2026-02-25

I want to raise the issue of the return of the Midleton to Youghal railway. As a TD for the constituency of Cork East, I want to report to the House and to the Minister that the overwhelming view of constituents in my area is their desire to see further expansion of the east Cork rail corridor beyond Midleton, restoring it once again to the town of Youghal and opening the stations in the villages of Mogeely and Killeagh. The east Cork area is one of the fastest-growing regions of the country in terms of new housing stock and visible population growth. Unfortunately, this is causing issues with traffic congestion. It is no news to the House that I have been a very passionate advocate for upgrading the N25 corridor between Midleton and Youghal, particularly with regard to bypassing Castlemartyr and going down to the village of Killeagh. However, I want to be very clear that as a TD for the constituency I fully support the return of the railway to Youghal. I support what it would do for the local area and I support the objective of dealing with the issue of traffic congestion. It is worth putting on the record that making this happen faces a number of significant hurdles. One of the most important to reference is that a strategic decision was taken in January 2019 by Cork County Council, through a motion brought forward prior to the 2019 local elections, seeking to put in place a greenway between Midleton and Youghal. This came in at a cost of more than €22 million of local authority funding and matched funding from the Department of Transport under the previous Government. A lot of people feel this was a missed opportunity with respect to the return of rail. I want to make clear to the House that people in the area are adamant they want to see the train back, in terms of what it would do for their quality of life and that of their families, commuters going to work and children going to school in these areas. We have to see a pathway. From my perspective, as somebody who has had the experience of being on the transport committee and engaging with the previous Minister for Transport on a very intensive basis, we look at strategies such as the Cork metropolitan area transport strategy, the national planning framework, the strategic plans the NTA has for the area, Project Ireland 2040, the national development plan and the all-Ireland rail review, and, unfortunately, the return of the Midleton to Youghal rail corridor is not listed. Sometimes investment can lead to a complication. We will have investment in the full electrification of metropolitan rail in Cork on the Mallow, Midleton and Cobh lines, the construction of eight new train stations on the existing line and ongoing dual tracking being done in preparation for full electrification of the line. However, the line between Midleton and Youghal is single track and I have been told the investment required for it is probably somewhere north of €350 million for the full retrofit of the existing line. Realistically, there is an expectation that it will not be possible to have dual-track electrified rail to Youghal and for the greenway to survive. It is not for me to adjudicate on that as I am not an expert in this field but a decision has to be taken on that issue. On behalf of the constituents of my area, whom I am proud to represent, I want to bring the case forward to the Government and the Minister of State in the Department in respect of this matter. Can the Minister of State give us a realistic feel for how feasible this is? Can he give us some degree of insight into the plans that are in place or what may be happening? We all know about the review of the CMAT strategy. If the Minister of State could give us some information on that, it would be very helpful.

I thank Deputy O'Connor for raising this important issue. As Minister of State with responsibility for rail, I thank him for the opportunity to address the House on this issue today. The National Transport Authority, NTA, has responsibility for planning and developing public transport infrastructure and for developing the Cork metropolitan area transport strategy, CMATS. This strategy has been developed by the NTA in collaboration with Transport Infrastructure Ireland, Cork City Council and Cork County Council. A key principle for CMATS is to reduce dependency on the private car within the Cork metropolitan area while increasing the appeal of sustainable transport options, such as Cork area commuter rail, light rail and BusConnects Cork. As part of this process, the route from Midleton to Youghal was earmarked for development as a greenway, and the final phase of the greenway opened in December 2024. CMATS will be reviewed and updated every six years. As part of this process, the optimal transport provision in the area, including between Midleton and Youghal, can be reconsidered. The next review of CMATS is expected to commence later this year. As part of this review there will be a number of public consultations, giving stakeholders the opportunity to voice their opinion on the matter. I encourage all stakeholders to participate in this important process. In addition to CMATS, the all-island strategic rail review, which was published in July 2024, sets out 32 strategic recommendations to enhance and expand the rail system in Ireland and Northern Ireland up to 2050, aligning with net carbon zero commitments in both jurisdictions. The recommendations seek to transform the quality of the rail system to the benefit of passengers and wider society on the island, through additional track capacity, electrification, increased speeds, higher service frequencies and new routes. A proposal to develop a line between Midleton and Waterford along the south coast was examined as part of the review but, ultimately, this route was not included in the final recommendations of the report. Analysis undertaken as part of the review indicated that it would likely be more cost-effective to route longer distance services between Cork and Waterford via improved railways between both cities and Limerick Junction, rather than on a new line. One of the review's recommendations is that the review be updated once a decade, taking into account the latest policies and developments. The potential for the Midleton to Waterford line could also be reassessed at this stage. The Deputy spoke about a greenway, which is very popular and is working very well, and the challenges to get the space to put a double-track line down there. However, part of this is the consultation process for CMATS, which will be opening later this year. That is the pathway to see where we will go with on this.

I appreciate the feedback. It is clear there is that opportunity next year with CMATS. I want to be crystal clear and honest with people on this. Making this happen prior to the construction of an upgraded N25 between Midleton and Youghal is going to be a difficult challenge. Politically, everybody whom I have dealt with here in Dáil Éireann wants the return of the rail. That is the prevailing view of the TDs in the constituency. However, the public want a sense of a timeline for this happening. The Minister of State mentioned CMATS and the all-island rail review. Neither of those contain the return of the Midleton to Youghal rail line on the strategic plan. Those are hurdles and barriers. For the public, which has huge interest in this topic, it is important there is reference to that. A capital project of this scale and nature needs to be on capital plans in order for it to happen. That is probably the one thing that has been exceptionally disingenuously pumped out by people involved, who want to make this feel as though it can be done with the click of a finger and overnight, when that is just not how things happen. I remind people that back in 2021, when I had a run-in with the former Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, I threatened to resign and pull my support from that Government. It took that level of action to get some degree of an acceptable response from both the Department of public expenditure at the time, under the then Minister, Michael McGrath, and from the Taoiseach and the then Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan. Being honest, there are huge political barriers and challenges. My ask of the Minister of State is for him and the Department to help us through this process to see if CMATS is an opportunity to consider the future viability of the project.

I understand the Deputy's frustration in trying to get a clear line of sight on what might be happening here. From the outset, the CMATS review will start later this year. That is the avenue by which this project will or will not move forward. This project does not appear in the national development plan, which we have published, or in the sectoral plan for transport and the all-island rail review, in which we have picked projects to do. It is not on the radar, to be honest. We need to use CMATS to see if it is part of the strategy for Cork. Cork people, the county and city councils and the NTA will have a role in all of that, as will the representatives locally. This project has not been included in the all-island rail review and the only next step forward, and the most immediate thing that is going to happen, is the review of the Cork metropolitan strategy. There will be several public consultations on that, giving stakeholders the opportunity to voice their opinion on the matter. I encourage all stakeholders to put in their submissions. In addition, one of the all-island rail review recommendations is that the review should be updated once a decade. It will be 2034 when this will be completely reviewed. The Deputy and the people of Cork have a desire to create a railway between Midleton and Youghal but, at present, it is not on the strategy for Cork transport or in the all-island rail review. There is an opportunity to see if we can get it into the Cork metropolitan transport strategy. That is the opportunity. I will not pre-empt the outcome of that strategy here today, other than to say it is the vehicle by which this will change from being something people desire to becoming part of the strategy for the development of Cork. On that, I visited Cork station and met with Irish Rail down there. I have viewed all the projects and development it wants to do. It is very good news for Cork, with the works it has already done. The ambition it has for the future is also very good for Cork. This is just one element that has not made it into the system yet. Whether it does or not will depend on CMATS, when it starts later this year. I will not pre-empt the outcome.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit.