Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 27 Apr 2023

Vol. 1037 No. 3

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Hospital Services

Deputy Bernard J. Durkan

I raise this issue for obvious local reasons relating to the general hospital, which is pivotally located in an area of rapidly expanding population and is greatly instrumental in assisting the delivery of the health services in this catchment area. The population is growing at a rapid rate and any five-year population predictions are now accelerated. This enhances the importance and pivotal nature of the hospital and its services.

In recent times there have been some changes. There are a number of clinics - a warfarin clinic, a stroke clinic and antenatal care clinics - which have been very important to the area and of great convenience to the local population. This is somewhat preceded by the Minister's strong support for the hospital at yesterday's meeting of the Joint Committee on Health at which I raised a similar issue. I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House again this evening to respond to this debate.

We had a long battle over the years to ensure that Naas, being where it is in this pivotal location, could strive at all times to achieve the highest possible standards in care, the extent of the care and the extent of the level and quality of service that it can and does provide. It has excellent and reliable staff at all levels. Of course, from time to time, as with all hospitals, there are queries about how we could make improvements. With that in mind I bring it to the attention of the Minister of State that this is a pivotal part of the delivery of health services in the region and will remain so. Any intervention that has the effect of changing the extent, the scale and the quality of services is to be challenged and will be challenged.

In order to ensure that we have the highest possible standards applicable and the highest level of service continually available in the hospital, it is imperative that the voice of the people be heard regarding those services. It is there for the convenience of the people and has been working very satisfactorily for the people. In order to continue that service in this area which has been traditionally associated with huge dependency in so far as the locals over a wide catchment area are concerned, I ask the Minister of State to reiterate what his senior colleague, the Minister for Health, said at yesterday's meeting of the Joint Committee on Health at which he clearly and robustly indicated that the intention was to continue with the expansion of the hospital in line with expectations and in order to ensure the continuation of service.

Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development (Deputy Joe O'Brien)

I thank Deputy Durkan for raising the issue of services at Naas General Hospital and to also acknowledge the Deputy’s work in advocating for the people of Kildare and west Wicklow.

Naas General Hospital is an acute public hospital with 189 inpatient beds and 18 day-care beds, serving a catchment area with a population of over 250,000 people. The services in the hospital are designed to meet the needs of the adult population, that is people over 16 years of age, within this catchment area. Naas is a model 3 hospital which means that it provides 24-7 services through the emergency department, with an acute medical assessment unit and access to critical care beds.

Naas General Hospital provides the core specialty services of general medicine, general surgery and emergency medicine, catering for patient activity through the emergency department, as well as the inpatient department, outpatient department and day-services department. Additional multidisciplinary specialty services provided by Naas include radiology, respiratory medicine, and urology services.

The Government is committed to ensuring equitable access to healthcare services and to making real and sustainable improvements to realise the vision the Government has for healthcare in Ireland. To that end, there has been significant additional investment in staffing and facilities in Naas hospital in recent years. The 2023 budget allocation for Naas is €84.6 million, up from €82 million last year, and from €63.9 million in 2018.

At the end of February, there were 945 whole-time-equivalent staff employed by Naas General Hospital, an increase of 186 from the end of 2019. This includes an increase of 74 nursing and midwifery whole-time-equivalent positions. There are now a total of 189 inpatient beds in the hospital.

I am happy to be able to confirm to the Deputy that a number of capital projects are currently under way in Naas General Hospital. In quarter 3 of this year, Naas General Hospital expects to open its new 12-bed isolation ward. The reconfiguration and refurbishment of the existing acute medical assessment unit is at appraisal stage and will be initiated through design and planning stages in 2023.

In addition to these projects, the plan to improve mental health facilities in Naas hospital is progressing.

The Lakeview unit is a 29-bed acute psychiatric hospital registered with the Mental Health Commission as an approved centre. An investment in a new build on the Naas hospital site to accommodate 50 single patient rooms with added social and living space will address the immediate needs of the population and will increase capacity and improve clinical care and patient experience. This project is currently progressing through the public procurement code.

The endoscopy-oncology project, as the Deputy has pointed out previously, has faced delays in recent years, but provision of a second endoscopy room is acknowledged as a priority for the hospital and the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group. It is now proposed to engage a design team to update the design to correspond with current technology and standards and to progress through the pre-tender design and planning stages of work in 2023.

The investment of recent years is fundamental to supporting the ongoing development of services and to ensuring that Naas General Hospital will continue to play an invaluable role in the delivery of health services to the local community in the years ahead.

Deputy Bernard J. Durkan

I thank the Minister of State for his very detailed reply. I agree with the closing point he made in his statement, which is that the hospital will continue to play an important role but also an enhanced one, because the area is growing in population and in order to accommodate the growing population we have to be able to respond quickly to the demands of the hospital and its staff. That can best be achieved not by the length of time available in a debate of this nature but by the Department of Health and the Minister's office making direct contact with those who know best what is required, given the time and commitment that they have already given to the hospital project.

As I mentioned yesterday at the health committee meeting, projections of more than five years old are well out of date in terms of the needs for the future. I would welcome in particular continued commitment to the services provided such as stroke services etc. that are normally available. As we approach local elections, people query these things and look for reassurance. It is our job, challenge and duty to try to meet those insofar as we can, but in particular to be able to reassure the hospital, the staff and those involved with building its reputation over the years that it is intended to continue in this direction without interruption.

Deputy Joe O'Brien

I again thank the Deputy for raising this matter regarding the services at Naas General Hospital. I fully accept the importance of growing healthcare services for the people of Kildare and west Wicklow. The commitment of the Government to the future of this hospital is clear. Funding for Naas hospital as part of the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group has continued to increase year on year. As I have already outlined, a new 12-bed isolation ward is due to open in Naas General Hospital this year and commissioning and equipping is under way. This will be a significant addition to the hospital. In addition, as mentioned, several capital projects are ongoing, including the refurbishment of the acute medical assessment unit, and the progression of the acute mental health unit and the endoscopy-oncology project.

This Government is committed to making real and sustainable improvements in our health services and to ensuring that these align with the Government's overall vision for healthcare in Ireland, as set out in the programme for Government. This is for universal healthcare within a public health service that provides the people with access to high-quality, affordable care when and where they need it.

Waste Management

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien, for coming in today. There has been much discussion in this House and also around the country recently since the announcement by Panda that it would bring in charges for the collection of brown bins for domestic users. We all know that the public bin collection was privatised in an era when waste production and management was not considered as urgent an issue as it is today, and the climate and environmental impacts of it were not as appreciated. This is in part due to the greater awareness of the need to tackle climate change and also in part due to the higher cost of living facing those customers now.

When a charging system was introduced for what had been previously a public service, to quote a 2020 study by Quinn and Feeney of Queen's University in Belfast: "The result of the economization process was a fully privatised, profit-oriented, price-monitored system." Waste management, especially recycling waste management, should not be a profit-orientated business. The use of the free market as a place to deal with domestic waste has now led to more vehicles on the road for collections. I know everybody in this Chamber will have been caught behind two or three bin lorries doing the same route and servicing neighbours. We can see the impact that is having. It also leads to higher prices for people trying to do the right thing by recycling and composting. Again, we are seeing that with the introduction of the charges by Panda. We are faced with a situation whereby some people will not be able to pay for their bin collection in the future. That impacts us all because it does lead to an increase in fly-tipping and dumping.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Agency, CCPC, addressed providers in 2018 and stated that consumers have little or no power in an unregulated Irish waste market. We also know that the private model has not only harmed consumers but has led to poor standards of employment for workers in the sector, as is evident from cases like the Greyhound Recycling centre workers who were forced out on strike for 11 weeks by their employer while temporary staff were brought in to operate those routes. Certain services that are essential for the health and well-being of a society should never have a financial barrier placed in front of them and one of those is waste collection.

On Leaders' Questions last week there was a suggestion from the Tánaiste that a review of waste collection would be appropriate. Does the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien, feel that it is time for a root and branch review and consideration of bringing bin collection back into public ownership in order to block attempts by private companies to charge people for what is an essential service. That is really what we need to consider here. Waste collection is an essential service. There should not be financial barriers for people to use it. We must ensure that something like this is within State control, so we can encourage and incentivise people to do the right thing and use charges to penalise or to discourage the wrong thing from happening. That is not happening at the moment. The private operators are there purely to make money. That is their business model. That is what they are meant to do, but I do not think that is the approach that this Government should use or facilitate. I ask the Minister of State to consider re-examining this issue and seeing if there is a better way of providing these essential services to the public, one that is environmentally friendly but also financially affordable for people.

Deputy Joe O'Brien

I thank Deputy Whitmore for raising the issue. Local authorities are responsible for municipal waste collection and waste management planning within their functional areas. The obligations on local authorities in relation to collecting household waste are set out in section 33 of the Waste Management Act 1996, as amended. In summary, it provides that each local authority shall collect, or arrange for the collection of, household waste within its functional area. The obligation to collect or arrange for the collection of household waste shall not apply if an adequate waste collection service is available in the local authority's functional area, the estimated costs of the collection of the waste would, in the opinion of the local authority, be unreasonably high or the local authority is satisfied that adequate arrangements for the disposal of the waste concerned can reasonably be made by the holder of the waste.

It is open to any local authority to re-enter the waste collection market as a direct service provider if it so chooses, either alongside existing permitted service providers or subject to making arrangements to replace those providers. Under section 60(3) of the Waste Management Act 1996 my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to the performance by a local authority, in particular circumstances, of a statutory function vested in it.

Altering the structure of the household waste collection market was the subject of a public consultation exercise in 2011. A comprehensive regulatory impact analysis, RIA, from 2012 also considered options regarding the organisation of the household waste collection market. The RIA recognised that there were some advantages to the franchise-bidding approach, also known as competition for the market, which scored marginally higher than strengthening the regulatory regime and keeping the existing side-by-side competitive market structure or competition in the market. However, given the critical nature of the waste collection service, the risks associated with moving to franchise bidding were judged to deem this option ultimately less desirable. Noting that there was a possibility that a switch from side-by-side competition to franchise bidding could incur costs that actually made household waste collection less efficient, the RIA ultimately made the recommendation to strengthen the regulation of the market, especially in light of the risks associated with competition for the market.

The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and his Department continue to be focused on introducing measures to drive waste minimisation and improve waste segregation to help us achieve our challenging EU targets for municipal waste recycling of 55% by 2025, 60% by 2030 and 65% by 2035 and limiting landfill to 10% by 2035.

In this regard, the Minister recently signed regulations to introduce incentivised charging for the commercial sector from 1 July and his Department is currently drafting regulations to roll out bio-waste collection to all households in the State with a waste collection service.

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

The Minister of State's response outlines the current situation and the legal requirements put in place by previous Governments in relation to waste collection; what it does not talk about is whether this is an area the Minister of State would consider re-examining to see if it could be done better. Things have changed significantly since 2011. The environmental impact of waste is higher on our agenda, thankfully. In instances like this, our legislation and policies need to be dynamic and to move with the most recent evidence. I would like to hear the Government is open to reviewing that.

The Minister of State talks about how it is open to local authorities at the moment to provide this service but I have worked as a councillor, as I think the Minister of State may have. He knows our local authorities are absolutely stretched and there is no way they will look to provide a service where there is not direction from the Government that they must do it. They will not actively seek this new role and responsibility with all the infrastructure costs required to get something like this started.

The question for the Minister of State, representing the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications here today, is whether this is something the Government will consider doing and is prepared to fund. Local authorities would need funding to get a good, robust, efficient system in place which will stand us well into the future, help consumers to meet the cost of these charges and be suited to the current environmental situation.

Deputy Joe O'Brien

A recent report produced for Dublin City Council by the Institute of Public Administration found it would be contrary to competition law to exclude private companies from the waste collection market in favour of returning the function to local authorities. Altering the structure of the market for tendering by local authorities would take several years and require consideration of legal issues including competition and procurement law, potential legal challenges including on constitutional grounds, a full regulatory impact analysis, comprehensive public consultation and significant capital investment by local authorities.

The focus of the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and his Department for the waste sector is to encourage greater waste minimisation, improve waste segregation and increase recycling rates. A number of measures are in place and the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act provides for a number of measures from the waste action plan for a circular economy, including incentivised waste collection charging in the commercial sector; a recovery levy on municipal waste recovery operations at municipal landfills, waste energy plants, co-incineration plants and the export of waste; the expansion of household bio-waste collection services; and the introduction of a deposit return scheme for single-use PET plastics and aluminium and steel which will go live in quarter 1 next year. These measures will encourage greater waste minimisation and improved source segregation of waste by customers across the State, and will contribute to achieving our challenging EU targets for municipal waste.

I was not aware of the details of the Tánaiste’s comments last week. In the case of any public service used by the wider population on a regular basis, it makes sense for us to review how it works to make sure it is having not just societal impacts but also the environmental impacts we all want.

School Transport

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan

I will start on a positive note. The dramatic expansion of the school transport scheme in recent years has brought more students into the fold in terms of being able to get a bus to school. That is welcome. Last year, while there were teething problems with the expanded scheme, it ensured more kids than ever before got to school. Despite the problems with drivers, routes and the usual palaver that happens every year, more children got to school. That is most welcome.

I welcome the fact we are persisting with keeping fees down for tickets. It will be, I think, €50 per student and €125 maximum per family. However, there are still difficulties. We are still waiting for the school transport review to be finalised. In light of that, I understand the Minister will take interim measures again.

No scheme will ever be perfect. There will always be anomalies and specific circumstances. One size will not fit all. Traditionally, pupils from the village of Watergrasshill in County Cork have always gone to school in Fermoy. Historically, the connections are there. There is an all-boys school and an all-girls school there, and now there is a new comprehensive school as well. In the interim a school was built in Glanmire, which is closer but which has no connection to the village historically and would not be considered its hinterland. Glanmire is in the city. The second nearest school is Carrignavar. The numbers that go from Watergrasshill to Carrignavar can be counted on one hand. About a dozen children qualify for a ticket to Glanmire from Watergrasshill, four or five students qualify for a ticket to Carrignavar and 50 students wait on the side of the road every morning to get a public bus to Fermoy and pay full rate. It is the third nearest school, technically, as the criteria are interpreted, but the difference is metres rather than kilometres.

I know the full school review has not been completed and will not be completed in time for this year’s intake but I ask that Bus Éireann be given flexibility when it comes to determining routes. The Minister of State will read a response from the Department giving the criteria concerning the nearest and second-nearest school. I know all that and do not need to hear it again. I ask that Bus Éireann, which manages the routes day to day and does all the juggling of children over the summer, be given some flexibility. We all know here that those few months are madness. A business case could be made for routes like those I am talking about where it is common sense that 50 children should be accommodated, as opposed to four and 12 to nearer schools. I ask for that flexibility to be extended. I know the Minister of State cannot grant me that today but I ask him to take the message back to the Minister for Education when she implements this and issues the tickets through Bus Éireann.

Deputy Joe O'Brien

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. Before I address the issues raised, I will provide an outline of the extent of the school transport scheme. The scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year, over 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, are transported daily to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. There has been an increase of 21% in tickets issued to eligible students and 38% in concessionary tickets issued in the current 2022-23 school year compared to the 2021-22 school year. In addition, school transport scheme services are being provided in the current school year for over 4,500 children who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine. The total cost of the scheme in 2022 was €338 million.

The school transport scheme is an important service for families and children. The purpose of the scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remotely from their nearest school. A review of the scheme is ongoing and is being conducted with a view to examining the current scheme, its broader effectiveness and sustainability, and to ensuring it serves students and their families adequately. Phase 1 of the review examined the impact of eligibility criteria on mainstream pupils who were eligible for transport to their nearest school but attending their next nearest school. The report was completed in June 2021.

Following consideration of this report, for the 2021-22 school year, the provision of temporary alleviation measures was approved for transport for post-primary students who are otherwise eligible for school transport but were attending their second-nearest school and had applied and paid on time. These measures have been continued for the current 2022-23 school year, and will again continue in the 2023-24 school year pending completion of the review.

These measures mean that transport will be provided for post-primary pupils who are eligible for transport to their nearest school and are attending their second nearest school, and who apply for school transport by 28 April 2023, which is tomorrow, and pay for a ticket or enter their medical card details by 9 June 2023. It is planned the review will be completed shortly, at which point decisions on the future operation of the Department’s school transport scheme will be taken.

For the 2023-24 school year it remains that children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest national school, and at post-primary level where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post-primary school as determined by the Department and Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language. Children who are eligible for school transport and who complete the application process on time will be accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation. In addition, as already mentioned, temporary alleviation measures will be continued for the 2023-24 school year, pending completion of the review.

Children who are not eligible for school transport but who complete the application process on time are considered for spare seats that may exist after eligible children have been facilitated. Such seats are referred to as concessionary seats. On the specific issues raised by the Deputy it is understood that the pupils in the area referred to are attending their third or fourth closest school and, therefore, are not eligible for transport under the terms of the school transport scheme. However, if families have applied to attend their nearest school in regard to ethos and language and have been advised by the school authorities that it is full, the Department of Education will consider whether students can be deemed eligible for transport to the next nearest school. These families can submit details to the school transport section in the Department of Education where their requests can be assessed. I accept that the Deputy probably knows all of this but it is important to say it. It is particularly important considering that the deadline for applications is tomorrow and to remind people of this. I note the Deputy's message with regard to the flexibility that is required.

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan

I thank the Minister of State. I am raising the issue today because the deadline is tomorrow. The case I am highlighting is just one of the dozens throughout the country with various anomalies. The reality is that the people in the area I am speaking about have given up applying because they know they fall outside the criteria and they are unlikely to get a concessionary ticket. It is very hard for me to demonstrate the demand when people have given up hope of getting a seat.

This issue did not appear overnight. It has been there for years. It is the epitome of "Computer says 'No'". I could have predicted the response that I got. It does not make sense that 50 children cannot get a bus while 14 children can go to two other schools just because they are 1 km closer. I understand there have to be criteria but surely in this case, and in any other case throughout the country with similar numbers, when it so obvious that a demand-led service is needed it should be taken into consideration.

It is not Bus Éireann's fault. It does a great job every year. It is that Bus Éireann has to stick rigidly to the policy that it is asked to implement. My plea is for flexibility, not only in the situation I have discussed but throughout the country. In several months' time we will be in our constituency clinics receiving emails and getting phone calls from parents who are at the end of their tether having to try to car pool, borrow and steal spins for their children every morning or get grandparents to do the job for them. The case I am discussing involves a straight run down the main road from Cork to Tipperary of no more than 12 minutes to accommodate 50 children. Situations such as this should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. I know it is not the Department of the Minister of State but I ask that he brings back this message to the Department of Education.

Deputy Joe O'Brien

I thank Deputy O'Sullivan. I still encourage people to apply. We all make the assumption that the numbers this year will be the same as last year. This could well be the case but people will not be in the mix if they do not make an application. I suggest that they make an application anyway. Other Deputies will identify with the situation that Deputy O'Sullivan has described. It is the reason the review was conducted in the first place. It has been coming a long time but it is imminent. My view, and that of many of my colleagues, is that the school transport system should be integrated with the public transport system. It would make much more sense for efficiency and effectiveness in a variety of ways. I hope this is considered in the process of the review. I take the points made by Deputy O'Sullivan.

Rail Network

Deputy Martin Kenny

The opening of the western rail corridor line would bring huge economic benefits to an entire region, particularly in terms of addressing regional imbalance and bringing economic development to the entire western corridor. A reopened western rail corridor would link every population centre in the west to the rest of the country and enable more people to commute sustainably. It could play a critical role in the development of the airport in Knock as a major transport and logistical hub in the west.

We understand there is a lot of work to be done in respect of this. The Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy 2020-2032 recognises the strategic importance of the western rail corridor as a growth enabler for the northern and western region and its potential to link the economies of the larger urban centres along the western seaboard from Limerick all the way up to Sligo. The regional policy objectives refer specifically to the regeneration of the western rail corridor from Athenry to Claremorris and then from Claremorris to Sligo. All development plans in the counties in the northern and western region must align to these particular regional policy objectives. We need to ensure this happens. We are asking for a commitment from the Government that it intends to continue to work to reopen the western rail corridor and not to do so in a piecemeal fashion but to make a commitment and put the money in place to develop this strategic infrastructure.

My youngest son goes to college in Limerick. If he wants to go on the train to Limerick he must first go on a train to Dublin and then on to Limerick. It is a ridiculous situation. The other day I spoke to a man receiving cancer care. Everyone from Donegal all along the western seaboard who needs to get cancer care must go to Galway. Some of them travel hundreds of miles. There is a very poor bus service for them to use. Many people who have cancer are not in a position to drive to receive care. If a rail service were in place it would resolve many issues for many people. Above all it would be of great economic benefit to the region. We need to see a Government commitment on this.

Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh

I thank the Minister of State for taking this Topical Issue. I thank my colleague Deputy Kenny for also raising it. There are a number of issues involved. We know the all-island rail review is due for publishing. I also understand an environmental assessment of the review must be done. I ask that the assessment be done as quickly as possible and that the consultations are completed within a couple of months. I understand there are some implications in terms of having Stormont up and running again. This is very important. We can do the work to the point this becomes necessary. If ministerial approval is required for the report perhaps we can look at another framework. I appeal to the DUP to get the Executive back up and running. This is very important because of the funding we can leverage from the EU. As regions in transition, the North and north west can lever 60% funding. If we match this with Exchequer funding and other funding, and there will also be possibilities under PEACE PLUS as we continue the western rail corridor, it will be very important.

People in rural Ireland want to play their part in climate action and what needs to be done. They cannot do so without the alternatives. I ask the Government to give us the alternative of being able to travel by rail and have the western rail corridor open, for all of the reasons outlined by Deputy Kenny, including accessing hospitals where services are centralised. There are great opportunities with the Atlantic Technological University, Knock airport and the strategic development zone. All of these fit together. The western rail corridor is the catalyst for all of these things to happen and to maximise opportunities along the Atlantic economic corridor. I ask the Minister of State to make it a priority. We cannot wait any longer for this to happen. If we make it a priority we will all work together.

I know the Regional Group and many others here feel the same way about it. There is cross-party support for this project, which is quite unusual. We just need to get the project started and the corridor reopened.

Deputy Joe O'Brien

On behalf of the Minister for Transport, I thank the Deputies for the opportunity to address this issue and to provide the House with an update on the future development of the western rail corridor. As the Deputies may be aware, services have been operating between Limerick and Athenry via Ennis on a section of the western rail corridor since 2010.

In 2021, two reports were published in respect of the proposed reopening of the western rail corridor, phases 2 and 3, and the Minister for Transport brought the conclusions of both of those reports to Government in December 2020. The first of these is known as the EY report. It was commissioned by Iarnród Éireann in line with a decision of the previous Government. This report consisted of a financial and economic appraisal of the potential reopening of the western rail corridor, phases 2 and 3, which would have extended the line to Tuam and Claremorris. The report estimated that the capital cost of reopening the line would be approximately €260 million but that the economic return on investment would be poor.

Alongside the EY report, the Department of Transport commissioned an independent review by JASPERS. The latter is an agency established by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank to assist member states in making investments in European regions, such as in the west of Ireland. The JASPERS review concluded that the findings of the EY report were not unreasonable. In the context of the projected costs and demand - areas of the EY report which were subject to some public criticism - the JASPERS review found them to be within reasonable ranges, although perhaps based on a design solution and operational plan that might be considered overly optimistic.

There are four key observations of the JASPERS review that should be focused upon in particular. JASPERS noted that the proposed reopening of the western rail corridor did not address any identified social or transport constraint, did not sit within any broader strategic framework for the development of rail in Ireland, did not contribute toward our climate action objectives and would not attract EU funding in its present form.

Noting the conclusion in the JASPERS review that there was a lack of strategic context for planning investment in the heavy rail network, in 2021 the Minister for Transport, in partnership with the Minister for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland, announced his intention to undertake an all-island strategic rail review. This review is considering how the rail network on the island of Ireland can promote sustainable connectivity into, and between, the major cities, enhance regional accessibility and support balanced regional development. The review is examining how the railways are used, how they could be used in future and how the network can evolve to serve the people on the island of Ireland and achieve policy goals. Among other disused and closed lines, the review is considering the potential reopening of the western rail corridor.

Work on the review is now at an advanced stage. However, before the review can be formally approved, it will require consideration under relevant environmental regulations, in particular the strategic environmental assessment, SEA, regulations. If the review is screened in for SEA, as anticipated, a draft of the review will be published for statutory public consultation in the coming months.

Following the completion of environmental regulatory procedures and finalisation of the report on foot of the public consultation, the review will be submitted for the formal approval of the Minister for Transport and, ultimately, it will be submitted to Government, as well as to the Minister for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland. Should there continue to be an absence of Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive, approval will be considered taking into account the decision-making framework set out in the Northern Ireland Act 2022 or relevant legislation in place at the time. It is expected that the final review will be published in the second half of 2023 and will establish the strategic context for investment in regional and rural rail identified as lacking by JASPERS at the time of the EY western rail corridor report.

Deputy Martin Kenny

On the report that was done, I am long enough around to know that when consultants are employed to carry out reviews, they very often have in mind what the result is going to be before they actually carry it out. That is very much the case in regard to the reviews that were put in place here. There has long been a reluctance on behalf of the Department of Transport to have anything to do with developing our rail system across the entire island, particularly in respect of the western rail corridor. We are all grown-up enough to recognise that. We need to recognise there is a serious issue in respect of this.

There is one particular aspect that we need to look at. I invite the Minister of State to make a commitment that the existing railway track that has been closed down around the country would not be used for anything else, and I am particularly interested in the 47-mile rail line that runs from Collooney to Claremorris. It is similar to other rail lines throughout the country. We cannot repeat the mistakes of the past. Here in Dublin, we are now developing tram systems. However, not that many generations ago, all the tramlines were dug up and thrown away. When they are there, we need to keep them. I welcome the rail review that is taking place. We need to wait until we get that done. We need to ensure that we protect the existing lines that are there for the future.

Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh

I would also refer to the report done by Professor John Bradley and the work he did in proving this was a viable, shovel-ready project, and that the costings of it were much less than what was cited in the other reports. I cannot tell the Minister of State how important it is, as Deputy Kenny said, to keep the existing rail network from Claremorris to Collooney. Let us not make the mistake of using that for anything else. It has to be left in place. It can be proven quickly how intact it is and how valuable it will be in the extension of the railway. It is obvious that we cannot tackle the serious issue of climate change without public transport and we cannot do that in the west without the western rail corridor.

Deputy Joe O'Brien

As highlighted previously, and noting the conclusion in the JASPERS review that there was a lack of strategic context for planning investment in the heavy rail network, in 2021 the Minister for Transport, in partnership with the Minister for Infrastructure, announced his intention to undertake an all-island strategic rail review. This review is considering how the rail network on the island of Ireland can promote sustainable connectivity between the major cities, enhance regional accessibility and support balanced regional development. The review is examining how the railways are used, how they could be used in future and how the network can evolve to serve the people on the island of Ireland and achieve policy goals.

The review is being conducted on an all-island basis, in full co-operation with the Department for Infrastructure. It will, therefore, provide a holistic overview of the potential of rail on the island. The review is considering the scope for improved rail services and infrastructure along the various existing and potential future corridors of the network, including disused and closed lines. The review will establish the framework for investment in disused lines in the coming decades and, until it is complete, no work will be undertaken on such lines that might preclude any future reopening.

It is clear that the all-island strategic rail review is going to the roadmap going forward. There is certainly a commitment from this Government and from the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, to improve our public transport and there is a sharp consciousness of the situation on the western side of the island and further afield. The potential for this to be an all-Ireland project is not lost on anyone. With the roadmap of the written review, with our commitment and with these various priorities, I hope that we will see significant improvement in the future.