Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I know that this issue is also close to the Acting Chairperson's heart. I refer to the development or effective reopening of a train station at Crusheen in County Clare. It is on the line between Ennis and Galway and it was, in a bygone era, a very busy station. Efforts have been made by a group in the locality who were lone voices for a long time, particularly back in the noughties when everybody travelled by car and some even travelled by helicopter from those areas to various destinations, but Mr. Sean Keehan and Mr. Michael O'Doherty never gave up hope of reopening the station. They have continued their campaign, in addition to supporting the significant advancement of the western rail corridor. Indeed, they were to the fore in driving that at the start. We have seen a massive increase in passenger journeys since the opening of that line, from around 220,000 in 2013 to over 630,000 now between Limerick and Galway. There has been more than a threefold increase in activity, including passengers from Crusheen and its surrounding areas.

Clare County Council has got involved through Councillor Pat Hayes who is working with Mr. Keehan and Mr. O'Doherty. They carried out a socioeconomic study of the area. There are 6,000 people living within a couple of kilometres of the station. There was a 50% increase in the population of the area between 2002 and 2022. In the last couple of years alone about 150 houses have gone in there, more land has been zoned for housing and planning permission is being sought. We are going to see a very significant growth in population. Crusheen is a village between Gort and Ennis.When you consider where people are now settling, outside of the bigger towns but in bigger villages where they have all the services, access to rail is what it is all about. The whole strategy of getting cars off the road as part of the decarbonisation of transport is a highly important facet of meeting our 2030 and 2050 goals. Here is a golden opportunity. It is a relatively small amount of money. The local authority has bought lands adjoining the old station house. There is 300 m of track frontage. At one time, road frontage was important but it is now track frontage. The authority has also bought land for additional car parking spaces. This is a gem waiting to be developed.

I nearly had this over the line back in 2011 and 2012, when we hit the financial crash. Iarnród Éireann had allocated moneys. The former chairman, the late John Lynch, was instrumental in assigning moneys at that time. However, we then hit the financial crash and all capital projects were eliminated. I have kept heart with it. Sean Keehan, Michael O'Doherty, Councillor Pat Hayes and many others have now come on board. We really need to see a push from the Department of Transport to have TII recognise the strategic importance of this village because of its access to the track. It must recognise the population that is already there but must also look to the future to see the growth potential and the growth that is actually taking place and say once and for all that it is going to open the station. It is not going to cost a hell of a lot of money because the local authority is on board. It is removing many of the hurdles that might have been there.

This can demonstrate that areas can grow around strategic transport links, getting cars off the road and allowing students to travel to college. We know of the pressures in Galway and Limerick as regards student accommodation. There are many families in and around Crusheen who are driving to another point to get on the train. There is no need for it. We can show best practice, promote public transport, work towards decarbonising our transport footprint and do something that makes common sense and that previous generations did. As the Minister of State will know, we did an awful thing in the past in ripping up rail track and closing rail lines for the modern convenience of the car. We are now trying to go back. Let us look at this. The infrastructure is sitting beside the track, the village is there and the people are there. Let this be a beacon of light for the people of Crusheen and the wider area. Let us get it done. I am pleased to have had the indulgence of the Acting Chairperson who, as I said at the outset, is equally as interested in this as I am.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Dooley. This is a very important issue. Momentum is growing in County Clare. Following a Fine Gael event in Athlone, I travelled by train to Galway city. I then travelled from Galway city on the 6.30 p.m. train to Ennis and there was no seat available on it. That is how successful this line is. A natural progression is to open more stations on the line. The one that is essentially shovel-ready is Crusheen. It is a timely Commencement matter and I look forward to the Minister of State's reply.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I sincerely thank Senator Dooley and Senator Conway, who used the Chair's prerogative to also advocate for this important project. As the Senator may be aware, the Minster for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding of public transport including rail. However, the operation, maintenance and renewal of the rail network and stations on the network, including the former station at Crusheen, is a matter for Iarnród Éireann in the first instance. TII does not have any responsibility for the heavy rail network.

As the Senator will be aware, the Department of Transport has undertaken the all-island strategic rail review in co-operation with the Northern Irish Department for Infrastructure. The review’s final report was published on the 31 July this year and will inform the development of rail on the island of Ireland in the coming decades to 2050, in line with net-zero targets in both jurisdictions. The final report sets out 32 strategic recommendations to enhance and expand the rail system in Ireland and Northern Ireland up to 2050. The reopening of the train station at Crusheen is not included in the review’s recommendations. The review considered options to connect as many towns with populations of 10,000 or more to the rail network as possible.A threshold of towns with a population of 10,000 was chosen as this is the threshold used by Ireland's national planning framework as the definition of a large town. Given that Crusheen fell below this threshold by about 4,000, a new station for the area was not considered in detail as part of the review.

Outside of these recommendations, the delivery of any rail infrastructure, including the proposed train station at Crusheen, involves a multi-agency approach in the planning, design, funding and construction of a scheme. To protect the taxpayer, there are also guidelines on and requirements in place surrounding the release of funds for capital infrastructure projects which must be adhered to by all agencies wishing to draw down public funds. These are set out under the infrastructural guidelines drawn up by the Department of public expenditure.

Before Iarnród Éireann can receive public funding to proceed with any rail infrastructure scheme, the following conditions must be met. The proposal must align with transport and planning policy, a full demand assessment must be included as an input to the business case and the proposal must have a robust business case in line with the infrastructure guidelines as well as the transport specific sector appraisal guidelines, the transport appraisal framework.

While Clare County Council, as outlined by the Senator, have commissioned and recently completed an independent socioeconomic appraisal of the benefits of reopening Crusheen railway station, Iarnród Éireann's review of this work is ongoing. Iarnród Éireann will continue to keep the case for a railway station at Crusheen under review, in line with future demand trends, but at present there is no provision for a station within the current funding profile.

I will attempt to be encouraging because Senators Dooley and Conway eloquently summed up the need to move towards more rail infrastructure and to re-embrace rail, not just to meet demand but to also work towards net zero and get cars off the road. The case set out by Senator Dooley noted the population of Crusheen but also took into account the wider hinterland. That is important and I am more than happy to engage further with the Senator and to bring this to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Ryan, the Minister of State, Deputy Lawless, and Iarnród Éireann. I give every encouragement to the ongoing work on this project.

Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for setting out the overall constraints from a policy perspective. We need to look at this again. I ask that consideration be given to the following. While the criteria refer to a population of 10,000, there are 6,000 people living in close proximity. There was a station in the area previously. If I was arguing for a brand-new station where no infrastructure ever existed, I would be more inclined to accept the response. Where a station is in place, the principle has been accepted and access is available, with lands purchased by the local authority, the proposal makes sense.

I suggest it will not be long before there is a population of 10,000. Allowing only for organic growth, it might take a long time to get to a population of 10,000 but if a railway station were opened, it would take the burden and pressure off Gort and Ennis and put Crusheen village in a much stronger position to take pressure off schools in other areas. The proposal makes sense. The criteria need to be slightly different and consider the existence of a station previously. The population criteria need to be changed also because that would be a way to generate more growth. We have seen this with water and sewerage. There are lots of places where the sewerage system was adequate and the question was asked as to why would we invest more when people will not come. When infrastructure is in put in place, people come and it takes the burden off other locations.

I have engaged with Iarnród Éireann and spoken to the Minister of State, Deputy Lawless. I will continue to do that. I do not know which of us will be around here after the next election but I assure the House that if I am here in any guise in form, I will do my damnedest to get back to where we were when the late John Lynch assigned moneys to open the station in Crusheen. In honour of his life and passing, in addition to all those great people in Crusheen who have done so much to keep this issue to the fore, I want to ensure we do our bit here too.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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As I outlined, the Minister for Transport, Deputy Ryan, assures the Senator the potential reopening of Crusheen train station to enhance the service on the Ennis to Galway line was considered as part of the all-island strategic rail review. While the review did not recommend the reopening of the station, it made the following recommendations for County Clare: the provision of more direct services between Ireland's west and south coasts, for example, between Galway, Limerick and Cork; increasing line speeds to at least 120 km/h; and connecting Shannon Airport to the railway.As outlined, there are currently no plans to reopen Crusheen railway station. Iarnród Éireann has advised, however, that it will keep this case for a railway station at Crusheen under review. To misquote the movie “Field of Dreams”, it may be a case of "If you build it, [they] will come", and perhaps Lynch station at Crusheen will one day be a legacy of the Senator’s.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his time. It is appreciated. We know how busy he is.