541. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Transport the estimated timeframe to progress the recommendations within the Strategic Rail Review which will see public rail transport resumed in County Monaghan. [58005/26]

Following the publication of the All-Island Strategic Rail Review in July 2024, my Department, with the support of the European Investment Bank and in conjunction with the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland and rail stakeholders across the island, oversaw the preparation of the Rail Project Prioritisation Strategy. This Strategy was published in December 2025 and outlines the approach to sequencing and optimising the recommendations of the All-Island Strategic Rail Review in the coming years.

In the short-term to 2030, the Prioritisation Strategy specifies a number of 'Early Interventions' to be delivered in the coming years, including new track passing loops and platforms to boost the rail network’s resilience and capacity. These investments are funded to be fully delivered by 2030 under the NDP Sectoral Investment Plan for Transport, published be my Department in November 2025.

The Prioritisation Strategy also identifies 'Major Projects' with longer lead-in and development timelines. Among these is the reinstatement of the Western Rail Corridor between Claremorris and Athenry. The development of the Portadown to Derry to Letterkenny rail line is also included in the Rail Review and Prioritisation Strategy as a Major Project to be advanced.

Projects not included in the Prioritisation Strategy, such as reinstating the rail link between Portadown and Mullingar, through Monaghan, are intended to be developed in the longer-term. The wider Rail Review itself is targeted for updating once a decade, and this offers periodic opportunities for projects to be reprioritised and resequenced also.

It should be noted that individual programmes and projects referred to within the All-Island Strategic Rail Review and the Rail Project Prioritisation Strategy will be advanced subject to funding and relevant approvals, as required under the Infrastructure Guidelines.