Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 30 Nov 1955

Vol. 153 No. 9

Transport Act, 1950 (Additional Powers) Order, 1955—Motion of Confirmation.

Minister for Industry and Commerce (Mr. Norton)

I move:—

That Dáil Éireann hereby confirms the Transport Act, 1950 (Additional Powers) Order, 1955.

This Order will not come into operation until it is confirmed by a resolution of each House of the Oireachtas. The purpose of the Order is to enable C.I.E. to construct a railway about three miles long to connect the cement factory at Castlemungret with Limerick railway station. At present cement from that factory intended for distribution by rail is carried by road by C.I.E. to the railway station at Limerick. This arrangements is both inconvenient and uneconomic. The provision of the railway will eradicate costly double handling and delays and will enable C.I.E. to reduce the charge for transport of cement. The resultant saving to Cement Ltd. will be passed on to the users of cement. Moreover, C.I.E. will be enabled to earn a profit whereas the present arrangements show a loss.

There can be no doubt about the need for this railway which will be of benefit to the consumers as well as to C.I.E. and the cement industry. C.I.E. were able to reach agreement with the local authorities about the proposed route of the railway, but as there were objections from a number of local people who considered that their interests would be adversely affected, I arranged for a public inquiry to be held at Limerick in August last. The report of the inquiry recommends that any inconvenience or disturbance to the persons mainly affected would be reduced if the proposed route of the railway, where it crosses the Limerick-Croom Road, were moved a short distance in a northerly direction. C.I.E. has agreed that this proposal is practicable, and at my request they have also agreed to the diversion. I am satisfied that the revised route is the most suitable having regard to all the interests involved and that it meets, as far as they can reasonably be met, the interests of the objecting parties.

It is expected that construction of the railway will commence early in the new year. The project will provide increased employment in the area for a period of about 12 months.

Mr. O'Malley

Everyone in Limerick —local authorities and private individuals—is unanimous regarding the desirability of having this link between the railway station and the cement factory at Castlemungret, but there are some aspects of the Minister's Order which even at this late stage I should like to bring to his notice.

The first of these is that there is no mention whatever in the Order of the proposed construction of a bridge at the point in question. It may possibly be that the local authority—Limerick County Council—proposes to erect a bridge at some future unspecified date but the Minister has not dealt with that here to-day. I would like to impress on the Minister not only the desirability but the absolute urgency or having a bridge connected at this point. It is a complete waste of money, in my opinion and in the opinion of very many competent people, to put this line across the road, and go to the expense of providing level crossing gates when the bridge could be built at the same time. The former Government allocated a sum of £20,000 from the National Development Fund for the specific purpose of contributing as much as possible towards this bridge. That has been scrapped—the Minister has not made any mention of this bridge at all.

Another aspect of it is that the Limerick Regional Hospital which was opened last October is quite a short distance from this route. This proposed level crossing, this crossing of the roadway, would take place on the main trunk road from Limerick to Cork and it is a very busy intersection and I would ask the Minister to bear in mind the appalling position which will arise should an emergency case being rushed by ambulance to the regional hospital for an emergency operation find the crossing gates closed. The plan appears to be neither modern in conception nor in design and the only thing I can suggest at this late stage is—as the Minister mentioned just now work will start next January—that the bridge should start at the same time.

The bridge, as far as I can gather— the Minister did not mention it—is to be provided by Limerick County Council. I know Limerick County Council as well as the Minister knows them and when they say at some future date they will provide a bridge, that could possibly mean five or ten or 15 years, if ever. The main point is that it is just throwing public money down the drain to put this level-crossing there and then have the bridge later.

Coming to the Order itself, it says in Article 3, Deposit of Plans and Sections and Book of Reference:—

"The board shall deposit with the County Registrar of the County of Limerick as soon as possible after the making of this Order true copies of the plans and sections and the book of reference to such plans and sections which accompanied the application for this Order."

Surely the application for this Order showed a different plan? Would the Minister not tell me if I am not correct in that? C.I.E. applied with a certain route in mind and now this Order which the Minister is to make to-day shows that route being brought further towards Limerick City, towards Ballinacurra Creek. In fact, the plans which accompanied the application from the board have now been changed and therefore this Order is now being made on a new changed route.

There is an important point in Article 4, Power to make Railway, which says:—

"Subject to the provisions of this Order, the board may, within the townlands, lay down, make and maintain in the lines and according to the levels shown on the deposited plans, the railway and railway line hereinafter described..."

It is the feeling of the Limerick Corporation, the Limerick County Council and other interested bodies which appeared at this inquiry that this line should be brought as near as possible to Ballinacurra Creek. If the Minister has the map before him he will see that that proposition is quite a feasible one.

There are a house and lands belonging to a Mr. Arthur McMahon shown. It will be seen that the proposed line will cross part of these lands. The price paid for this residence and lands was in the region of £14,500. It is one of the most highly rated residences, if not the most highly rated, in the whole of County Limerick. If the Minister would be good enough, even at this late stage, to re-route slightly the proposed line and run it nearer to Ballinacurra Creek Mr. McMahon's land would not suffer to the same extent.

Now, I want to draw the Minister's attention to the holding of Mr. Hayes on the other side of the road. The Minister will notice that when the line crosses the road it swings in the direction of the cement factory. That is up-lying land and represents the three best fields Mr. Hayes has. By continuing the line parallel to Ballinacurra Creek one goes into the bottoms or low-lying land and Mr. Hayes will thereby not suffer any serious loss at all. Not only will Mr. Hayes be satisfied but the board will make a saving because in due course compensation will have to be paid under the Order. That compensation will be assessed by an arbitrator and it is obvious that the compensation for low-lying land, as against upland, will not be anything like as heavy. This field has a frontage of some hundreds of feet on the main city road. If the Minister adopts my suggestion the compensation will be negligible. On that frontage there are approximately 60 building sites. I do not know what method the arbitrator will adopt but putting those at a figure of £10 per annum would represent £600 in all; capitalise that at 15 years' purchase and one arrives at a figure of £9,000. Whether the arbitrator would give that figure I do not know. But my suggestion will satisfy all parties. It is not an unreasonable one even at this late stage.

I agree that the inquiry took place last August and all the interested parties had an opportunity of going along there and objecting. No later than three weeks ago the Limerick County Council had a meeting at which it passed a resolution urging the Minister to run this line parallel to the creek and the Limerick Corporation subsequently adopted the same resolution. My suggestion now does not mean that the Minister will have to withdraw this Order because the line can be run within certain limits and through certain specific townlands. I appeal to the Minister to consider the suggestion.

The Minister mentioned that work would start in January and he considered that it would be completed within 12 months or so. No. 5 of the Order deals with the period for the completion of the railway. I think there is a mistake. It says:—

"The board shall complete and finish ready for use the railway and the proper equipment for working same within two years from the date of this Order or such further period not exceeding one year as the Minister may allow and on the expiration of the said period of one year or such further period as may be allowed..."

Surely that is not right. The Minister starts by saying "not exceeding one year" and then the Order goes on to say "on the expiration of such period of one year or such further period as may be allowed". I respectfully submit that the Minister is not empowered to go beyond the three years in all. The necessity may not arise in this case. It probably will not arise, but the Minister should clear up that point.

Another matter of grave concern to us in Limerick is the fact that there will be a level crossing. Will there be a permanent gatekeeper? I do not think it is good enough for the Minister to say that the onus will be on C.I.E. In one portion of this Order reference is made to the necessity for illuminating the crossing at certain times, namely, when visibility is less than 200 feet. Now, if a resident caretaker is not employed the consequences might be very serious.

For many years, agitation has been going on under successive Governments to have the port of Limerick connected to the railhead. Under the Order before us, there may be only two trains running at two or three o'clock in the morning from the cement factory, but the Minister should look ahead and take cognisance of the fact that in all probability the Limerick docks will, within the next three or four years, or possibly earlier, be connected with the railhead. That would mean that trains would be running not only from the cement factory at night but all day long from the docks over this very busy throughfare, the main Limerick-Cork road, to say nothing about the regional hospital, the housing schemes and all the workers going to and fro.

I am sure the Minister will appreciate the very serious position which could arise. Possibly he may say that the county council will build this bridge at some future date. I do not know who will build it, but if it is the county council, why not start next year? There is a section here empowering the board in consultation with the Limerick County Council to alter the level of this line where it crosses the road. Are we to have yet another typical example of waste of public funds or C.I.E. funds? The Minister will allow a certain action when this Order is confirmed. At the same time he is making provision for the possibility of alterations in the future. If this line has to be dropped two, three or four feet this capital expenditure now envisaged will be expenditure of a temporary nature.

The Minister does not mention in this Order that the competent planning authority for this area is the Limerick Corporation not the Limerick County Council. This area where the Ballinacurra Creek is situated, is in the contiguous planning area and the Limerick Corporation have control of that. I want to remind the Minister again that the gravest anxiety exists in Limerick about this proposal. It has created no political controversy at all, but a general anxiety among all these people on the question of the level crossing, the bridge and the desirability of coming nearer to the creek. The Limerick Corporation were unanimous that it should run parallel to the creek. The Limerick County Council were unanimous, and even protested when they saw the Minister's new proposals, that this line should run as suggested and as requested at the inquiry. Would the Minister consider at this late stage investigating my suggestion? Even though the Order would go through to-day he could still meet everyone's wishes because it is specified in the Order that the board is empowered to run a line through certain townlands. That gives scope to the board to use their discretion and try to satisfy the wishes of the citizens of Limerick City and the occupants of the land who will be so adversely affected.

Mr. Carew

As this is purely a Limerick matter, I should like to say a few words on it. I must first thank the Minister for having this link line brought about and now that he has come to the House for the necessary Order we are very glad to hear from him that the work will be undertaken shortly. We are all aware of the importance of having a railway link with the cement factory which has fulfilled its obligations and has given, not alone the Government but the people of this country, the greatest satisfaction in the quality of the product that has been produced there. There is also the fact that during the past year they have completed a further extension of that factory. I understand that the directors of Cement Limited have for a very considerable time been pressing C.I.E. for this link line and I am very glad it is coming about.

It is true, as Deputy O'Malley has said, that the Limerick Deputies have been brought into conference with local residents in the matter of this railway. I think there were three routes suggested: one of them was ruled out. There was another that I thought might be the best one, and that was one to run at the back of the regional hospital. I understand the expense was too great and it was turned down for that reason. Another was to run on a more direct line through a residential area. The present one is the one that is running over Mr. McMahon's lands. I was very glad to see that the line that was under discussion at the recent inquiry has evidently by agreement with C.I.E., been altered slightly, which has to some extent removed the grievances of Mr. McMahon but not as fully as perhaps we would like them to be.

Let me say here that Mr. McMahon is not anti-railway. He is not hostile to the railway but like Deputy O'Malley, his point of view is that he built a house there some years ago which cost, I understand from Deputy O'Malley, something in the region of £15,000. At that time he had to seek permission from the Limerick Corporation to build that house and because it was in the contiguous area over which the corporation had control, the Limerick Corporation, as the authority, gave him permission to build the house and to put that considerable amount of money into it on which he is now paying very heavy rates. He felt that if the railway could be brought nearer the creek it would remove any objection he had. I live very close to that area; it is only a matter of three or four hundred yards away. I know every inch of the ground. I have known the land in summer and winter; it is flooded in the wintertime. I believe that if this creek were drained properly that railway could be built much nearer to the creek. However, when I inquired into the matter I found it was purely because of the cost that C.I.E. did not go nearer the creek than they originally intended. I am glad they have to some extent relieved the anxiety of Mr. McMahon.

I hope when this Order goes through it will be possible still further to ease his anxiety. It is only a matter of cost, to what extent I do not know, but certain engineering people who seem to know something about this business informed me that if C.I.E. were prepared to spend extra money there would be less interference with Mr. McMahon's property. I feel that that should be done. Even though Mr. McMahon is only an individual he has rights. I have sympathy with him as has everybody else. He is not an unreasonable person and he certainly would be facilitated if some further slight alteration were carried out in the plan. I am not in a position to say what that alteration would be. In any event, Mr. McMahon is very grateful for what has been done already. I would like to tell the Minister that Mr. McMahon is wholeheartedly with the idea of the railway. He is one of the people in Limerick who are large suppliers of cement and timber and is one of the larger purchasers of cement. He is not hostile to the idea of the railway. He feels, however, that C.I.E. could have had greater consideration for his problem when they were deciding on the route that this line was to take.

In conclusion, let me say that we are grateful in Limerick that the Minister is putting this Order through and, as Deputy O'Malley has said, we do look forward at some future date, when this line is constructed through Mungret if the harbour commissioners so decide to have a link line to the docks, to having the railway moved out much nearer to us. Perhaps some further discussion could take place between C.I.E. and the owners of the property concerned so that a happy solution would be brought about. We know from past history that, no matter how we try to meet certain problems, people will object but I feel that in a matter of this kind C.I.E. and the Government concerned should be, as they are now in making the Order, at all times helpful even to an individual interest. As far as we in Limerick are concerned may I say that we welcome the extension covered by the Order?

The other matter to which I want to refer is the bridge. Undoubtedly close up to a city, a level-crossing is not a very desirable thing to have and if it is a fact that this bridge will not be constructed for the moment, we would like to have some assurance that it will be erected at some future date. The Minister may not be able to give an answer to that question now but I should like that he would consider it at some future date.

Mr. Norton

I can quite understand that a matter of this kind is bound to agitate local feelings and to fertilise a lot of local views, to such an extent that they tend to get out of focus in approaching the problem in a general kind of way. I do not think there is any likelihood of the inconveniences arising which Deputy O'Malley mentioned. I should like to bring some matters to his notice in the hope of getting this matter back into better focus.

First, one would think that the trains to be run on this line would be passing to and fro with the same velocity and the same regularity as trains pass in and out of Kingsbridge or in and out from Westland Row to Dún Laoghaire. There will be two trains a day and it is quite on the cards that they will both run at times when the local residents will be sound asleep.

Mr. Lemass

They will not sleep very soundly if there are trains passing.

Mr. Norton

I think Deputy Lemass often passed that road in the morning and did not see very much activity there. I do not believe the health of the residents will be seriously affected in this matter. Two trains per day will pass on this line.

Mr. O'Malley

We are not worrying about health. We are worrying about the ultimate connection to the docks. Then you will have a busy line.

Mr. Norton

There will be two trains per day. Nobody can seriously suggest that that will cause any domestic disquiet or discord in the circumstances set out here.

Mr. McMahon's case has been mentioned. I do not want to discuss Mr. McMahon's private affairs at all. What are the facts? The railway which crosses the land of Mr. McMahon on the north side is about 400 feet from the house at its present point and the proposal is that the line will be pushed away another 100 feet from the original intention so that, so far as Mr. McMahon is concerned, he is quite a substantial distance away from the railway line. The way in which the case was put here would give the impression that the train was running around Mr. McMahon's house.

Mr. O'Malley

It is going through his tennis court.

Mr. Norton

Mr. McMahon has approximately 15 acres of land and the total which will be occupied will be less than half an acre. That is the proportion.

Mr. O'Malley

That is right.

Mr. Norton

Mr. McMahon's house will be 400 feet away from the railway line at the nearest point. I do not think the sight of an occasional train will seriously disturb the amenities of the McMahon household. In any case, Mr. McMahon's house is already bounded by, and in clear view of, a very busy road. If the McMahon household can withstand the shock of being within clear view of a very busy road, two trains, moving gently, twice a day, are not likely to disturb seriously the amenities of the household. The house will be further from the railway than it already is from the two roads which bound the property and I think, therefore, that Mr. McMahon can face up to this whole situation feeling confident that the even tenor of his ways will not be disturbed and that this railway line will in no way inconvenience the McMahon household.

Possibly, it would have been better if the erection of a level crossing had been avoided but I do not think that level crossings, as such, are things to be deplored in every set of circumstances. Only a couple of years ago the Department of Local Government made a grant to demolish a railway bridge on the Naas road and put up a level crossing in its place, feeling that the level crossing, used infrequently as it is there, and as it will be at Limerick, was better than a railway bridge. That railway bridge was torn down by the Department of Local Government a couple of years ago for the purpose of having it replaced by a level crossing.

Deputy O'Malley is a traveller and knows perfectly well that all over the Continent people manage to get to hospitals, doctors, nurses and dentists although many of the roads have level crossings on them. The level crossing, and not the bridge, is the common thing on the Continent and I do not think it has been seriously suggested that it impeded people getting urgent medical treatment when the necessity arose.

The original intention in this matter was that the railway should be routed in a particular way, but it was found possible to pull the railway out in a long fashion and then, arising out of the inquiry which was held, it was decided that certain deviation would be provided for; in other words, that there would be a certain tolerance in the laying of the railway line. The inspecting officer has been able to arrange with C.I.E. that the line would be pitched further away from the houses and that is the maximum amount of pitching that can be done with this railway at the present time because of its proximity to the Ballinacurra river. If the Ballinacurra river did not exist or if it were banked in concrete and if it had substantial foundations, it might be possible to pull the railway over close to it but the Ballinacurra river, as it exists at present, cannot take the railway nearer to it than is proposed in this new scheme, including the variation.

The Limerick County Council had every opportunity of putting their views about putting the railway nearer to the Ballinacurra river but they did not raise this point at all at the inquiry.

Mr. O'Malley

They withdrew the objection when they got a guarantee that C.I.E. would bring the line as near as feasible to the river.

Mr. Norton

That is as far as it can now be brought, so long as the river remains in its present position.

Mr. O'Malley

That is the point. It will go nearer.

Mr. Norton

Are we to stop all progress and not erect the line until somebody in the Department of Local Government decides to make a grant for the carrying out of some kind of drainage and strengthening works on the river?

Mr. O'Malley

Has not the Minister the plan in front of him?

Mr. Norton

Yes.

Mr. O'Malley

The Minister sees Mr. McMahon's house there. Would the Minister look to the right and the left? By leaving the line where it crosses the road in its present position and by drawing back the line, by straightening the curve, Mr. McMahon would be satisfied. Then, in the westerly direction, if the Minister allows the line not to curve immediately towards the cement factory but straighter for another 60 feet, Mr. Hayes' uplands are safe. So, by these two simple matters the landowners on either side are perfectly safe.

Mr. Norton

These landowners had an opportunity of putting their case.

Mr. O'Malley

And they put their case.

Mr. Norton

So had the Limerick County Council.

Mr. O'Malley

Yes.

Mr. Norton

This Order is now being made on the recommendation of the inspecting officer who conducted the inquiry. Quite clearly, we cannot have another inquiry here this evening. Either you take this Order as a whole or you have to reject it as a whole. I do not think the case for rejecting it has been established.

Mr. O'Malley

Both Deputy Carew and myself want the matter disposed of to-day. All we want is that the Minister would make these two slight changes.

Mr. Norton

I do not know whether this is technically possible. The net point raised will be put to the railway company to see if it is possible to adopt the suggestion. At all events, the inspector who carried out the inquiry was an engineer himself and testified to the fact that the railway could not be brought any nearer to the river than was indicated in this plan. Deputy O'Malley said that the Limerick Harbour Commissioners were anxious to have the harbour connected by rail with the Limerick terminus. Some years ago the harbour commissioners were invited to apply for a grant for such a railway link but so far they have made no such application.

Mr. O'Malley

Because their financial commitments would not allow them. The Minister will be hearing from them shortly.

Mr. Norton

Then we can consider the question but at the moment the ball is in Deputy O'Malley's court and not in mine. As far as the construction of the bridge is concerned I understand C.I.E. intend that the railway line will be constructed so as to approximate to what is believed would be the ultimate permanent level, that is the level at which the railway line would run if a bridge is subsequently erected.

Mr. O'Malley

Who is going to erect the bridge?

Mr. Norton

The road authority with such assistance as they get from the Road Fund. C.I.E. has nothing to do with the bridge.

Mr. O'Malley

What about the money?

Mr. Norton

That is a problem between the road authority itself and the Department of Local Government.

Mr. O'Malley

There was no problem there until the £20,000 earmarked under the National Development Fund was swept away.

Mr. Norton

I do not think we are getting anywhere by arguing at this stage.

Mr. O'Malley

The only point we really wanted to impress was that the Minister would use his good offices to see that the £20,000 of the National Development Fund grant is put back again now that the bridge is contemplated.

Mr. Norton

I am sure that is a matter that can be effectively argued with the Department of Local Government when the local authority decide to build the bridge. Surely the local authority must make up their minds that they want a bridge before any action is taken to have the money made available. The local authority may decide that they do not want a bridge. If they decide that they do, the Deputy's footsteps will guide him to where the necessary funds are for projects such as this. I think the Deputy is misreading Section 5. The general intention is to construct the railway with the utmost expedition and these further periods provided for in Section 5 are in case unexpected difficulties should be encountered but it is hoped they can be avoided.

Question put and agreed to.