Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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5. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport what discussions his Department has had to facilitate increased direct train services on the Rosslare to Dublin line; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28936/24]

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Lawless, and wish him well in his new role. He may wish to brush up on Wexford where austerity measures cut road funding budgets and left the county with a deficit of €68 million in its roads budget since austerity times. This is now critical when it comes to roads infrastructure.

I also wish the Minister, Deputy Ryan, well in taking a step back, albeit not for the moment.

What discussions have taken place within the Department to facilitate an increase in direct train services on the Rosslare to Dublin line?

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I thank Deputy Murphy for her kind words. I am eager to see improved rail services rolled out across the network. We know that when people are provided with higher frequencies and reliable timetables, they will make the switch to public transport. We all know there are a number of constraints on the Dublin to Wexford line. The all-island strategic rail review highlighted issues such as its single-track character; poor rail alignment; significant conflicts with high-frequency DART services; and significant geographical constraints limiting potential diversions. However, the review sought to consider what opportunities might exist to improve services along the line. In that consideration, the review examined interventions such as adding passing loops, tunnelling through Bray Head, developing a new railway along the M11 corridor, and building a new line for DART services along the N11 corridor.

The review concluded that many of these interventions would be very costly and unlikely to be justified given that the region could not be expected to support more than one or two trains per hour in each direction. The review suggested that improvements could be achieved in the shorter term through improved connectivity with DART services and then, in the longer term, through the ultimate reinstatement of the Wexford to Waterford line and improvements to the Waterford to Dublin line.

Improved connectivity to DART services is being considered as part of the recently commenced Wicklow capacity study. This study will also consider the use of the new DART+ battery-electric vehicles for Wicklow services, subject to the necessary infrastructure. Battery-electric operation would allow the DART+ battery-electric fleet to continue further south along the unelectrified line and terminate at Wicklow town. I stress, however, that no decision has been made to alter any existing services on the Rosslare line and obviously any proposals that might emerge from the Wicklow capacity study will of course be subject to public consultation.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I engaged with a constituent who has sent me this letter. It is simple and as a train user, I am going to read it. It states:

The current service provided by IrishRail is subpar, with significant limitations in frequency and speed. With only four return services per day, Wexford suffers from one of the least frequent intercity services in the country.

Despite this, there has been minimal improvement over the past decade. It remains unclear if any of the new rail carriages will be allocated to this line. The recent timetable consultation proposed no additional services on the route, highlighting the ongoing neglect of this line by Irish Rail and the NTA.

On weekdays, there is an astonishing 5-hour 35-minute gap between the 07:45 service and the 13:20 services and the first train into Wexford doesn't arrive until ... noon! The minimum service frequency should be at least two hours per day in each direction.

It is disappointing that the Strategic Rail Review proposed no infrastructure improvements for the line. The only recommendation is to shuttle passengers by train to Wicklow or Greystones for a transfer to the DART. Given that a significant 84% of trips on the line occur between Dublin and intermediate stations, it is vital to ensure that this implementation does not result in extended journey times.

I think the Minister knows that speed is of the essence when it comes to public transport. If it is not faster, it will not be used.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Speed and frequency are the issues. More frequency gives better speeds. As the Deputy said, if someone has to wait from 7.30 a.m. until midday or 1.30 p.m. for the next train, that is very slow and a long time. There is a real case for looking at this proposal, which has been mentioned in public, to run shuttle services to Wicklow and then with an extension of the DART to Wicklow, to run very frequent DART services from Wicklow into the city. That would lead to significant improvement in the frequency and, therefore, the quality of the public transport service not just to Wexford but to all the towns along the route. That has not been decided and the matter is open for consideration. I believe that if we offered the travelling public in Wexford this regular service, they might well say it is a real improvement. If they had the same sort of services as are provided on other lines where there are very regular train services, that then improves connectivity. There are different views on this and people are perfectly entitled to their view but the current service is not serving the people of Wexford. We need to make a change. The suggestion of providing shuttle services and much more frequent services would be a significant improvement. We have to present all of the arguments and look at all the analysis. The matter is open for discussion and nothing has been decided but I think it could be a significant improvement and could result in a large increase in the use of the line.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The most interesting thing the Minister has said so far is that there may be a proposal from the review to build a new rail line with the N11 upgrade. We are a small progressive country. The whole of Europe has a proper rail infrastructure that caters for people's needs. A shuttle service would be a retrograde step. The reality is we have to start somewhere and as a progressive country, one of the wealthiest European nations, we should have a high-speed rail network service servicing the whole country, not just Wexford. In my line of work, I could not even contemplate using the train service from Wexford, which is a damning indictment. Rail travel from the main hub of Rosslare Europort to Dublin in this day and age is absolutely ridiculous.

The strategic rail review does not go nearly far enough to make the progressive steps that are required to get people out of their cars and into public transport. We must make a start. We need a high-speed rail network service.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The strategic rail review is very ambitious and involves about €30 billion over the next 30 years. We have to spend €1 billion a year and it has set out the various priorities.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Most of it is in Dublin.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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We are assessing the timelines now for the spending.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Most of it is in Dublin.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I will be perfectly honest. I do not think we are going to build a new rail line to Wexford and the south east. It makes much more sense to use a lot of the existing assets and make the most of them. It is not just about the Wexford to Dublin line. We also need to reopen the Rosslare to Waterford line which will improve connectivity between Wexford and Waterford. It will also allow us to further enhance capacity from Waterford up to Dublin as an alternative route. We will not let the Wexford line go. It needs significant investment in terms of protection against coastal erosion. I agree with Deputy Murphy that the current services are not serving the public so we cannot just leave them be but the option of radically and dramatically increasing the frequency would see a very significant increase in patronage. It is not just that though. We are also looking at putting in quality bus corridors on large sections of the N11 to improve the bus services for people coming from Wexford up to Dublin. That is a significant project in its own right. That will be delivered rather than a new high-speed rail line along the N11, which would cost many billions. There are other spending priorities that we also have to fund. We need to use the existing network much more. It is not being used at present and I believe that if we electrify the network as far as Wicklow and have a shuttle service, we could see a dramatic improvement.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I know that is what the Minister believes but what I am trying to do is give him the experience of-----

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Deputy has made two contributions already.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Excuse me.