Sinn Féin MEP for Midlands North-West, Chris MacManus, has hit out at Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael for continued lip service to the people of the West and North-West when it comes to regional imbalance.
Speaking from a West-on-Track conference held in Sligo, where a newly published report by Dr John Bradley called for the full reopening of the Galway-Sligo Rail line, MacManus said the conference heard the very strong economic and social cases for the reopening of the rail line.
“As a long-time advocate of the reopening of the rail line, I must confess my frustration at Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil representatives who only pay lip service to the reopening of the Western Rail Corridor.
“Successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments have failed to see the Western Rail Corridor as an asset to the west and north-west, and indeed to the entire country.,” he said.
“We in Sinn Féin are fully committed to reopening the Western Rail Corridor, and indeed we have an ambition for a real all-Ireland rail system that eventually goes beyond Sligo, to Donegal and Derry.” “Fully reopening the Western Rail Corridor, as part of a wider Atlantic Economic Corridor, is a project of huge regional and national significance that will play a major role in assisting the region to reach its full potential. Further it will help us reduce our carbon emissions by offering commuters a reliable and affordable alternative means of transport.”
