LAST UPDATE | 25 Jul 2023
A REVIEW INTO the potential of rail travel on the island of Ireland, which recommends train routes in Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal, is set to signed off by Cabinet today.
The Strategic Rail Review was undertaken in cooperation with the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland so as to inform the development of rail travel over the coming years.
The All-Island Rail Review, commissioned in June 2021 to improve links between the island’s regions and major cities, requires the approval of governments in both jurisdictions due to its 32-county nature.
The review sets out 30 recommendations to transform the current rail system, with electrification, faster speeds, improved frequency, and new routes for people and freight, particularly across the West and North of the country.
The review’s recommendations span over 25 years with a number of proposals that could be implemented before 2030.
Some recommendations include:
The review recommends the reinstating the Claremorris to Athenry line, moving towards a rail spine along the Atlantic, as well as starting to reinstate the Antrim to Lisburn line with a station at Belfast International Airport.
It is set to recommend re-establishing rail links from Waterford to Rosslare and Claremorris in Mayo to Athenry in Galway, so as to establish a rail line running down the spine of the country from Ballina to Wexford.
Proposals also include a new line serving Donegal are also contained in the review, which would see a route running from the existing Dublin-Belfast line at Portadown, through Dungannon, Omagh, Strabane, Letterkenny and on to Derry.
Speaking to reporters as he arrived for Cabinet today, Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan said a new “Atlantic rail corridor” would bring low-carbon transport for businesses.
The Green Party leader said: “Early parts of the last century, we probably had the best rail network in the world. We’ve let it lapse. We’ve lost lines, we’ve given up on rail freight.
“We don’t have connection to the northwest. And what the report says is: We bring back rail. We bring back rail as a way of getting better balanced regional development,” he added.
Ryan said rail freight could be brought back “relatively quickly”.
Asked about timelines for improving rail infrastructure, Ryan said new rail freight services could be running “within the next year or two”.
However, he said Government could re-open the Waterford-Rosslare and Claremorris-Athenry lines by the end of the decade.
They’re the missing pieces in the jigsaw.”
The review considers a number of factors, such as improving sustainable connectivity between the major cities – including the potential for higher/high-speed rail – as well as enhancing regional accessibility while supporting balanced regional development.
The draft review will be published today for the purposes of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) public consultation later this month. Following the SEA process and finalisation of the report, it is expected that it will be submitted for approval by government, as well as to the Minister for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland.
To date, the Transport Department has spent €1.37 million on the review.
As previously reported by The Journal, in the case that Stormont is not restored by the end of the year, when the final report will be published, transport officials will attempt to bypass the deadlock in Northern Ireland and consider a “decision-making framework” set out in recently introduced legislation to see if it can publish the final review.
Separately, Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin will seek approval to send ten members of the Defence Forces to take part in a ‘live’ EU Crisis Management Military Exercise in Spain this October.
It is understood this is part of the EU’s Strategic Compass – a plan to strengthen security and defence policy by 2030. This includes development of an EU Rapid Deployment Capacity that will allow deployment of up to 5,000 troops for different types of crises.
Live exercises form part of such preparations.
It is understood the Defence Forces received a request from the Director General of the European Union Military Staff in February 2023 to take part in the training exercise in Cadiz, Spain.
The Live Exercise will see participants form an EU Battle Group sized force in a simulated Theatre of Operations. Sources state the scenario provides EU Member States an opportunity to contribute land, sea, air, marine and special operations capabilities/units.
Earlier this year, the Government approved Ireland’s participation in the next German-led EU Battlegroup, 2025, which will involve a two-year commitment from 1 January 2024.
This upcoming exercise will give the Defence Forces experience in EU Command and Control Systems as well as EU crisis management procedures.
It is noted that this live simulation exercise does not mean Ireland has made any decision yet to participate in an actual Battlegroup operation in future.
That would require the “triple lock” of a UN Mandate, and Dáil and Government approval.
The costs of the exercise will be financed through the European Peace Facility.
Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman will today bring a memo to Cabinet on the National Centre for Research and Remembrance, which is to be located on Sean McDermott Street.
The minister will outline the masterplan for the site, following a notification to survivors.
Separately, the minister will set out the responsibilities for the market surveillance of products and checking the compliance under the European Accessibility Act.
The memo will allow Ireland fully transpose the European Accessibility Act, an EU Directive which ensures people with a disability can access products and services across the EU.
The minister will also bring a memo updating Cabinet on progress on the Rapid Build Programme for Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection, including approval of the expansion of the scheme 500 units to 700, and the allocation of additional funding for the Programme to a total €237 million.
Rapid build homes are now occupied in Mahon, County Cork, with further sites to be occupied throughout the summer.
As of April, the numbers showed government was some way short of its own target of 700 modular homes.
Only seven sites for modular homes to accommodate families fleeing the war in Ukraine were identified as of three months ago, with the sites having a capacity for 312 rapid-build homes.
The Taoiseach will also brief Cabinet on the work programme for the Child Poverty and Well Being unit which was set up this year in the Department of the Taoiseach.
On a separate issue, the Tánaiste and Transport Minister Eamon Ryan will seek approval for an international agreement with the UK on continued joint procurement between our three general lighthouse authorities as well as ongoing joint procurement in support of a safe and effective navigation service.
Safety of navigation around the coasts of Ireland and the UK is assured by three General Lighthouse Authorities; the Commissioners of Irish Lights for Ireland and Northern Ireland, Northern Lighthouse Board for Scotland, and Trinity House for England and Wales.
All three have used joint procurement to benefit from economies of scale and closer operational ties, which was straightforward when all under the same EU procurement regime.
However, Brexit has led to a new solution being required.
Following advice from the Attorney General, a new international agreement by exchange of diplomatic notes between the Governments of Ireland and the UK, will create legal obligations for the three lighthouse authorities for procurement.
This will enable Irish Lights to use an exemption under Article 9 of the EU Public Procurement Directive, to allow it to follow the UK public procurement rules.
The most significant contract is that for the provision of the helicopter services needed to service remote lighthouse locations. This contract runs to 2025, however a significant transition period will be required between one contract and the next.
Includes reporting from Press Association
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