Vol. 574 No. 1
413 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Transport if his attention has been drawn to the campaign of the west-on track campaign to reopen the Sligo-Limerick railtrack; if he has represented a view on this issue to Iarnród Éireann; his policy on this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26081/03]
I am fully aware of the west-on-track campaign to reopen the Sligo-Limerick railway, which forms part of the proposed western rail corridor, WRC. The WRC was one of a number of railway proposals that was evaluated in the strategic rail review, SRR, which I published earlier this year. The purpose of the SRR was to provide the Government with a policy framework for the future development of the rail passenger and rail freight sectors in Ireland. While it was noted in the SRR that this particular scheme complements the objectives of the national spatial strategy, it did not perform well in the cost/benefit and multi-criteria analyses carried out in the course of the review and so it was not included by the consultants in the recommended investment strategy of the SRR. One of the conclusions of the SRR is that consideration of new railway proposals, such as the western rail corridor, would need to be preceded by the adoption by local and regional authorities of appropriate and complementary land use, settlement and economic strategies, that would provide the economic, social and commercial rationale for the project before it could proceed. Recognising that the western rail corridor fits in well with the aims of the national spatial strategy I have provided the relevant regional authorities in the west with consultancy advice to ensure that they are fully aware of the necessary prerequisites that would need to be put in place before a detailed feasibility study could be commissioned by Irish Rail on the western rail corridor. In September last, officials from my Department together with the SRR consultants organised a seminar in Athlone to outline to officials of the border, west, mid-west and south-west regional authorities, the context in which the western rail corridor was considered within the overall strategic rail review. The seminar also dealt with the land use and settlement issues that would be critical to such a proposal. The seminar was very timely as all eight regional authorities are currently in the process of drawing up regional planning guidelines for their regions as part of the implementation of the national spatial strategy. The seminar was therefore an opportunity to discuss the WRC proposal in the context of the development of these guidelines. The seminar has been followed by direct one-to-one discussions on these issues between the consultants and each of the regional authorities involved and the western development commission. Iarnród Éireann is well aware of my position with regard to planning for new rail projects in Ireland.
414 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Transport if, in view of the underspend on the programme for economic and social infrastructure in respect of the BMW region, he has plans in respect of the moneys concerned; his views on whether the reopening of the western corridor would be an appropriate investment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26082/03]
Under the economic and social infrastructure operational programme the total expenditure in the BMW region over the period 2000-02 was €42.365 billion or approximately 90% of that forecast in the operational programme. The shortfall was mainly accounted for by the lower expenditure than that forecast for national roads and public transport. In relation to national roads, nine pro jects in the BMW region are currently at tender stage and due to start construction in the coming months. As regards public transport, the programme for continuous welding of rail track, the rail network track and signalling project, the redevelopment of Heuston Station and the Iarnród Éireann rolling stock programme when completed will provide higher quality and more frequent rail services to the midlands and west. In addition, the bus capacity provided by Bus Éireann and private operators in the region has increased significantly in recent years.
My Department is reviewing the situation of public transport expenditure in the region in the light of the conclusions of the ESIOP mid-term evaluation and is in discussions with CIE about investment plans for the remaining lifetime of the NDP.
The western rail corridor was one of a number of schemes that was evaluated in the strategic rail review, published earlier this year, but it did not perform well in the cost benefit analysis in the review and therefore was not included by the consultants in the recommended investment strategy. Recognising that the western rail corridor fits in well with the aims of the national spatial strategy, I provided the relevant regional authorities in the west with consultancy advice to ensure that they are fully aware of the necessary prerequisites that would need to be in place before a rail feasibility study by Iarnród Éireann could be commissioned.
While it is entirely a matter for the regional authorities to consider the potential for rail developments, such as the western rail corridor, in their upcoming planning guidelines, I would stress that such proposals must be supported by land use and settlement strategies that would underpin and support the rail proposals if they are to have any chance of success.
