With the approval of the House, I will share my time with Senator Jim Walsh.
My grandfather was a railway surveyor, while my great great grandfather was a member of the arbitration committee which decided on compensation in relation to the land acquisition for the Waterford-Limerick railway, and I am the only person to have received a severe reprimand for overusing the Dublin-Belfast railway. I am also committed to public transport which I use. I welcome all the investment in the railways during the term of office of the last Government, especially the rail safety programme study, and do not want to see the new Government start by closing railway lines or running down the freight service. Existing Government policy is "to maintain the existing rail passenger network" from which we should not depart.
The Fianna Fáil manifesto stated the party "will ensure the advantages of rail freight will be actively encouraged and marketed." This is the policy of every party in the House and will also become Irish Rail policy because there is a larger national interest. The congestion we all experience is intolerable and should not be added to while we have an under-utilised resource. The beet trains are essential on the line in question which should be kept open. In other countries there are targets for encouraging rail freight and incentives for using it.
The proposal that eight out of 11 passenger stations in County Tipperary be closed plus four in south Wexford is outrageous. The main reason I am in this House is because of two disastrous by-elections and the people of County Tipperary are not prepared to be ignored or taken for granted by the State and its agencies. I was asked to stand in the hope of gaining more attention, which is how I came to be by various means in this House. Whether it is decentralisation, industry, radio stations or railways, the people of County Tipperary expect fair treatment and are not going to be pushed around. Clonmel is the largest inland town and, like Ennis, deserves a rail service. The rail service from Rosslare to Limerick is important for tourism. I travelled on it this summer and it has clear commuter potential. If we have trains leaving before the boat arrives and five minutes before the Dublin train arrives in Waterford, naturally we will have empty trains.
I do not believe the propaganda that it is costing the State €2 million to €5 million. Some ten or 12 years ago, the benefit of closing it was put at £100,000. There is an old French saying that if one wants to have one's dog drowned, call it rabid. There is much in this. Irish Rail must think again. I hope the Government will not go down this road. In hard times, there were not rail closures. Over the past 20 years the system was kept intact and must remain so now that more money is available.