I thank the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, for being here. I know this is not his Department but I was advised that he was going to take this and he should have answers for me. I hope we will get something from this.

I am from County Limerick and I travel in and out of the county. I take the train from Colbert Station to Dublin every week. When I heard there was a rail line going down from Foynes to Limerick, I thought it was a fantastic thing to get for County Limerick. However, it is a freight line that is there at present. I have been told that the hope is that it will be turned into a passenger line. I have it on good authority, off the record from Iarnród Éireann, that this is an "if" not a "when". There is no guarantee that it will ever be a passenger line.

When I heard a temporary station and platform were being put into Adare Station, around the time of the Ryder Cup, I had a few questions. Why is it temporary? Is it possible to make it a permanent structure? My understanding is that Iarnród Éireann sold the train station in Adare just over ten years ago for €200,000 and bought it back last year for €2 million. A sum of €3 million is needed to put in a temporary platform and redo the station, which would result in €5 million of taxpayers' money being spent on something that people feel is only to facilitate those coming in from Limerick Junction to Adare for the Ryder Cup. There will not actually be a service for the people living in the area or anybody further out in west Limerick. The people coming to the Ryder Cup are going to go anyway, regardless of what kind of transport is there. They have their tickets and accommodation booked and they have their tickets for the golf. They are going to come in, whether it is by car or bus. Is the €5 million going into Adare Station and the temporary platform a good use of taxpayers' money? Could it be made permanent? Could the rail line be upgraded for the people of west Limerick to get use out of this, if that kind of money has to be put into that station?

I thank Senator Collins for raising this. A lot of my answer is specifically in relation to the development of the Limerick-Foynes line. I will try to get more detail about the possibility of it being turned into a passenger-commuter line. I have a piece on Adare as well and a projected timeline that might help the Senator and the people she represents.

On behalf of the Minister for Transport, I thank the Senator for the opportunity to discuss this.

The Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy sets out the framework for the delivery and development of the transport system of the Limerick region. A key principle of the strategy is to identify and protect key strategic routes for the movement of freight traffic and to improve access to Shannon Foynes Port. The reinstatement of the Limerick-to-Foynes railway line, to provide a freight service, supports this principle.

The rail freight network in Ireland is currently an underutilised asset. The development of an expanded rail freight network, additional services and facilities will support enhanced modal choice, supply chain resilience, economic development, regional balance and reduced carbon emissions. The reinstatement of the rail connection to the Port of Foynes will be fundamental to the growth objectives for both intermodal and bulk traffic at the port and will play an important role in improving connectivity along the western seaboard. Reinstating the line will give customers more options and support projected traffic growth resulting from mining, power generation and container transport in the region.

At a European level, Shannon Foynes Port is categorised as a core port under the Trans-European Network for Transport, TEN-T, regulation and the Foynes freight line is part of Ireland's core freight network. The regulation requires the port facilities at Foynes to be connected by high-quality rail and road links by 2030.

Works are well advanced on the reinstatement of the rail line, with the project set for completion in October of this year. Track laying was completed in 2025 and works on signalling and telecommunications are progressing. Works are also progressing on the refurbishment of Foynes station, which will be used for staff accommodation on site. The replacement of 13 level crossings with CCTV-monitored crossings will provide an improvement in safety over the previous gated crossings. The works will also connect the Foynes line to the existing network at Limerick. Once the line is commissioned in October, driver training will commence on the route before the first freight services begin operating in early 2027. The reopening of the line will deliver a reliable, frequent, and sustainable logistics option for many companies that currently or in the future will use the port of Foynes.

Linked to these overall works, construction has started on a temporary passenger station at Adare, which is set to support thousands of spectators travelling to and from the Ryder Cup in September 2027. The temporary station consists of a platform and external concourse. Construction, which is expected to take six months, is being progressed alongside works on the reinstatement of the Limerick-to-Foynes freight line.

While intended for temporary use during the period of the Ryder Cup, providing a sustainable way for thousands of visitors to access the event, the reacquisition of the former station building where the temporary platforms will be located also ensures that this access point to the line is safeguarded for future permanent passenger services on the line. In that regard, I note that the Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy indicates that passenger services on the Adare line could be considered in future, should development patterns support the viability of a regular service.

On behalf of the Minister for Transport, I hope this response helps clarify the matter. There certainly are positive elements in the reply in terms of the building of the temporary station at Adare. I assume from the Senator's question that she hopes that this is the permanent passenger link that is put in as opposed to the entire length of the Foynes link and I would take positivities from that response, in that they are securing the potential for it being a permanent passenger line. The sooner that would happen after the temporary station is built, the better.

I completely agree that having a freight line is very important. I go over and back to Foynes quite often. I would have a lot to do with Foynes and I understand how important it is to have that freight line for the moving of goods.

My query is more around the fact that €5 million is being put in. It seems like it is opportunistic for the Ryder Cup. I am all for the business and tourism that will come from the Ryder Cup but I would like to see a guarantee that this will turn into a passenger line. Whether it is from Foynes to Limerick or Foynes to Shannon, or whether it is only from Adare in to Limerick or to Shannon, we need a guarantee before €5 million of taxpayers' money is pumped into something that may only be in use for a week and may only be around for the Ryder Cup.

I get the Senator's concern. I would take positives, if I was looking at it from the Senator's point of view. The Senator is trying to deliver permanent passenger connectivity with Adare. It will have a permanent station. I am assuming - I cannot guarantee this and we will have to get it checked - that it will not only be used for the week-long event, which is the Ryder Cup, but that there may be a window either side of that event to allow passengers to travel.

That is a great template to say that we have established that there is a need for this and people will use it if we build it. The track will be there. With the investment being put into it, one would imagine that it would not take a massive further investment to secure a permanent platform and concourse. It is worth exploring further. I know the answer does not concretely answer the Senator's question but I would take it as a positive that the Department is saying that it intends to use this opportunity to create a permanent passenger route. Watch this space. Incidently, the Ryder Cup in Adare will be amazing for Limerick.

It is going to be fantastic.

I thank the Minister of State. As there has been a vote in the Dáil, we may have to wait for the next Minister of State, who I understand is on the way.