Debate contribution: All-island Rail Network

Debate contribution by Mr Justin McNulty on 27 February 2024.

MLA

Mr Justin McNulty

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

27 February 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

All-island Rail Network

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4238063

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I am pleased to have the opportunity to support the motion. I thank those who tabled it: my SDLP party colleagues Matthew O'Toole, Mark Durkan, Sinéad McLaughlin and Daniel McCrossan. The all-island strategic rail review commissioned by our former Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon presented a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform rail infrastructure on the island. It is heartening that the groundwork laid by former Minister Mallon is now taking shape. The spectrum of opportunities in the all-island strategic rail review will provide a huge social, environmental and economic uplift for communities throughout the length and breadth of the island. For people in my constituency, the re-establishment of rail connectivity to Armagh city will be a game changer for commuters travelling to Belfast and Dublin, and the enhancement of capacity for services from Newry will help to close the gap of disadvantage that commuters in Newry currently face relative to their counterparts in other parts of the North. Beyond enhancing commuter connectivity, full implementation of the report would mark a quantum leap forward, empowering ordinary people to push back against the climate crisis. Full implementation of the report would forge an unprecedented partnership approach between the Government and ordinary people in decarbonising our society and transitioning away from unsustainable transport practices. Every one of us has heard ad infinitum of the pressing need to take individual responsibility for the environmental challenges that we face, but, often, ordinary people are left uncertain as to how behavioural changes on their part can have a meaningful impact on the crisis. Therein lies the fundamental challenge in meaningfully combating the climate crisis: the fact that there is a responsibility on the Government to provide citizens with the tools to play their part in addressing that climate crisis. The review provides transformative investment to make sustainable practices accessible to all. In addition to the environmental impact of the transformation, the potential for profound social and economic uplift must be seized. Let us take tourism as an example. International tourists who travel to this island overwhelmingly arrive at Dublin Airport as their point of entry. Without adequate infrastructure to access areas such as the Ring of Gullion, the Mourne Mountains, the glens of Antrim, and the ancient city of Armagh, the size of the economic footprint left by international tourists will inevitably be diminished. In that respect, implementation of the review serves to facilitate regional equity and ensure that every nook and cranny of our island, not just the urban centres, is accessible to overseas visitors. The tangible social impact of implementation is also to be welcomed. Implementation of the review will bring jobs and investment to parts of the North that are crying out for them through laying new lines, building new stations, manufacturing new equipment and transport infrastructure. Beyond that, it will address the significant and stubborn issues in respect of rural isolation. At present, transport infrastructure for people in places such as Derrynoose in rural County Armagh does not provide reliable access to urban centres. It leaves people with no option but to use their car to get from A to B. I think particularly of our elderly generation and the social isolation that that reality causes, especially if they have limited or no access to private transport. Whether it is visiting friends and family, travelling to a theatre, going on a family trip to the zoo or undertaking a trip to have dinner with grandchildren who are at university, the cost of a taxi is prohibitive. If someone has a car of their own, more often than not, driving to the nearest train station seems pointless, because, by the time that they get there, they are already 60% of the way to their destination. The real and tangible difference that an overhaul of rail connectivity could bring for people in isolated rural areas would be immeasurable. I have acknowledged the sterling work of former Infrastructure Minister, my SDLP colleague Nichola Mallon, in her leadership in commissioning the review. The recommendations in it are far-reaching and transformational. The investment required to realise its full potential is significant, but, with 75% of the capital commitment coming from the Irish Government, it is truly a once-in-a-generation opportunity to restore Ireland's rail infrastructure. If I have one message for the Infrastructure Minister today, it is this: grasp the opportunity with both hands and progress the report and the project at pace and ensure that the transformational impact of the strategic rail review is felt in communities in every part of the North. Like you, Minister, I may not see it, but we must build a legacy for the future. I will take a line from my predecessor Séamus Mallon's book, 'A Shared Home Place':

"A society grows great when old men"

— and women —

"plant trees in whose shade they know they will never sit."

808 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 09:42 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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