Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 4 Jul 2024

I wish to ask for an update on the Department's budget for road safety, in particular road maintenance, to deal with the issue of fatalities and people getting hurt on our roads in accidents over the past while. There has been a lull in the numbers in recent weeks, in that we thankfully have not had as many fatalities, but a large number of people have just lost their lives on our roads over the past 36 hours. For me and the many road safety campaigners, this brings into sharp focus the Government's failure to put adequate measures in place to protect road users.

I look forward to working with the Deputy in this brief. His is Sinn Féin's spokesperson on transport and I know from the justice committee, where we worked together well, that he will be diligent in that regard. I look forward to continuing that relationship now that we are both in new roles.

I extend my sympathies to the families of those who sadly lost their lives over last weekend and the past night or two. I am sure everyone in the House will agree that one fatality is one too many. However, this is a complex area with many factors. The four main causes of road deaths are speeding, driver distraction, not wearing a seatbelt and intoxicated driving. These are behaviours that have been systematically addressed by the Road Traffic Act 2024, which was introduced by my predecessor, the Minister, Deputy Chambers, and signed into law in April, followed in some cases where appropriate by regulations in May. Among other measures across vehicle types and scenarios, the Act legislates for safer default speed limits, which will first be rolled out on local roads this November, harsher penalties for those caught committing multiple driving offences, with multiple penalty points becoming applicable rather than just one set of points as was previously the case, and mandatory drug testing at the scene of a collision. The mandatory drug testing provisions were commenced on 31 May in time for the June bank holiday and the penalty point provisions are being worked towards commencement over the summer. The new speed limits will kick in on a staggered basis, with the focus being on local roads towards the end of this year.

The new legislation complements increased enforcement activity. The House will be aware that uniformed gardaí will now implement 30-minute shifts on road policing duties in the course of their normal shifts. This rostering was announced by the Commissioner and will have an impact.

The Deputy referred to patterns. I appreciate that one is one too many, but if I may, I will cite the statistics. We moved from a monthly average of 20 deaths in January, February and March to 11 in the second quarter of the year. This coincided with the introduction of the new road traffic legislation and the regulations flowing from that. The issue is going in the right way despite the recent tragedies.

I welcome the Minister of State to his new role and look forward to working with him. He and I get on well on a personal level, but where this matter is concerned, there are issues with policy and the fact that, in my view and that of many others, the Government’s commitment to provide the safety measures we need on our roads has not been followed through on adequately.

The Minister of State is correct to point out that speeding, intoxication and drivers getting distracted by, for example, using mobile phones are issues that continually arise in road traffic collisions and fatalities. We do not have the level of enforcement we need. The primary element of that enforcement is gardaí monitoring our roads and protecting the people on them. This is not about having speed cameras, which are a one-trick pony, but about having gardaí out monitoring the roads. We have not had enough of that for the past two decades or so. In the past decade, roads policing numbers have been cut and cut again. That serious matter is the core of this issue.

We have major problems with what used to be called accident black spots on many of our local and rural roads. There are many such areas in my constituency. All local authorities are looking for funding to work on them, but they cannot get the funding from the Government that they need to provide an adequate level of road maintenance and to ensure that safety measures are put in place at such locations.

I hear what the Deputy is saying. He stated that local authorities could not get funding from the Government. I want to hear about that if it is the case. I am surprised to hear it, as there has been a significant allocation. Some €658 million was allocated in the past year, 90% of which was directed towards maintenance and renewal work. That allocation was a €32 million increase compared with the previous year. On 31 May, an additional €30 million was allocated to local authorities, which I had confirmed yesterday, to tackle damage caused by rainfall over the winter and spring periods.

It is sometimes suggested that spending money on maintaining local roads is at odds with climate policy, but the opposite is the case. The damage done to local roads is a direct result of climate change. They are deteriorating so rapidly because we now have so many winter storms and so many periods of freezing and thawing. Maintenance of local roads damaged by climate change is consistent with policy.

The Deputy discussed enforcement, which is a matter for the Commissioner. I note the Deputy’s comments. The Commissioner has instructed all uniformed personnel to put in a 30-minute roads policing shift at minimum. We are seeing higher levels of enforcement already. I am certainly noticing it as I go about my business, and I am sure others are, too.

Roads policing of 30 minutes is a red herring. I have spoken to many gardaí and they do that anyway. It is not something they needed to be instructed to do and it does not achieve anything additional. It is simply about the Commissioner and Department being able to tick a box.

When I looked at the 2024 budget when it was announced last year, I saw a cut of €150 million from the road safety and maintenance fund. That is still in effect. I received a letter a couple of weeks ago from the organisation that provides asphalt and tar for roads. It tries to plan in advance for its contracts. It wrote to the local authorities, which told it that they could not get funding from the Government for many of their planned programmes. The Minister of State claims that extra money has been put in place, but the reality on the ground is that communities are not seeing that money being spent because local authorities say they do not have it. I will provide an example. Carns National School in County Sligo is a little school on the road between Sligo town and Bundoran. It exits onto a national road, which presents considerable dangers. The local authority tells me that, if it wants to do anything at the crossroads, it first needs sanction from Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII. It can do nothing without having all kinds of engineers’ reports. Putting together all of the reports and data required of the local authority will cost it more than the actual job. This is the main problem in many situations. We are overburdened with red tape and no work is being done on the ground.

I listened with interest to and take on board the Deputy's comments. I am not sure it is entirely fair to suggest that local authorities are saying they cannot get works done. A staggered approach is taken and it is not just a case of being given the money and tar to fix a road. Rather, what is the collision data, what are the risks and what is the opinion of the local engineer, who is closest to the ground? Are there planning reasons for the issue? Are there other junctions? These works should entail a degree of due diligence. Although it is taxpayers’ money, I do not just mean financial due diligence. These projects also have to be analysed from the perspective of road safety. Often, the money for them is released on a staggered basis to deal with the costing, the scoping exercise, the plan and then the implementation.

That is exactly what we would want to see.

The Deputy mentioned interagency co-operation. A strong example of that was the recent implementation of an initiative by my predecessor, the Minister, Deputy Chambers, who signed a ministerial order on 21 June just before leaving this role to allow the sharing of collision data between agencies. Now, the Garda and the Road Safety Authority, RSA, can share data with each other. That was always the case. It was complicated by GDPR, but that issue has now been corrected. This was a commonsensical measure that my Department took to cut through red tape.

Will the Minister provide an update on the measures he is taking to ensure passengers are kept safe on board our public transport infrastructure throughout the country? As he will be aware, we have had several incidents over the years whereby workers on public transport have been attacked and verbally abused. People do not want to work driving buses, trains or trams any more because of these issues. We also have big issues with passengers feeling endangered. There is open drug dealing and people using threatening and abusive behaviour towards other commuters. People do not feel they have safe public transport, particularly late in the evenings in our capital city. It has become very dangerous to use public transport. We have long called for the application of a public transport policing system to be put in place and we need to see it happen as quickly as possible.

Antisocial behaviour is a societal issue to which public transport is, unfortunately, not immune. Those who regularly use and work in our public transport system are most directly impacted by any incident that occurs on the network. I assure the Deputy that all public transport operators are expending significant resources introducing measures to counter the impact of antisocial behaviour and ensuring the safety and security of public transport passengers and staff. For example, the entire Dublin Bus, Iarnród Éireann, Luas, Go-Ahead and Bus Éireann fleets are fully fitted with CCTV cameras and radios.

Irish Rail has also established enhanced joint protocols with the Garda nationally and locally, including the establishment of rapid response support hubs in 14 locations for intercity services, with staff having direct lines to the Garda for incident support. Further, a joint initiative between public transport providers and An Garda Síochána community engagement units has seen hubs established at Heuston Plaza, Connolly Plaza and Broombridge. Transdev has introduced a new initiative on a pilot basis, using its mobile app, whereby Luas customers can communicate directly through the app with the operator's control room and report an incident of anti-social behaviour as it is happening.

I fully support all of this work, in particular the ongoing positive engagement between An Garda Síochána and the various public transport operators on the issue of safety on public transport. Indeed, officials from the Department met with representatives from the public transport operators, unions, and passenger groups at the recent national sustainable mobility forum in a dedicated workshop on safety and security. The Department and the National Transport Authority, NTA, will continue to carry forward this work with those stakeholders to help ensure the safety of staff and passengers on public transport.

There has long been a campaign by the National Bus and Rail Workers Union, SIPTU and others involved in the transport system to ensure we try to develop a national transport policing service, as there is another countries throughout the world. When we travel, we see there is a section of the police that deals with transport issues. We see examples of problems arising here all the time because of the absence of this. Yesterday I listened to a piece on the radio about an incident in County Cork whereby a young woman was sitting on a train and a man sat down beside her. He was abusive and acting inappropriately. She asked the person we normally term the conductor, the person going around checking the tickets, to come. When he did come what did the man do? He jumped up and punched him straight in the face. We are left with a situation where these individuals feel they can behave in this way because there is no deterrent. There is nobody there to call or do anything about it. That man just jumped off the train and went off and it was all over. We need to get to a situation where we have an adequate system in place. The Minister's colleague in Fianna Fáil, the Tánaiste, has suggested he wants to see a dedicated policing service in place for public transport. Will this become Government policy? This is what needs to happen and it needs to happen quickly. If it is not going to happen the Government needs to step to one side. The Government has clearly failed the travelling public in this respect.

The Government, with the transport operators, will protect passengers and staff. The Deputy is right that SIPTU has done very good work in highlighting the concern. I had a meeting with SIPTU officials and some of the drivers who have experienced what is more than antisocial behaviour. It can be terrifying when people are subject to assault or intimidation. No one in the Government wants this to continue. The question is what is the most effective policing deterrent. While some may feel the establishment of a separate transport police force may improve the situation, others argue that it would not and we are better working with An Garda Síochána through the national control centre for Irish Rail and the hubs that Iarnród Éireann has set up. In the past eight years, Iarnród Éireann has increased its spending on security by approximately 70%. The person who committed the assault is subject to arrest and the courts duly taking action. I believe this is best managed or handled through An Garda Síochána rather than trying to pretend a separate police force would do. I fail to see what a separate police force might do to address the particular example given by the Deputy. What we need are layers of security, including the 14 hubs I mentioned in Iarnród Éireann's case and including the use of CCTV and An Garda Síochána. A separate force would not be a miracle cure.

With respect, we are not suggesting a separate force. What we are suggesting is a division of An Garda Síochána that would be dedicated to public transport policing. This is what we are suggesting and it is has also been suggested by the trade unions involved. The Minister said it would not make any difference. The reality is that on the Luas, DART and other systems there are private security people but they do not have the powers to arrest or detain people. They do not have the powers to act in the way members of An Garda Síochána can. This is the difference that needs to be brought to bear on this. I agree with the Minister that we need to see more people use public transport. We need to roll out more public transport. We need to have it running later in the evenings. We need to have it there to provide a better service for people. It needs to be affordable, efficient, effective and on time but it also needs to be safe. If more people are going to be using it, they need to be assured it is safe to use. The only way they will be assured it is safe to use is if there are proper services in place with regard to policing it. This is why I certainly feel, and many of those who have looked at this situation feel, and it is international best practice anyway, we should have a dedicated policing service which is a division of An Garda Síochána. It would not be on top of, extra to or apart from but part of An Garda Síochána. They would be boots on the ground and at the train stations and bus stops and on public transport services to protect people. This is the only way we can resolve the situation.

I accept the Deputy's point. As he said, he is speaking about a division within An Garda Síochána. Again, in regular communication with An Garda Síochána on the matter we have asked for advice on what is the best structure. We have to take the advice from the Garda Commissioner. In this case he is best placed to assess how we might want to deploy. We do have special traffic police. There is nothing stopping us if An Garda Síochána believes the current structures are not serving the protection of the peace on our public transport system. I would have no problem-----

We can never completely eradicate it but we do have to take action in every instance to try to stop it. One of the things that to my mind really does work, and it is more on the bus service rather than rail or light rail services, is engagement with the community. It is often about community policing. A lot of the time with the bus drivers I have met it is often about an isolated bus driver being in an area where they do not feel safe. In such an instance it is not just the policing end with An Garda Síochána but it is also about community policing, which can have most effect, and working with communities. It is a multilayered issue we have to address in the same complex way.

Will the Minister give an update on the N24? It will be a very important link between Limerick and Waterford, with a great impact on industry and business and the lives of people in the towns and villages along the route as well as those obtaining planning permission for various developments. There are ongoing delays and I ask the Minister for an update.

I thank the Deputy for his question.

Approximately €411 million of Exchequer capital funds have been provided for national roads through TII to local authorities in 2024. These allocations were announced by the Department of Transport and TII on 22 February 2024.

With regard to the N24 Cahir to Limerick Junction scheme, I am pleased to confirm that €650,000 was allocated to this project in 2024, which will enable it to progress through the design and environmental evaluation phase. This will enable the preparation of a preliminary business case for the scheme, which will then be brought to Government for a decision at approval gate 1 of the infrastructure guidelines.

TII has indicated that it may be possible to submit this business case before the end of the year.

This project will enhance regional accessibility and improve connectivity between Limerick and Waterford. It will also provide the opportunity to provide better connectivity with public transport through direct access to the train stations in Cahir and Limerick Junction. It is also important to point out that it includes a bypass of Tipperary town, which will improve the quality of life for residents in line with the Government's town centre first policy and promote compact growth, which is a national strategic outcome under the national planning framework.

The other project mentioned by the Deputy, the N24 Waterford to Cahir project, was not among the projects identified as part of the initial 2024 allocations. However, a commitment has been made to fund the project to the end of the options selection stage, which will allow for the selection of a preferred route and TII has made funding available to complete that process. I assure the Deputy that the project remains part of the national development plan and will be considered for funding in future years.

I welcome the initial funding that gave us the lifeline for the design stage of the Cahir to Waterford project at least but I am shocked and taken aback by the reply that a business case has to be made. The business case has long since been made for this road project. Whether it is a motorway or dual carriageway, the bypass of Tipperary town is badly needed. I have spoken to the Minister umpteen times about it and he has given commitments and said he wants to do it. Tipperary town has to be allowed to live. To think we will have to make a business case to TII again about this major infrastructural project that is so necessary to the region and at a national level is shocking. This is part of the route providing connectivity from the port at Foynes to Rosslare. The Minister is ideologically not in favour of motorways and new roads but life has to go on, people have to live and business has to flourish and we are being handicapped with our hands tied behind our backs and blindfolded with this inferior road, not to mention the fatalities that occurred on it last year and, unfortunately, are predicted to happen again because of the state of the road.

I am very much in favour of this project, especially of the section bypassing Tipperary town, which will advance faster than any other element of the project. We want the through-traffic out of Tipperary town straightaway. I recall meeting representatives of the local chamber of commerce. Some 30% of local shop fronts are not in operation, in the main, because there are so many trucks going through the centre of the town. I therefore want to see this built.

This is good news. As I said, it will come to the Government for a decision this year. It has to go through the process. The public spending codes apply to all projects and all Departments. Under our public spending code, a project has to go through various decision gates, but the most significant one is when the business case is presented to the Government, as it will be in this case this year. Then we can seek planning permission and go to construction subject to it passing through all the other gates. It will be a significant milestone when it goes to the Government, which will happen this year. That should be good news, especially for the residents of Tipperary town.

Yes, indeed, it is good news. I hope the Minister will still be in the Cabinet when it comes to the Government later in the year. I take him at his word that he is interested in having a bypass of Tipperary town. The life is choked out of it with the trucks and other traffic that should not be going through the town. People will be able to breathe, work and live again in peace if it is bypassed. I implore the Minister to ensure he holds on to his portfolio and lives up to his word because he has given many commitments about the bypass of Tipperary town and the relief road. We will hold him to them. We appreciate his efforts.

I hope the business case will be an exceptional one and get through all the gates because for too long the gates have been closed. By gates, I mean a permanent blockade of trucks, bumper to bumper tailing through the town and stopping all life. Surveys have been done on the pollution, noise and everything else and it is not fair to the residents or business people of Tipperary town or the people who want to come and visit the town and its hinterland. I hope the Minister will be in Cabinet to ensure this is shunted along the road in memory of his ancestors, who were all from Tipperary.

I am looking for an update on progress in upgrading the N17 from Knock to Collooney. This is a major issue of concern from a strategic, economic perspective and a safety perspective. Progress has been slow. It is the main artery from Galway to the north west so I want to hear what progress is being made.

As I said in my response to Deputy McGrath, I can confirm that approximately €411 million of Exchequer capital funds were provided for national roads through TII to local authorities in 2024. These allocations were announced by the Department of Transport and TII on the 22 February 2024.

The N17 Knock to Collooney scheme has been identified in the national development plan. This section of the N17 covers approximately 55 km in length and has a number of towns and villages on the route, most notably Tobercurry and Charlestown. The project aims to remove traffic from these urban centres, as well as improve safety on the route. TII has been working to progress this scheme through planning, design and construction. I confirm that €900,000 was allocated for the N17 Knock to Collooney scheme in 2024. An emerging preferred transport corridor was announced at the start of 2023, with a period of public consultation taking place following this. Route selection has been finalised, as of 7 March this year, and the design and environmental evaluation phase is under way.

The project team is preparing for studies and surveys which will be carried out to progress this phase. A particular focus is on the delivery of the Tobercurry and Charlestown bypass elements of the scheme. Removing traffic from the centre of these towns will greatly improve the quality of life of local residents, in line with the town centre first policy. It is also in keeping with the principle of compact growth in the programme for Government and is a national strategic outcome in the national planning framework. As with all national roads projects in the NDP, the delivery programme for the project will be kept under review on an ongoing basis. I hope this update is of assistance to the Deputy.

From what the Minister said, he is talking about bypasses of Tobercurry and Charlestown and nothing else. While that is fine, there are a number of really dangerous stretches on this road, especially between Curry and Tobercurry. I do not know whether he is familiar with the road. There are also some very dangerous sections between Tobercurry and Collooney. Work needs to start on those sections. One of the main reasons to upgrade the N17, apart from the fact that it is an economic corridor, is safety concerns. I want to see money being spent on those sections.

The last time I was lucky enough to ask an oral question on transport was just over a year ago. The then Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, answered it. When I asked him about progress on the N17, one of his comments was, "As with all national road projects in the NDP, the delivery programme for the project will be set out later in 2024." We are in the second half of 2024. Will the Minister confirm a timeframe and start and completion dates of the upgrade of the N17? What is the overall cost that is estimated and how much of that money has been spent?

I will not have those figures until we get the business case, as is the case with what I said in respect of the Cahir to Limerick Junction road. It is at the business case phase that we start to get an indicative outline of the potential costs. I agree with the Deputy that road safety is our key first objective.

We provided specific funding to TII to examine whether we can improve our existing national road network, even if we are not doing the full motorway or new project appraisal or development and whether we can improve safety measures on all carriageways, particularly national roads, through a variety of different measures, such as investment in junctions, speed measurement measures and other road improvements. I agree that safety has to come first.

The second priority is to try to improve our towns, such as Tobercurry and Charlestown.

It is right, in exactly the same way it is right to focus on Tipperary town first and, similarly, on the N17. Taking through traffic out of towns is one of the most important immediate benefits. We will be doing that in many other areas such as Virginia, County Cavan. Rather than doing the entire road network, you start with the town section because it is important that the limited funding we have is used to prioritise safety and towns.

I hear what the Minister is saying about safety and towns. I will come back to that in a minute. It is also important to remember that the N17 is a strategic economic corridor for the north west. That cannot be left out of any calculations.

Regarding safety schemes on the N17 and national roads, one of the issues raised with me is that, rather than having a minor improvements scheme, which usually cost between €1 million and €2 million, a smaller scheme costing a couple of hundred thousand euro might be considered, perhaps to improve sightlines at junctions, for example. The only funds that seem to be available for that kind of project are in the region of €50,000 or €60,000. That is not enough money. There is an important middle ground there that would make a difference on the N17. I ask the Minister to look again at that when he is finalising his plans. If he could come back to me on it, I would greatly appreciate it.

On a related issue, the bus service on the route from Tubbercurry to Sligo is only Expressway. Over a distance of 24 km, there is only one designated stop. We need a bus service on that route because the current service is totally inadequate. I ask the Minister to look at that also.

I will look at that. I hear what the Deputy is saying about the need for strategic corridors to the north west. That will involve a variety of different projects, not just roads but also investment in rail and bus services. That is why we have a difficult budget allocation process. The rolling out of further Connecting Ireland rural bus services requires a great deal of funding.

On the Deputy's first point, I agree that there are many instances where small- or medium-scale investment on roads for road safety improvements, in particular, should be considered. That is why in last year's budget we allocated specific additional funding. I do not have the exact figure in front of me but from memory, I believe it was roughly €20 million. That funding was designed to be used for exactly that purpose, namely, to deal with sections of road, particularly on national routes, where speeds tend to be high and there are two lanes of traffic with no segregation and also traffic coming on to the national road. That presents particular safety issues. We specifically informed TII that we wanted to focus on those as well as the big and very small projects. I fully agree with the Deputy that medium-scale interventions to improve safety have to be a real focus.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Lawless, and wish him well in his new role. He may wish to brush up on Wexford where austerity measures cut road funding budgets and left the county with a deficit of €68 million in its roads budget since austerity times. This is now critical when it comes to roads infrastructure.

I also wish the Minister, Deputy Ryan, well in taking a step back, albeit not for the moment.

What discussions have taken place within the Department to facilitate an increase in direct train services on the Rosslare to Dublin line?

I thank Deputy Murphy for her kind words. I am eager to see improved rail services rolled out across the network. We know that when people are provided with higher frequencies and reliable timetables, they will make the switch to public transport. We all know there are a number of constraints on the Dublin to Wexford line. The all-island strategic rail review highlighted issues such as its single-track character; poor rail alignment; significant conflicts with high-frequency DART services; and significant geographical constraints limiting potential diversions. However, the review sought to consider what opportunities might exist to improve services along the line. In that consideration, the review examined interventions such as adding passing loops, tunnelling through Bray Head, developing a new railway along the M11 corridor, and building a new line for DART services along the N11 corridor.

The review concluded that many of these interventions would be very costly and unlikely to be justified given that the region could not be expected to support more than one or two trains per hour in each direction. The review suggested that improvements could be achieved in the shorter term through improved connectivity with DART services and then, in the longer term, through the ultimate reinstatement of the Wexford to Waterford line and improvements to the Waterford to Dublin line.

Improved connectivity to DART services is being considered as part of the recently commenced Wicklow capacity study. This study will also consider the use of the new DART+ battery-electric vehicles for Wicklow services, subject to the necessary infrastructure. Battery-electric operation would allow the DART+ battery-electric fleet to continue further south along the unelectrified line and terminate at Wicklow town. I stress, however, that no decision has been made to alter any existing services on the Rosslare line and obviously any proposals that might emerge from the Wicklow capacity study will of course be subject to public consultation.

I engaged with a constituent who has sent me this letter. It is simple and as a train user, I am going to read it. It states:

The current service provided by IrishRail is subpar, with significant limitations in frequency and speed. With only four return services per day, Wexford suffers from one of the least frequent intercity services in the country.

Despite this, there has been minimal improvement over the past decade. It remains unclear if any of the new rail carriages will be allocated to this line. The recent timetable consultation proposed no additional services on the route, highlighting the ongoing neglect of this line by Irish Rail and the NTA.

On weekdays, there is an astonishing 5-hour 35-minute gap between the 07:45 service and the 13:20 services and the first train into Wexford doesn't arrive until ... noon! The minimum service frequency should be at least two hours per day in each direction.

It is disappointing that the Strategic Rail Review proposed no infrastructure improvements for the line. The only recommendation is to shuttle passengers by train to Wicklow or Greystones for a transfer to the DART. Given that a significant 84% of trips on the line occur between Dublin and intermediate stations, it is vital to ensure that this implementation does not result in extended journey times.

I think the Minister knows that speed is of the essence when it comes to public transport. If it is not faster, it will not be used.

Speed and frequency are the issues. More frequency gives better speeds. As the Deputy said, if someone has to wait from 7.30 a.m. until midday or 1.30 p.m. for the next train, that is very slow and a long time. There is a real case for looking at this proposal, which has been mentioned in public, to run shuttle services to Wicklow and then with an extension of the DART to Wicklow, to run very frequent DART services from Wicklow into the city. That would lead to significant improvement in the frequency and, therefore, the quality of the public transport service not just to Wexford but to all the towns along the route. That has not been decided and the matter is open for consideration. I believe that if we offered the travelling public in Wexford this regular service, they might well say it is a real improvement. If they had the same sort of services as are provided on other lines where there are very regular train services, that then improves connectivity. There are different views on this and people are perfectly entitled to their view but the current service is not serving the people of Wexford. We need to make a change. The suggestion of providing shuttle services and much more frequent services would be a significant improvement. We have to present all of the arguments and look at all the analysis. The matter is open for discussion and nothing has been decided but I think it could be a significant improvement and could result in a large increase in the use of the line.

The most interesting thing the Minister has said so far is that there may be a proposal from the review to build a new rail line with the N11 upgrade. We are a small progressive country. The whole of Europe has a proper rail infrastructure that caters for people's needs. A shuttle service would be a retrograde step. The reality is we have to start somewhere and as a progressive country, one of the wealthiest European nations, we should have a high-speed rail network service servicing the whole country, not just Wexford. In my line of work, I could not even contemplate using the train service from Wexford, which is a damning indictment. Rail travel from the main hub of Rosslare Europort to Dublin in this day and age is absolutely ridiculous.

The strategic rail review does not go nearly far enough to make the progressive steps that are required to get people out of their cars and into public transport. We must make a start. We need a high-speed rail network service.

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 significant investment in terms of protection against coastal erosion. I agree with Deputy Murphy that the current services are not serving the public so we cannot just leave them be but the option of radically and dramatically increasing the frequency would see a very significant increase in patronage. It is not just that though. We are also looking at putting in quality bus corridors on large sections of the N11 to improve the bus services for people coming from Wexford up to Dublin. That is a significant project in its own right. That will be delivered rather than a new high-speed rail line along the N11, which would cost many billions. There are other spending priorities that we also have to fund. We need to use the existing network much more. It is not being used at present and I believe that if we electrify the network as far as Wicklow and have a shuttle service, we could see a dramatic improvement.