I will be perfectly honest. I do not think we are going to build a new rail line to Wexford and the south east. It makes much more sense to use a lot of the existing assets and make the most of them. It is not just about the Wexford to Dublin line. We also need to reopen the Rosslare to Waterford line which will improve connectivity between Wexford and Waterford. It will also allow us to further enhance capacity from Waterford up to Dublin as an alternative route. We will not let the Wexford line go. It needs signi…

As committed to in the Government's current national development plan, the reinstatement of the western rail corridor is being considered as part of the all-island strategic rail review. The review is unique as it has considered the future of rail on the island of Ireland across both jurisdictions and was conducted in co-operation with our colleagues in the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland. The review will inform the development of rail in the coming decades to 2050, in line with net-zero carbon ta…

Could I have a little more time, given that I have to respond to four Deputies? I do not know what the-----

If we could, purely out of respect to all four Deputies.

This is an important issue, and Deputies want clarity, as I said. First, the delay here is because we did not have an Assembly in the North. That has been very regrettable, but we did not sit back and do nothing. The publication, as part of the strategic environmental assessment, SEA, of the review gave the broad outline of what is contained within it. I do not expect significant changes. It will go to the Government this week and to the northern administration and will be cleared this month. Also, in advance of it…

The regulation of the small public service vehicle, SPSV, industry is a matter for the independent transport regulator, the NTA, under the provisions of the Taxi Regulation Act 2013 as amended by the Public Transport Act 2016. As Minister, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of the industry. While transport service provision has improved in both rural and urban areas, it is recognised that public bus transport cannot meet the travel demands of many people in rural Ireland. Taxis and hackneys therefore ha…

I absolutely agree. We have to provide good quality public transport and transport services for all our people. I deeply regret that the local hackney pilot scheme was not successful. The Deputy is correct about that. The uptake was far lower than we wanted. We will review that and come back with further iterations. When something does not work, we can at least learn why it did not. Although the review is ongoing and I do not want to pre-empt it, I get the sense that the conditions were probably too restrictive as …

I absolutely commit to Deputy Smith to making all political efforts to improve rural taxi, hackney and, indeed, BusConnects services. This includes looking at the digital online app as part of Connecting Ireland. That will bring about improvements. It also includes working very closely with the likes of Local Link, which also provides a very significant local drop-off service. There is a whole variety of different services. Deputy Ó Cuív is correct. The pilot scheme is only starting but, in reviewing it, we can see…

I thank Deputy Bruton. Both the national sustainable mobility policy and the two most recent climate action plans contain several actions around supporting and expanding the range of shared mobility options in Ireland. As the Deputy noted, one of those actions was to establish a new shared mobility unit within my Department. The purpose of that unit is to engage with key stakeholders and to promote the use of shared mobility nationally by bringing coherence to policy in this area. I am pleased to convey to the Depu…

I agree with the Deputy’s sense of frustration and with his sense of vision and opportunity here. I will commend my Department to accelerate the various different measures we need to make, and not just my Department but others as well. The underlying reasoning behind what the Deputy says, namely, economic gain and savings for householders, as well as improved emissions, is very real. Private car-sharing operators have a role and they are significantly expanding. There are now a number of different operators such as…

I agree with Deputy Bruton. The underlying benefit of shared car use and ownership is, as he says, most cars are parked 95% the time and if that cost can be shared, it significantly reduces the cost to the householder, in urban and rural areas. There is a particular problem in urban areas, as the Deputy will know, where we will not be as easily able to deploy electric vehicles with charging infrastructure at home, which is a real advantage. We are right to focus on some of those areas also, so that they have access…

The NTA has advised my Department that an accessibility upgrade project of Parnell Place bus station in Cork, which includes some station enhancements, is planned under the public transport retrofit accessibility programme. This programme funds the retrofitting of older public transport infrastructure and facilities, to ensure access for everyone, including disabled and older people. According to the NTA the preferred option identified in Cork includes improved layout, signage, lighting, bathroom upgrades, internal…

I do not disagree with the Deputy. We have to have really good quality public transport bus stations and Parnell Place bus station clearly does not meet that criterion. That is recognised by the fact that a detailed design and assessment has been done, an estimate of the cost and a due scheduled investment so that the works start the year after next. I would prefer them to start next year. However, no one could argue that this Government has not been investing in public transport. There has never before been anythi…

We provide the funding and Bus Éireann has to manage its resources under the schedule of different works. There is a major problem in Cork - the Deputy knows this - with regard to the need for new mechanics and bus drivers. We need to invest in a variety of ways in our public transport system. Bus Éireann is stating that is the schedule and these are the types of works that need to be done and I am fully supportive of it being done. However, it is Bus Éireann that has to make sure that the spending and investments …

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. The proposed N20 or M20 Cork to Limerick project consists of a replacement of 80 km of the existing roadway. This project would bypass towns such as Mallow and Charleville. It would also improve the quality of the road network, address safety issues along the existing N20 and allow for improved intercity bus services through increased capacity and more reliable journey times. It would deliver 80 km of active travel infrastructure for communities along the route, promoting …

I am in a difficult position-----

To respond to Deputy Moynihan, I am in a difficult position because this is not decided. There is no final design. No decision has been made on either design or tolling arrangements so any discussion is speculative. From our Department's perspective, there is no final conclusion on either the design or the tolling arrangements. Any proper discussion of this would require further work and analysis rather than just speculation on something that is not decided in any way.

Safety has to be the first concern because what Deputy Gould said is true. There are real safety issues on the current road. The second key issue relates to the towns of Buttevant and Charleville. Going back to what I was saying about other road schemes, we have to make sure that we get our towns cleared of through traffic. Those are the sort of considerations that we would have to take into account. I will be looking for a meeting with TII on this because no information has come to me on its thinking or analysis. …

First, I thank Deputy O'Rourke, in turn. It has always been a pleasure to work with him in various committees and in the Chamber here. I can respond similarly to the Deputy about the constructive approach he takes. As we still have some months to go in this Government, he and I will probably disagree on various issues, but the engagement with the Deputy has always been very civil and I very much appreciate that. In response to the question, the energy poverty steering group was established in August 2022 and has me…

We are looking at definitions. The ESRI has been commissioned and will complete a body of research, although it will be some time before that is completed. An evidence-based approach will be key to its analysis and coming up with a definition. For the State, the most effective measure in terms of definitions or impacts has been on the awarding of fuel allowances for some 400,000 homes. As I said, that is designed to try to capture a variety of different circumstances. There are always going to be people on the marg…