I know the area and I recall the public consultation on the various different routes. There was a lot of controversy and many different views. The new route arrangements we have introduced, including the H-spine and the C-spine, are working. We have seen a big increase in the number of people using the bus. It has worked. There have been difficulties in other areas. As the Deputy knows, there have been many concerns about the G-spine. That is more a case that the buses get stuck in traffic rather than the route red…

In my experience, the NTA has always been good at meeting public representatives. Can I say-----

I will ask the NTA to meet public representatives because it is important that Members of the Dáil, in particular, have access and are able to represent their communities. I will mention one other factor. We are already seeing a big increase in bus use as a result of the network redesign. A twin part of the approach is that we will put in 16 corridors, which will make that network design work. It is about the reallocation of road space to ensure the buses on the new bus routes get through traffic quickly. We need t…

I have responsibility for policy and overall funding of public transport, including the rail network. The operation, maintenance and renewal of that rail network and stations, including the former stations at Cratloe and Crusheen, is a matter for Iarnród Éireann in the first instance. The Deputy will be aware that the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future commits to a fundamental change in the nature of transport. Rail has an important role to play in achieving that change. It is important that we address con…

There were stations at Cratloe and Crusheen. Reading the background on it, they were used right into the 1980s, and 1990s even, mainly for freight or if there was a big match day, or whatever, to get to Thurles. That is in living memory. It is not as if there is not a station there. We would need to upgrade, obviously, and put in proper platforms. It is not that expensive. The big question is whether there would be demand. The population of both villages is not that large. According to the census, both are under 1,…

The latter is a complex issue and I do not have details of it here. I do not have an update but I will try and come back to the Deputy with more information with regard to that. With the introduction of the assembly up North, and even if that does not take place, we will have to look at some mechanism of advancing the strategic rail review. It sets out recommendations in respect of line speed across the range of different type of routes that we have. Deputy Crowe will have heard, as will Deputy Ó Cuív who is beside…

Some €63 million has been allocated by my Department to Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, this year for the delivery of its greenway programme. Of this, €4.65 million has been allocated to Galway County Council and €790,000 to Sligo County Council for greenway projects under their remit. Two TII-funded greenways are currently being progressed between Athenry and Collooney. Some €400,000 has been allocated this year for the progression of the Charlestown/Bellahy-to-Collooney section of the Sligo greenway throug…

I am not aware of the exact number of those options. It may be five, as the Deputy suggests, but it certainly is a range of different options, including running alongside a rail line and other greenfield routes. Any such process goes through a public consultation process. The timing here could be fortuitous. Fundamentally, what I see happening is the strategic rail review coming before any further decision on any major investment. That, I expect, certainly if we get a Northern Ireland assembly returned within a sho…

I agree on the need for balanced regional development, particularly for the north west, and specifically on the lack of connectivity to Donegal. Sligo has a rail service but Donegal does not and it has suffered as a result for decades. There are limited resources, however, and it is expensive. The section from Charlestown to Collooney would almost require a new line to be built as little of the existing line-----

-----has been retained. There is another investment proposal that should get priority, namely, a rail line running from Portadown west through Dungannon, Omagh, Strabane, Letterkenny and Derry. That would have huge benefits for all the towns along that route and for connecting Letterkenny to Derry, which is a critical investment priority. That should be the priority, rather than spending significant sums on the Charlestown, Collooney, Sligo and Donegal route. Perhaps we should do that some time in the future when w…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 15, 35, 58, 60 and 86 together. A draft report is being finalised by Arup, the consultants carrying out the review, for submission to the two Departments. It is anticipated that the finalised draft report will then be submitted for appropriate political approval on both sides of the Border. This is, however, complicated by the absence of an Executive and relevant Minister in Northern Ireland at present, and we must be respectful of the ongoing talks to restore power-sharing in North…

The key investment decision, particularly in Donegal and the north-west, is that spur from Portadown via Dungannon, Omagh, Strabane, Letterkenny and Derry. My view is that it should be the first priority because those towns would really benefit. For example, a connection from Letterkenny to Derry would transform the town's relationship to the city. The question then is going to be for the Northern Ireland Administration and the UK Government, given I am not sure we can apply for TEN-T funding for rail infrastructur…

I thank the Acting Chair. He is right, I am very privileged and pleased to be here. I will use my time to reflect on some evolving developments and I look forward to hearing the Senators' perspectives afterwards. There are many different aspects to this subject. We have our national development plan. We are rolling out the national planning framework. We are at the cusp, subject to getting an Administration back in Northern Ireland, of a strategic all-island rail review. This may be very useful in this very wide co…

I appreciate all of the contributions from the Senators and I will try to reflect and respond to some of the specific issues that have been raised. Before doing that, I want to make a broader point. I was making the case earlier that we make this switch and this investment, we reopen lines, we bring back freight and, in particular, we get balanced regional development through investment in rail, and I believe that is all absolutely correct. However, we should say at the start that it is no small challenge because, …

That is fine. I am better informed now thanks to Senator Dolan. I will just make the point. There are subtle gains within this that we need to take into account. I agree with Senator Craughwell that part of that is having a cup of tea and actually enjoying the experience of getting the services and, as he suggested, people being able to get a return ticket. I accept that. I hate to do it but I must disagree with Senator Dooley on one matter, although I agree with everything else he was saying. I do not agree with t…

In replying on behalf of the Government, I absolutely agree with Deputy Harkin that we must be unequivocal in condemning Russian aggression in this war. That is the purpose of the motion. At a meeting of the Business Committee, the possibility of just the Ceann Comhairle making a statement was considered. However, it is better that all groups in Parliament were given a chance to add their voice to this debate. I presume the Ceann Comhairle will have a word or two to say at the end of this debate. It is important th…

It is difficult when in the middle of a crisis or a very difficult situation not to have a sense of being overwhelmed by it, or not to feel it will never end or that it is hard to see how it will be resolved. We are in that at the moment. As the Tánaiste said, the change that is happening across Europe because of the war and also in the wider world is unprecedented, with the movement of people to and from Europe in ways that are very hard to manage. As a people, more than any other, we know that movement has always…

I will be brief. I want to particularly thank my colleagues, the Minister, Deputy Roderic O'Gorman, and the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien, who is helping him. I believe they have done a remarkable job in organising that in a calm, humane, compassionate, all-hands-on-deck way. It is not just that Department but also the Department of Justice, given the way we welcome people at the airport, the Department of Social Protection in giving everyone their social welfare details and so on, the Department of Transpo…

I apologise for being late to the Chamber. I will read back on the blacks and the content of the presentations so far by the Social Democrats. In my response, I want to set out some of the actions the Government has taken to protect people in this time of unprecedented high energy prices, to answer questions on some of the issues around the windfall taxes which we will be introducing in line with European legislation, as promised by me and other Government colleagues late last year, and also briefly to refer to the…

Sinn Féin's figure is €180; ours is €120.