Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 5 Jul 2023

Vol. 1041 No. 4

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Control of Firearms

Deputy Verona Murphy

I wish to discuss the purpose for which the firearms expert committee was set up, why it was established and what were the wide-ranging matters relating to firearms on which the Minister of State needed advice. It is not long since I asked him a series of questions related to the firearms expert committee, which were mainly based on the serious concerns brought to me by members of gun-related organisations. These primarily included firearms holders and those who wish to engage in recreational hunting and shooting pursuits, as well as those who must carry out pest control to protect their livelihoods. They are, to put it mildly, very annoyed, at the way the whole process has been conducted and are at a loss to understand what the purpose of the firearms expert committee is. The Minister of State replied with the following answer, "The purpose of the [firearms expert committee] was to serve in an advisory capacity to me as Minister, providing guidance on a wide range of matters related to firearms licensing in the State." This was very disappointing and it was a vague response. I have spoken to many different people involved in firearms groups and to judge by what I have been told and have read so far, I have engaged in far more comprehensive consultation with representative groups than has the firearms expert committee.

I ask the Minister of State to explain why this committee was established and what was the wide range of related matters on which the Minister of State needed guidance. The firearms expert committee was established not to provide expert evidence on the issues but as a closed shop to ram through changes to suit a narrow minority of people involved. One of the committee members resigned due to the way the committee was conducting its work. Did the Department consult with this member as to why he resigned? Were any issues identified? Was any expert left on the committee after this committee member resigned?

The other vital question is whether the Department asked appointed committee members to fill out a declaration of interests. If so, were any conflicts of interest identified? If members were not asked to fill out a declaration of interests, the question is, why were they not? Was one of the independent experts appointed to the committee actually employed by the Department of Justice at the time of their appointment as an independent member of that committee? Concerned constituents have approached me and identified possible cases where members of the firearms expert committee could gain a personal, financial benefit if some of this committee's recommendations in the report were to be implemented. There is clear anger among gun users about this because it gives the impression that this whole process is not interested in making changes or improvements for the right reasons.

There is also serious anger and concern about the potential for these recommendations to leave genuine gun users with criminal charges for firearms offences for the most minor and trivial of indiscretions. To outline one example, were someone to register a firearm in County Wexford and were that person invited to shoot in County Carlow at a legitimately organised event, he or she would now become a criminal in charge of an illegal firearm. Falling foul of these things are firearms offences that could stop people getting future licences or even prevent some people from being allowed enter into different countries. It may even work against someone in a child custody case. It could also prevent someone from getting Garda vetting for a job or voluntary position in a club or organisation. It is clear that all of this has been done with little regard for the opinions of those who actually use guns. Consultation has been absent, engagement has been absent and solutions proposed are impractical and non-existent.

Minister of State at the Department of Justice (Deputy James Browne)

I thank the Deputy for raising her specific questions, which is why the firearms expert committee was established and what was the wide range of matters related to firearms about which the Minister formed the committee to advise on. The firearms expert committee was established to serve in an advisory capacity in respect of various firearms matters and I would like to thank the committee for its work. The firearms expert committee, FEC, was established following a request for expressions of interest from suitably qualified candidates that was published on 31 March 2022. This call was published on the Department of Justice’s website and shared among stakeholder organisations. The call for expressions of interest was administered by officials from the criminal justice policy function of the Department of Justice, which also acts as the secretariat to the committee. Appointments to the committee were made entirely in line with the process advised in the published expressions of interest document.

The FEC was made up of five members, namely, an independent chairperson, a representative of An Garda Síochána, a representative of the Department of Justice and two non-governmental ordinary members having experience of firearms. This structure was chosen to give balanced representation to both governmental and non-governmental stakeholders.

In answer to the Deputy’s question as to the matters that the committee was asked to examine, the FEC’s terms of reference remain publicly available on gov.ie. They are comprehensive and include the following: to carry out an assessment of all types of firearms which are currently licensed in the State to determine their use under the existing licensing system; to make recommendations based on the assessment of which types of firearms should be licensable in the State and for what purposes; to consider whether firearms certificates should be conditioned to specify the locations where the firearms may be used; to consider whether firearms certificates should be conditioned to limit the use of the firearm to the purpose for which the firearms certificate was sought; and to consider whether there should be a limit on the number and type of firearms a person may hold.

I assume that the Deputy has read the reports of the committee. She will be aware that they represent a comprehensive examination of the matters set out and that among the 80 or so recommendations made are various measures to improve the licensing process. The final meeting of the FEC took place on 3 March 2023. I have received its final reports, which I published on Friday, 31 March 2023 on gov.ie. In addition to publishing the final reports, I also published the minutes and a summary of each in-person meeting. For the avoidance of any doubt let me reiterate that the purpose of the FEC was to serve in an advisory capacity to me as a Minister in respect of his terms of reference and to make recommendations on a range of firearms matters for subsequent consideration. As I have emphasised before the FEC was established and throughout this process, any proposed changes to policy or legislation arising from any recommendations by the FEC will be subject to prior and extensive consultation with firearms stakeholders. To that end, an online consultation platform was developed and on 3 May 2023, I launched the FEC consultation online on gov.ie which concluded on 2 June 2023. In addition, I also have sought written submissions on the recommendations of the FEC from a range of stakeholders' organisations including the Firearms Users Representative Group, FURG, the Irish Farmers Association, IFA, the National Association of Regional Game Councils, NARGC, and others. There was no restriction put on those submissions. Now that the wider public consultation has concluded and having received the written submissions, I intend to meet such groups. Meetings are scheduled for later this week. I will meet FURG tomorrow and the IFA. I look forward to having further engagements with other stakeholders as well.

Deputy Verona Murphy

I am sorry but the Minister of State has failed to address any of the questions contained within. He knows well that the only person who could have been regarded an expert resigned from that committee with the damning statement that he believed the committee was a farce. I do not know how the Minister of State, in an advisory capacity, can then use reports on foot of the only expert on that committee telling him that what was going on was a farce. The Minister of State knows perfectly well and does not need me to outline the anger the gun clubs in County Wexford and around the country feel about this process.

There were 80 recommendations. Of course I read the report. So have they. This is a cart-before-the-horse performance. It would have served better had the Minister of State gone back to the model that brought in the 2009 legislation, which is exactly what the stakeholders believe was a successful model. I encourage him now, on their behalf, that rather than doing it the other way around and putting the cart before the horse, to discard the reports that are held in esteem by no one, least of all by the experts who he says compiled them when clearly, the only expert resigned from the committee and gave it a damning report. To save everybody's face in this regard, he should start again and go back to the stakeholder involvement put together for the 2009 legislation that was compiled. As the model was not broken, I am not sure why he sought to fix it. There was a consultative panel, that was from 2004, which was a successful model with which everybody agreed. If it was not broken, I am unsure why the Minister of State tried to fix it. It certainly has not worked and all it has caused is consternation. There are huge concerns among many of the gun clubs and their members and different sporting events that would make them criminals, were any of the recommendations brought in.

I await the answer to this question with interest.

Deputy James Browne

In fairness, I answered the question the Deputy actually put before the House.

It was unfortunate that one of the members of the committee resigned or withdrew his support. However, he did so after the committee concluded all of its meetings and actually submitted its report which was, in fairness, quite late in the day. In regard to this process, this was just an advisory group making recommendations many of which use phrases like, for example, "to consider" or "to look at". That is all it is. These are not laws. Much fear has been generated among the gun ownership community. What is being done here is simply at a very early stage of, as I said, an advisory committee that is now starting to have extensive consultations. That is all. When I read or hear such words as "new Government laws", or "people being criminalised", as if laws were suddenly about to be enacted, I note we are at a very early stage in a very long process whereby all of the gun communities will be considered and consulted before anything is brought in. There are no new laws about to happen here. Nobody is about to be made a criminal-----

Deputy Verona Murphy

Why did he move away from the model?

Deputy James Browne

If the Deputy will let me answer, please. There is no point in shouting me down.

Deputy Verona Murphy

I am not shouting you down. I am asking-----

Deputy James Browne

Nobody is about to be criminalised.

Deputy Verona Murphy

Can we go back to the 2004 model?

Deputy James Browne

I read misinformation in my own local newspaper where somebody said that organisations are going to be charged €1,000 a year. This figure was plucked out of someone's backside.

Deputy Verona Murphy

That was not my statement.

Deputy James Browne

No, but it was in the newspaper. I am giving examples of the kind of misrepresentations that are being put out there----

Deputy Verona Murphy

Can we go back to the 2004 model?

Deputy James Browne

-----that are creating unnecessary fear among the gun community.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Deputy Murphy, please, let the Minister of State speak.

Deputy James Browne

Make no mistake either, we always have keep things like firearms under review. That is important as well.

School Enrolments

Deputy David Stanton

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and the office of the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this topic and the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, for responding. I am disappointed the Minister will not be here. I understand she is busy. This issue arises because in the last while, my colleagues and I have received phone calls from worried parents whose prospective first-year students have no place in September. The schools in east Cork are all full, with waiting lists. I raised this a number of times and received a response from the Minister advising me of what is going to be done in the future and the kind of process that is in place to figure out the numbers that will be there. She talked about what might be the case, such as duplication of applications, schools of choice, small towns, some towns having single-sex schools, external draw, all of which is being examined.

While I pay tribute to all the principals who have worked hard, we are at a point where a number of students now have no place in September. Parents ring me. Will the Minister consider the position of a 12-year-old boy or girl who does not have a place but all their friends have places and are getting their uniforms and books, getting organised, but this person has nowhere to go? In one particular instance, a parent was asked to consider home schooling. Another parent was advised to travel 30 miles to a school. That is just not possible. The other issue is, as I have said on previous occasions, we probably need some kind of central applications system to deal with this. I know that was tried in Limerick and seemed to be in some way successful. Parents will apply to every school because they are afraid of getting no place. At the start of the year, in my area there might be a waiting list with 200 or 300 on it. This is crazy. That whittles away. We are now down to a core group of people. The principals know at this stage that they have no places. There are also people on the waiting lists who we know have places in other schools and they are holding out because they want to go to their school of choice. That is understandable but at least they have a place. I am worried about the others. Has contact been made with the schools recently? I have written to the Minister about this. Does the Minister know exactly how many have no place? What will the Department do for September? What will the Minister of State this morning tell the parents and their children, who are all listening, about this? Can a place be guaranteed for September for these young people? Will the Minister put in place for the future some form of system to avoid us being here talking about this year after year?

At this stage, east Cork needs another second-level school. Thankfully the housing situation is going well. There are many applications and hundreds of houses are being built. We have new schools, in fairness, and extensions. However, how big should a school become? Some of these schools are now heading for 1,300 students. That is very big. We are reaching the stage where we need to be planning ahead to build yet another school given the fact that the area is expanding so much.

I also suggest, if the departmental officials are listening in here, that a person being put on a waiting list is a de facto refusal, and such people should be advised of the right to appeal to the board of management. That does not happen in every case. They should also be advised of the right after that, if they still do not have a place, to appeal to the Department under section 29 and that is not being done. If that is not being done within a certain period, they may also run the risk of losing the right to school transport. That also has to be done.

Principals should be mandated by the Department to advise parents of their right where, if they are put on a waiting list, that it is a de facto refusal as there is not a place at that time and that they also have a right to appeal.

I furthermore believe that we should have a central application system, either locally or nationally, whereby someone who accepts a place in a school is taken off every other list.

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Deputy Dara Calleary)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Cheann Comhairle agus leis an Teachta freisin as an ábhar seo a ardú. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Education and it gives the Department of Education a chance to set out to the House the position with regard to post-primary school places in east Cork for September 2023 and onwards.

As the Deputy knows, the Department of Education divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a geographical information system to anticipate school place demand. It identifies a range of information sources, including child benefit, school enrolment data and information on residential development activity. Having considered the projected requirements in each of these school planning areas, the Department then makes an assessment of the existing capacity within this particular area and its ability to meet any increased demand.

Where our data indicate that additional provision is required at primary or post-primary level, the delivery of such additional provision is dependent on the particular circumstances of each case and may be provided through a combination of means such as utilising existing unused capacity within a school or schools, extending the capacity of schools or the provision of new schools.

In the case of east Cork, the Department's projections show an anticipated continued growth in enrolments in the short to medium term. While the Department is aware of increasing pressures and demand for additional school places, as the Deputy has noted, enrolment pressures may not be fully due to a lack of accommodation but may also be driven by other factors, including the duplication of applications; schools of choice; some towns or areas having single-sex schools in which places are available but which are not available to all pupils; and pupils coming from outside the local area.

The Minister is aware of pressures at post-primary level in east Cork, and in particular the Midleton and Carrigtwohill school planning area referred to by the Deputy. She is working to establish the true extent of capacity issues across the school planning area through ongoing discussions with the relevant school patrons and authorities. Engagement began in October 2022 with a view to getting a clear picture of the number of unique additional places required. The Department is reliant on getting clear data from the schools in a prompt manner and is continuing to engage with the schools and patrons. Officials from the Department will be addressing the issue with each of the patrons this week with a view to finding a workable solution to ensure no student is without a place for September 2023. This close engagement is allowing the Department to identify particular capacity requirements for the forthcoming years and whether any further actions are required in addition to those already in train, including the provision of modular accommodation solutions.

In light of the continuing growth in enrolments, as the Deputy may be aware, the Department is already progressing a number of building projects in east Cork under the national development plan, which includes projects at post-primary schools. These include a project at Carrigtwohill Community College to deliver a new, modern 1,000-pupil permanent school building and this project is currently on-site. There will also be an extension at St. Colman's Community College, Midleton, which has been recently completed to cater for up to 1,000 pupils. A number of large school building projects are also in train to cater for similar numbers of pupils. These include expanded capacity at Midleton CBS. Secondary School and St. Mary's High School, Midleton. In addition, St. Aloysius’ College, Carrigtwohill will expand to cater for 1,000 pupils, Pobalscoil na Tríonóide, Youghal, will expand to cater for 1,200 pupils, and Coláiste Mhuire and Carrignafoy Community College, both in Cobh, will expand to cater for 600 and over 700 pupils, respectively.

Deputy David Stanton

I thank the Minister of State for his very positive response and the Department officials who prepared the response for him. I note, in particular, that he said that officials from his Department will be addressing the issue with each of the patrons this week with a view to finding a workable solution to ensure that no students will be without a place for September 2023.

I warmly welcome that commitment but the only problem is that I understand that the schools are on holidays at the moment and are closed. I just hope that they have been acting on this because I have been flagging this for quite a while.

This brings light to the bigger question here, where we are facing this issue every single year. We need a situation where if a parent accepts a place in one school, the child is removed from the waiting list in all other schools. Whether one uses personal public service numbers, PPSNs, or whatever I do not know, but it would certainly help the problem if the parent were told that initially.

There is also the right to appeal and parents are not aware of that either. The Department is scrambling to find out what the true figure is but if the right to appeal was there, the section 29 appeals would then be in the Department and it would know exactly how many students were then without places because those parents would have appealed the fact that their children did not have a place in a school.

I must also again pay tribute to the principals and the staff in all of the schools who work so hard. I note that Carrigtwohill post-primary school, which I believe will be open at Christmas time, is already full and at capacity and is currently in temporary accommodation. This brings me back to the other point which I wanted to make this morning, which is about the need for another second level school in east Cork. I said this here last week and I point to the fact that there is a large Educate Together primary school in Midleton with, I believe, 700 students. There is a growing demand for that kind of school in the area. If another school will be built in east Cork, and I believe it should, we know that it took the school in Carrigtwohill 12 years to be built from inception to the present and, as I have already said, we hope that it will be open around Christmas time.

The need for another school is very important in this area, as it is a growing one with many houses being built in east Cork. It is close to the city and, as I see that the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, has joined us, I will mention that there will be a battery-operated rail line very soon, which will run every ten minutes. That will also be really good. There are a number of issues here, therefore, that need to be addressed.

Deputy Dara Calleary

I believe the Department and the Deputy are at one in this regard. There is an ambitious and extensive capital investment programme occurring in east Cork at the moment and will be the envy of many areas in the country in respect of the size of the schools I outlined earlier.

In fairness to management and to school principals, they are still working behind closed doors right across the country, including in east Cork, and I am pretty sure that the engagement the Department is having around numbers for September is continuing regardless of whether holidays are ongoing or not. The Minister has made a clear commitment with regard to this September and to the availability of school places.

The Deputy has made some good proposals around a CAO-type system for enrolments that I will bring to the Minister’s attention.

Finally, as I have not dealt with Deputy Stanton in the Chamber since he announced his intention to move to another phase of life, I wish him health and happiness. Hopefully, we will be here for some time yet in this House together but I wish him good luck in the next phase of his life.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

I thank the Minister of State for gaining me time.

Healthcare Infrastructure Provision

Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor

I thank the Minister of State for attending.

Carlow is one of the fastest growing counties in Leinster according to the Central Statistics Office, CSO, figures. Although Carlow town now has more people living in it than has Kilkenny city, we have no hospital. Earlier this year, the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, came to Carlow and saw the pressure on our out-of-hours service and the limited use of a perfectly good X-ray facility in St. Dympna's Hospital.

We need an injury clinic in Carlow to make use of the good facilities already there and to allow for the expansion of the services to properly serve the people of Carlow. As for the growth in population and demand on the service, I note the population of Carlow has had the biggest growth since 2016, at 9%, bringing the county of Carlow to a total of 61,968. Again, were the Minister of State to look at the CSO figures, he would see Carlow town has a bigger population than Kilkenny city. That, in itself, leads the way for a very significant injury clinic to be put into Carlow because of the population.

The CSO figures have the population of Carlow town at 27,351 and Kilkenny city’s population is at 27,184. The Carlow town population figures include Graiguecullen.

Part of Graiguecullen is in Laois, but it is just a short walk across the River Barrow and these people use the services in Carlow; they do not go to Portlaoise and instead use all the Carlow services. If there was a minor injury unit in Carlow, and of course in other towns that need them across the country, pressure would be taken off regional accident and emergency departments. It would alleviate the situation of people waiting hours just to get an X-ray. This is something that concerned me. I am not blaming the staff in Kilkenny hospital, but over the last bank holiday weekend St. Luke's General Hospital Kilkenny asked that people not attend the accident and emergency department unless they really had to because of staff pressures. I appreciate the staff are doing an excellent job, but they announced people should not go to the accident and emergency department in Kilkenny unless they needed to because the staff were under so much pressure.

We have an excellent X-ray department, a vaccination clinic and out-of-hours services, yet the people are being sent to Kilkenny hospital. It is unfair on people and on the hospital. The X-ray department in Carlow operates on a part-time basis with limited daily X-ray facilities. It needs to be open five days a week. This would again take the pressure off Kilkenny. I do not want the staff of Kilkenny to think I do not appreciate the good work they are doing. What is the plan for increased resources for St. Dympna's Hospital? Is the Minister going to look at a build for a minor injury clinic elsewhere? We need to look at a primary care centre. I am aware it is part of the plan going forward. I was told the HSE proposed to deliver a primary care centre for Tullow, Rathvilly and Hacketstown using its own direct build mechanism. The HSE said its capital plan would fund it. The HSE then told me this was only identified last year. Then I was told it was to begin in quarter 4. It is still not there. This is a huge centre promised for a long time. I ask the Minister of State to go back to the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, to see if this can be pushed urgently.

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Deputy Dara Calleary)

I thank the Deputy. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Donnelly.

In 2012 the emergency medicine programme recommended the establishment of injury units in model 2 hospitals to provide unscheduled emergency care for patients with non-life threatening or limb threatening injuries. It was envisaged that due to their locations these injury units would provide a convenient level of emergency care while ensuring patient safety and equitable standards of care within an emergency care network. Some 15 local injury units are now open around the country and each one is providing an important service to its local community. There is clearly a large and growing demand for these services. Approximately 140,000 patients attended injury units in 2022. This is an increase of over 30% since 2019 and represents around 7% of all urgent and emergency activity in Ireland. However, the impact of this level of service is not just local. These injury units also play an important role in reducing the waiting times for patients in emergency departments throughout the country by providing a level of care locally and the Deputy referenced this. Injury units are for the treatment of minor injuries that are unlikely to need admission to hospital, such as broken bones, dislocations and burns. Patients may be referred to an injury unit by a GP or sent to one from an emergency department. Injury units require access to appropriate clinical space and onsite access to X-ray facilities.

I am advised the HSE commenced a review of injury units and medical assessment units in October 2022 with the aim of identifying areas of best practice that could be rolled out across the country. This review also looked in detail at the activity, capacity, staffing and operation of existing units across the model 2 Hospitals, as well as areas having the most potential need for additional injury units. An implementation plan for the recommendations from the review is now being developed. While all recommendations will of course be subject to resource and other considerations, including alignment with urgent and emergency care national and local plans, the development of these services in areas such as Carlow will be considered as part of the implementation plan.

Unfortunately, I do not have an update on the primary care issue, but I will get one from the Minister for the Deputy.

Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor

I know the Minister of State will go back to the Minister. As I said, I have had him in Carlow, we met different groups and given our population growth an injury clinic has to be part of the plan going forward. The Minister of State said an implementation plan for the recommendations from the review is now being developed and areas such as Carlow will be considered as part of the implementation plan. What is the timescale on this and is there a date? The good people of Carlow are so lucky to have a hospital as good as the one in Kilkenny, but it is half an hour away. Our population has grown so much. We need an injury clinic in Carlow as soon as possible. I am sure the Minister of State will come back to me on the primary care, but the reason I spoke about it is we were promised a centre that would include Tullow, Hacketstown, Rathvilly and all that area, yet I am worn out talking to CHO 5. I might as well tell the Minister of State I am constantly ringing the organisation and trying to get an update and I just do not seem to be getting anywhere. I again ask that he talk to the Minister and I will speak to him as well.

I met some councillors from the Borris area recently. The census showed the area has one of the oldest populations in Carlow, with an average age of 44.9 years. It is also looking for a primary care centre because it is one of the most rural parts of Carlow. These facilities are going to be so important going forward, because people are living longer, which we are all delighted about, but we need to be able to facilitate people in that. We must be able to ensure people can access these things.

I was in St. Mullins last night at a big public meeting. It is very close to Borris. It is the most beautiful part of Carlow. We have so much to offer in Carlow. I am looking for two primary care units and an injury clinic.

Deputy Dara Calleary

I thank the Deputy for the weekly tour of Carlow. I can assure her the review of the current injury and medical assessment units that was begun last October has been finalised and an implementation plan is now being developed. That is particularly quick for the HSE. It would be useful for the Deputy to supply to the Minister the census figures she referenced, including for Graiguecullen and the portion in Laois, to back up the work that might be underway with the implementation plan. The Minister is clear Carlow will be considered as part of the implementation plan, but that is of course subject to resource and other considerations, including the alignment with urgent and emergency care national and local plans. It would be useful for the Deputy to provide that up-to-date information to the Minister directly. I will advise him to expect it from her.

Rail Network

Deputy Alan Dillon

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this important Topical Issue matter. I also thank the Minister, Deputy Ryan, for being in the Chamber. It certainly is a statement for him to be here in relation to the importance of this project for the west.

One of the single most valuable pieces of infrastructure in the west of Ireland, and Ireland as a whole, is the western rail corridor. The campaign for its reopening has been ongoing for the past two decades. I commend West on Track for its dedication and commitment to the campaign. The preservation of this key piece of infrastructure is already in place. It will be of enormous benefit and is of paramount importance. If and when this project is funded the opening of a freight and passenger line will herald a new era in transport and development for the west, as well as reducing emissions and allowing people to travel more sustainably. Much hinges on the contents of the soon-to-be-published all-Ireland strategic rail review. Rumours and speculation are rife that the western rail corridor link from Athenry to Claremorris is to be recommended for reopening, but all we have to date is speculation.

Rail will play a central role in underpinning economic development in the west in future.

The western rail corridor project is not simply about reopening an old railway line. It is about reimagining and revitalising our regional transportation infrastructure. This project will significantly reduce travel times between Mayo and Galway, making our communities more accessible and interconnected than ever before. Furthermore, the improved accessibility will also stimulate local economies, attract new businesses and encourage tourism, thereby providing an economic boost to the entire region. It will also provide an increased opportunity for people to work, live and thrive in their communities.

Beyond the economic impact, the western rail corridor is about bringing our communities closer together. It is about breaking down barriers and creating a more cohesive and integrated region where people can easily travel to work, education or leisure. The combination of renewable energy projects, industry and infrastructure means we are within reach of achieving a transformative shift required in rebalancing our economy. It is time this report, which has been ongoing for the past two years, is published and this long-dormant line is returned to use.

Regional policy objectives published by the Northern and Western Regional Assembly specifically support the restoration of the western rail corridor. This strategy also recognises the potential in consolidating the Atlantic economic corridor. Developing the Atlantic economic corridor, rebalancing economic development and ensuring the western seaboard benefits from this, particularly in terms of infrastructure development, are critically important.

The cost, which was outlined in a report issued by Dr. John Bradley, estimated the cost of reopening the Athenry to Claremorris line as being in the region of €154 million, which is a drop in the ocean for this shovel-ready and environmentally sustainable development. It is a small fraction of the costs associated with BusConnects, MetroLink or other Dublin projects. There is now the potential for Westport, Ballina, Castlebar, Claremorris, Tuam and Sligo to have a freight and passenger rail line with our regional capital in Galway. It would also play a crucial role in developing Knock Airport and have significant environmental benefits in reducing carbon use and freight. Could the Minister for Transport provide an update on the all-Ireland strategic rail review and the importance of this project for the west?

Minister for Transport (Deputy Eamon Ryan)

I am very glad to have the chance to respond to the Deputy's question. Can I put it first and foremost in a very broad framework? The day before yesterday, for the first time in recorded history, the temperature of our planet went above 17°C on average. This is above the 1.5°C increase we are hoping to avert through the Paris climate agreement. For most of June, as the Leas-Chathaoirleach will know, we had an extraordinary situation whereby the temperature of the air above the surface of the sea off the west coast of Ireland was 5°C above average, which is outside any precedent. World weather systems are changing dramatically in front of us and this requires an urgent and dramatic response.

This sounds very broad but it has implications for every aspect of what we do. In particular, in the transport sector, which accounts for a fifth of our emissions, we have to act now and change our systems to a better way that is decarbonised. This will be most difficult in the freight and haulage sector. We know we can switch to active travel, public transport and electric cars but trucks are going to be difficult. In my mind, what will come is battery electric trucks but trucks also have different characteristics such as different range characteristics. I believe a fundamental shift will be the revitalisation of rail freight on our island as a means of decarbonising our transport system.

With the reintroduction of rail freight, there is the potential to reintroduce a lot of passenger services when we get the rail lines back. We need to consider two critical pieces of infrastructure in this regard: the connection from Rosslare to Waterford and the connection from Athenry to Claremorris. By reopening those two sections, we have the potential for an Atlantic rail corridor that runs all the way from Rosslare to Ballina and Westport. The advantage of this is that every big international or local business within 50 to 100 km of that rail line would have a mechanism to get a zero-carbon export solution to their products. Battery electric trucks could be driven to the train station or marshalling yard with access via that rail line through Shannon Foynes Port, Marino Point in Cork, Waterford Port or Rosslare Europort. Currently a lot of that traffic goes from Galway, Mayo and Limerick through the middle of the country and our towns on the way to Rosslare and out to France. Building that section from Athenry to Claremorris gives us the opportunity to go towards a low-carbon transport solution. It also opens up the possibility of passenger services and much greater inter-connection.

The EY report that looked at whether we should reopen the Athenry to Claremorris line had too narrow a focus. The report asked whether there was sufficient demand for people to commute from Claremorris or Tuam to Galway by rail. Obviously, the answer was "not really" because there was a more direct bus route and the cost would be very high in comparison. However, when you broaden the lens in the way I have just done, it changes the analysis. I am looking forward to the publication of the strategic rail review this month and I believe it will make that case. We then have to collectively as a Parliament make the case for the investment. I wish it was the figure the Deputy said Dr. Bradley would say but I fear it is likely to be a multiple of that. If he could build it for that figure, I would hire him tomorrow.

Deputy Alan Dillon

I thank the Minister for his response. I appreciate his statement on broadening the lens regarding the importance of the western rail corridor. I understand the stumbling blocks regarding the publication of the all-Ireland strategic rail review and the pushing ahead of a draft review that needs to set out what is contained within it. However, a lot of work is taking place in Mayo. A lot of the multinationals, which are key employers throughout the county, are looking at their own corporate responsibility objectives regarding sustainable freight travel. A network is being established around how they can move trucks from road to rail. This will be an important factor for the Minister and his officials to evaluate in terms of how we reopen the western rail corridor.

Given the success of the train service between Limerick and Ennis, which has surpassed all expectations, work on obtaining funding and getting the next phase from Claremorris to Athenry going will be a key component of our approach. As the Minister said, we can connect Westport, Castlebar and Ballina to Claremorris, which opens up a significant opportunity and meets the strategic objectives of connecting Ballina to the ports of Waterford and Foynes at the same time, which is really important. There is strong cross-party support across the western region for the restoration of this key piece of infrastructure, which has lain idle for far too long. We cannot continue to exist on fine words. We need to see delivery. We have moved ahead with the Foynes project, which is under way. The Galway-Mayo link is critical to that and I appeal to the Minister to see that work can commence on clearing the line by September.

Deputy Eamon Ryan

The Deputy is right. When the Limerick-Ennis service reopened, it defied expectations and there was huge demand but that has always been the case. When the Cobh line to Cork was reopened, passenger demand was way ahead of expectations. There are significant passenger numbers on the line from Ennis to Athenry. Every time, we open passenger rail services, the public shows with its feet that it wants it.

None of the investment that will be required to reopen the western rail corridor is in the existing NDP. We do not have any budget for the new rail freight carriages in which we will need to invest.

The ones I think we will invest in come from France and are being used in the ports we connect to such as Cherbourg, where a rail freight carriage can pivot and take a haulage truck, a trailer, straight onto the train; it clips back in. That changes the entire dynamics of how rail freight can work. Battery electric trucks will also change it. To date the economics of rail freight did not work especially in small countries like Ireland because distance matters. However, distance now matters in a different way when decarbonising haulage solutions because the battery electric trucks only have a range of about 300 km. It does not make economic sense to drive from Westport to Dublin Port or to Rosslare Europort because it would be necessary to recharge which will take four or five hours. However, it does make sense do a shuttle run. The Allergan plant is only across the road from the railway station but it would be possible to haul shorter distances in a clean way. The Deputy is absolutely right; all those companies have scope 3 requirements and need to decarbonise their transport systems. Once this report is published, I would like to ask all those businesses if they are on for it. Do they think this is the way we can collectively decarbonise? I bet that the vast majority would say "Yes".