The “vast majority” of future funding for transport will have to be spent on public transport and active travel to achieve decarbonisation and better planning for housing, Green Party Minister for Transport and Environment Eamon Ryan has said.
His remarks came as the final report of the All-Island Strategic Rail Review was published.
The review recommends faster and more frequent trains, new services in the northwest, and the electrification of the intercity network among other measures.
Mr Ryan said implementation of the review’s recommendations would be a political decision and one for the next Government.
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He said the Green Party was in favour of implementing all 32 recommendations in the review and, with a general election looming, challenged other parties to set out how much of the rail plan they would deliver.
Full implementation of the recommendations up to 2050 is estimated to cost up to €37 billion with the costs shared by the two jurisdictions on the island.
That would amount average spending of about €1 billion per year by the Republic over the 26 years.
Asked at a press conference if that level of spending was realistic, Mr Ryan replied: “Why wouldn’t we do that?” adding that €1.5 billion per year was invested in the motorway network.
He said the spending on rail would also be an investment in housing. Mr Ryan highlighted how, under the proposals, 700,000 more people would live within 5km of a railway station.
“The costs come down when you see it in that way and the investment makes all the more sense. This is the future of our housing strategy as well as our transport strategy,” Mr Ryan said.
The current Government agreed a two-to-one ratio of spending on public transport and active travel over roads.
Asked if this ratio will have to increase, Mr Ryan said: “The vast majority of future funding in transport is going to have to go to public transport and active travel for decarbonisation, for better housing and planning, and better economic development.
“This is the way everyone’s going across the world... the future is going to be public transport based.”
He noted that the road network still needs investment for road safety, maintenance and to fund new projects like bypasses.
Mr Ryan identified the proposal to build a new rail line from Portadown, through Dungannon, Omagh and Strabane and on to Letterkenny and Derry as one of the “most inspiring” parts of the review.
He said it will be expensive, running into the billions, but it would “transform that whole part of the country and the connectivity to the northwest”.
Mr Ryan also said he supports reinstating the Western Rail Corridor between Claremorris and Athenry.
He challenged other political parties to “show us your colours” and say which projects they would invest in and which ones they would scrap.
If the recommendations are fully implemented, the Northern Ireland Executive would end up spending about £310 million (€368 million) per year on average.
However, the UK government has been making cuts to investment in rail in England and Wales.
Asked if there is a danger that the route in the northwest could be jeopardised due to funding issues, Northern Ireland’s Minister for Infrastructure, Sinn Féin MLA John O’Dowd, said it was a mistake by the UK government to cut investment in public transport.
He said he is dealing with a “very, very difficult budget in the North but we do have money, and it’s how you use that funding which is important”.
“I intend to use my period in office and the limited budget I have to invest in the economy moving forward,” Mr O’Dowd said.
“So yes, there are huge challenges ahead but there’s also huge opportunities if the right political decisions are made.”
Mr Ryan said he is convinced there would be “strong patronage” on a new route in the northwest and he did not rule out possibilities of funding from the Republic: “We are already investing through the Shared Island fund very significantly in transport projects including the Enterprise [train service between Dublin and Belfast]. So obviously we’re going to have to continue to look at that.”
Asked about the exclusion of Fermanagh from the plan, Mr O’Dowd said the “figures didn’t tally up at this stage”.
However, he said the plans are open to review after 10 years and as technology advances and people shift to public transport there could be opportunities to open up rail to Fermanagh.
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