.5% on the comparable month last year. We want to maintain a sustainable and affordable public transport system. I advise the Deputy not to believe everything he reads in the newspapers in that regard. A balance is required to ensure that we continue investment in our public transport services and also inves…

I thank the Deputy for his question, which follows on very much from the question asked by his party's spokesperson. The Deputy will be aware that transport was one of the four prioritised areas for investment under this NDP review and we secured a core allocation of €22.3 billion across the next five years, with a further €2 billion allocated from the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund to assist with the delivery of MetroLink. The allocation is significant both as a share of the overall NDP investment and in …

I thank the Deputy. He is advocating strongly for his own area and I believe he would agree that while a lot of progress has been made in the past five or ten years on infrastructural investment and infrastructure full stop, as our population - thankfully - continues to grow and as our economy thankfully is still in full employment because of the hard work of our people and the economic and policy decisions made by this Government and the previous one, we must make sure we catch up where there are infrastructural d…

To ensure balanced regional development, the national planning framework will guide that and the NDP itself. As for the commitments we have made in the programme for Government, the two parties and the Independents came together to ensure and commit to a balanced regional development and we will ensure that it happens. This morning, I met the incoming new chief executive of Iarnród Éireann at Heuston Station. That was on the occasion of our announcement of the companion pass for the over-70s that means over 500,000…

I thank Deputy Boland. Like the Deputy, I am eager to see next generation ticketing rolled out on the Irish public transport system. This will be across the whole Twenty-six Counties, across our whole transport system, that is, rail, bus and Luas. I look forward to seeing its introduction as part of BusConnects Dublin before ultimately being delivered across the entire public transport network. I acknowledge there is a sense of frustration among many that contactless systems of payment are not available here as the…

To be fair, the contract was only awarded in August 2024, so that is how long we have been waiting. It is now the end of September 2025. I met the chief executive who came to my offices in Leeson Lane. I put to him the very point the Deputy put about the national train control centre. There are many reasons for that overrun, but it will deliver a state-of-the-art centre. Having said that, the company has delivered ticketless systems across the world and done so very well. I have confidence that it will be able to d…

The NTA has a lot under its remit. I have confidence it will deliver it. I have met the programme manager and have asked many of the questions the Deputy just put. That is my job and I should do so. It is a significant investment on the part of the Exchequer. It will make a big difference to commuters. I mentioned earlier in responses to colleagues in the House the significant increase in public transport journeys we are seeing. People are responding to affordable, sustainable and punctual public transport. We can …

I propose to take Questions Nos. 99 and 119 together. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ucht na gceisteanna tábhachtacha. Aontaím léi faoi chathair na Gaillimhe. The National Transport Authority is currently developing the Galway metropolitan area transport strategy in conjunction with Galway City Council and Galway County Council. It will replace the existing Galway transport strategy the Deputy referred to, which was adopted in 2016. It is important to note that while the development continues, investment in Ga…

Regardless of the Deputy’s own views, and she has taken a position on the ring road, one could discuss the delays and why it has taken so long. People have had their say and there are judicial reviews. That is the planning process. The Deputy mentioned the Department’s own study and the reality that, even if that road was built, it would be under pressure but Galway - the Deputy lives in Galway and I know it extremely well, too - is under ferocious pressure because that road is not built. I am a big supporter of pu…

I explained in my initial answer that the light rail feasibility study, as the Deputy knows, had been published. What I am trying to say is how all of that knits together. The road is an important part of it. A simple question that I could ask in countering what the Deputy said, and respecting the position she is taking, is whether the traffic situation in Galway would be better with an outer ring road. It would be, unquestionably. We want to get people out of cars, too. I am a supporter of light rail, heavy rail a…

I have said I will take cognisance of this and, in fairness, Deputy Connolly has raised it previously. Certainly it is something on which I will revert with regard to what other measures can be taken in the interim. We are doing work on the commuter rail network as Deputy Connolly knows. Significant work is being done at Ceannt Station, Oranmore Station and other stations. I take Deputy Connolly's point on park and ride and I will revert to her on it.

Not being flippant but I also saw some really good shops in Heuston Station, and good work has been done at stations throughout the network whereby people can buy a drink, a bottle of water or a cup of tea. Having said this, to be fair-----

What was that?

I will answer Deputy Daly. This is an issue he has raised previously with regard to when catering services will be rolled out again. I completely understand people's wish to see services return on all rail lines. However, if there is a choice between the taxpayer funding actual rail services or catering services on trains I am clear, as I have been previously, that taxpayer funding is best directed towards providing rail services themselves. I understand from Iarnród Éireann that it has been working to restore cate…

To answer Deputy Daly's question, I have encouraged Iarnród Éireann and the NTA to explore other avenues to support the wider reintroduction of catering services. I was honest with Deputy Daly about the costs. If the NTA were to award a contract at four times the cost of what operated prior to Covid, questions would rightly be asked about it. I have asked the NTA and Iarnród Éireann to explore other options and to revert to me. I hope these discussions might bear fruit shortly. I will keep Deputy Daly informed on i…

I know.