Rose Conway-Walsh urges reopening of Western Rail Corridor

Thank you. I move the motion and I am sharing time with my colleagues. Minister, this PMB is an attempt to put balanced regional development and investment in public transport, centre of government and central to tackling the climate change crisis. The national development plan was to be the litmus test of the government, to test the government's commitment to regional development and I believe that is a test that they have failed. Right now workers and families are being hit hard by carbon taxes. This is not only unfair but also an environmental strategy that is not going to work. Taxes designed to change behaviour only work when the people have alternatives. This motion is crystal clear. We need state-led investment in strategic infrastructure for our regions. We have decades of evidence of how successive governments have failed to deliver for rural Ireland. Not least the West is categorised by the EU as region in transition. So this is not a case of just a political party saying that governments have not delivered for the West. This has been said by the EU as well and many other commentators. So we desperately need state-led investment in infrastructure but sadly we seem to have another government that is unwilling to lead. We have 94,000 kilometres of regional and local roads across the state that provide vital connectivity for rural Ireland and to rural Ireland. Yet despite years of empty promises in Mayo we still do not have delivery on the likes of the N26 and the R312. Sinn Fein have brought forward this motion to give the government a second chance. A chance for them to show voters that they are serious about regional transport infrastructure. That they are serious about reducing carbon emissions and that they have a vision for our country beyond maintaining the status quo and blocking change. This motion is a direct response to the government failure to deliver on very modest demands for investment in infrastructure in the regions. The motion calls on the government to provide clarity on all projects included in the National Development Plan. Ensuring balanced regional development is prioritised in the delivery of projects. To introduce a requirement for government to undertake rural impact assessment of all policies. And to prepare a new all Ireland national aviation policy that recognises the impact the pandemic has had on our regional airports such as Ireland West Airport Knock. Resource bus airing via the National Transport Authority and to ensure there is no curtailment on the intercity expressway services. Urgently deliver key public transport projects such as those outlined in the Cork Metropolitan Area Strategy and the Galway Transport Strategy. On the issue that is very close to my heart like many people in Mayo and across the West. This motion calls specifically on the government to fully commit to the delivery of the Western Rail Corridor extension to Mayo. The Western Rail Corridor has become a byword for regional development and investment in the West. So why has the Irish Rail 2040 Rail Freight Strategy not even been released yet? The strategy has remained unpublished for almost a year and it is referenced in a number of recent publications. Including the terms of reference for the Rail Review and the draft consultation for the Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy published today. The West won't forgive another government for failing to deliver on this project. If this government does not support this motion and commit to the Western Rail Corridor then what little faith the people have in Mayo and across the West have left and then will continue to erode and disappear. The publication of the economic report by the former ESRI economist Dr. John Bradley earlier this year confirmed what Sinn Féin have been saying for years. That restoring the rail connection between Galway and Mayo via Tchoum has a strong business case. That the Western Rail Corridor should be reopened and prioritised as a capital project. And many government TDs in the West have been very critical of the National Development Plan and the complete lack of any commitment to the Western Rail Corridor. And they are right Minister, they are right. Not including the project in the National Development Plan is a real missed opportunity for the Government to show that it is committed to the regional development in the West. So I call on all members of Government to take this second chance and support regional infrastructure development and the reopening of the Western Rail Corridor by voting in favour of this Sinn Féin motion. Kob講ma Atiyakata. Thank you! прик u // mistake u // mistake u // safe u // cupcake u //