The Western Rail Corridor has been in the news on and off for years – but casual observers could be forgiven for not being sure if the project has been abandoned or fast-tracked - though sadly it is far from the latter. If U-turns and indecision can be fairly said to be the hallmark of this government, then the Western Rail Corridor is a perfect microcosm.
Commercial consultants
When this coalition was cobbled together it looked to all intents and purposes as though manoeuvres were being made to drop the Western Rail Corridor as a capital project, with as little political fallout as possible.
The programme for government only committed the coalition of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Greens to ‘consider’ the report on the Western Rail Corridor, and, somewhat ominously, take ‘appropriate’ action.
The report referred to is known as the ‘EY Report’ after the multinational consulting firm hired for the job.
Commercial consultants have been well understood in political circles for a long time, and more recently among the general public, for producing reports that reflect the views of the person that is paying for the work. Unfortunately, when it comes to public contracts, this means the government - rather than the taxpayer.
Essentially, governments use reports by commercial consultants like a drunk uses a lamppost- more for support than illumination. So when the report came back with the conclusion that the project doesn’t ‘justify the costs’, it all felt choreographed; a familiar pattern when governments want out of long-standing commitments.
A positive case
Undeterred, supporters of the project came out swinging. This included advocacy groups like the West on Track, opposition politicians, and even a Government TD in the West.
The EY report was charged with being flawed and containing basic errors. The West on Track managed to surprise the government with their ability to commission their own economic evaluation conducted by a renowned economist.
This evaluation not only put forward a positive case for the Western Rail Corridor, but also discredited the EY report completely, to the point where shortly after the publication of the competing report, Minister Ryan criticized the EY report on the floor of the Dáil for being ‘too narrow’.
The Minister’s response was not to green-light this shovel-ready project. His solution – perhaps better described as a political fix – was to propose an all-Island rail review.
I believe most people in the West see the merit in planning on an all-Ireland basis, but won’t accept it being used as an excuse to delay badly-needed investment.
Having failed to undermine the Western Rail corridor with a report that was too narrow, it appears the Minister is now trying to bury it with a report that is too broad.
Even if it couldn’t be buried, at least it would give them some political cover for the exclusion of the western rail corridor from the revised National Development Plan.
When the National Development Plan was launched with the Western Rail Corridor nowhere in sight, there was a sense of betrayal in the West. It seemed even the most modest requests for transport infrastructure were being ignored.
Then, hours later, people were again left scratching their heads as the Taoiseach and the Transport Minister, under questions from journalists, made public statements in favour of the rail project they had just excluded from the National Development Plan.
Odyssey continues
Sinn Féin decided to bring forward a private members motion in the Dáil that called on the government to commit to the Western Rail Corridor, in an attempt to pin this government down and hold them to their purported support for the project.
This could have been a real test of the resolve of government TDs that like to play as opposition in the constituency and vote with the government in Dublin. Luckily for them, the government chose to support the motion. This was welcomed by Sinn Féin and other supporters of the project, though perhaps prematurely.
Only a couple of weeks later, Minister Ryan began to walk the government back on this commitment. In parliamentary questions he dismisses his government’s support for the Sinn Féin motion, saying that no investment decisions will be made until he has his all-island strategic rail review at the end of next year.
This not only means that nothing will be progressed until at least 2023, but that the government are not committed to the project even then. No government plans to live forever; and this government is only interested in keeping the Western Rail Corridor on life-support just long enough to outlive it. It may take a Sinn Féin government to deliver this vital infrastructure.
