Éamon Ó Cuív urges west coast rail link as Limerick–Fines reopens
Éamon Ó Cuív welcomed the decision to proceed with reopening the Limerick to Fines railway line and called for a further short reconnection to link Ballina and Westport. He argued the extension would shift freight from road to rail and promote regional balance, while warning against lines that require ongoing subsidies.
Reopening Limerick to Fines
He welcomed the statement that capital expenditure is not day-to-day expenditure and supported using available funds to reopen the Limerick to Fines line, calling the move progressive.
Proposal to reconnect Attenray and Clamarris
He urged that the line should be extended by reopening the short section between Attenray and Clamarris, which he said would immediately connect Ballina, Westport and other west coast towns and cities to Fines.
Freight and regional balance
Éamon Ó Cuív framed the reconnection as important for rail freight and regional balance - the main justification, he said, is to move freight off the roads and improve transport connectivity along the west coast.
Capital spending versus ongoing subsidies
He cautioned that capital is a one-off cost but subsidies are ongoing, stressing that reopening must be backed by numbers showing the line can "wash its face" rather than require continual yearly support. He asked the Taoiseach to consider the figures and be "equally brave" about proceeding with the short, cheaper section if it proves economical.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
I have to say I welcome your statement that capital expenditure is not day-to-day expenditure and we should use funds available to proceed with that. I also would like firmly to welcome here the decision to proceed with the reopening of the railway line from Limerick to Fines. That's very progressive. But it is now not logical to extend that line directly to the main sources of rail freight along the west coast because that's the big justification of it, in Ballina and Westport, by reconnecting and reopening the short piece of line between Attenray and Clamarris which would immediately then connect Ballina, Westport and all along the main towns and cities of the west coast to Fines. And this should be done in the interest of regional balance and transport connectivity. So can we expect that the government will be equally brave with that small section of line which is even cheaper and proceed with an immediate take. Mr. Prime Minister, please. I haven't seen the numbers but if the numbers add up it would make sense to do it. We do want to move freight off the roads and onto rail. What we don't want to do is to spend a lot of money building a train line which is uneconomic and then requires lots more subsidies. As you point out capital is one off but subsidies are not. So if you open a rail line and it can wash its face, that's one thing. If you open a rail line and you have to keep subsidising it every year, that's a different thing. And it's why the numbers would have to add up. I think you don't have to subsidise every year. The most heavily subsidies rail line in this country is Dublin car. Lewis would be the example boat line. Thank you very much.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
