The core theme of a Shared Island has remained threaded throughout the current programme for government. But with entire counties systemically cut off from any rail infrastructure, and cross-Border transport provision woefully inadequate, we remain a wholly disconnected island.
For many of the residents in Fermanagh, Tyrone, Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan, there can be no more cruel a reminder of what once was than to view a map of the rail network through the 1920s. Within 50 years of partition, entire counties became detached from any established or intact rail infrastructure, further compounded by decades of underinvestment in road infrastructure and bus provision.
Public-transport poverty is a deeply rooted parasitic issue which has long been ravaging our rural towns and villages. How can it be deemed acceptable that entire communities are serviced by just one single bus per week? Meanwhile, investment and focus continue to be prioritised for the central hubs of Belfast and Dublin, with the prospect of an hourly train route between the respective cities to be established as early as next year. There are no shortage of trains and buses already connecting the two capital cities, while the majority of the island and its disconnected populace continue to languish hopelessly.
As an island and a society we are buckling under the weight of compounding crises: the housing crisis, the climate emergency, fuel shortages and more. The solutions for each remain complex but improving infrastructure and public-transport provision continue to be massively overlooked as effective means of making a substantial dent in a majority of these issues.
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The role of transport in achieving ambitious climate targets has been recognised by the Government in both the Climate Action Plan and the National Development Plan. Outside of major cities, the lack of public transport leaves families with little choice but to rely on cars, increasing emissions and pushing families further below the poverty line due to the costs of vehicle maintenance and rising fuel prices.
Increased rail infrastructure, green buses, cycling and walking infrastructure all contribute toward the Government’s plan to reduce carbon emissions by 51 per cent by 2030, but what we have had to date has been words, not action.
Currently, two in five villages in the Republic have no public-transport options connecting residents with the opportunities and benefits afforded those in larger towns situated nearby. In the North, rural villages in counties such as Tyrone and Fermanagh are so poorly serviced that the vast majority of residents struggle to access even basic health services. A recent report commissioned by Fermanagh and Omagh district council revealed that for up to 69 per cent of local people it would take more than two hours to reach their closest hospital by public transport on any given weekday, with that percentage rising to 82 per cent of hospital-bound residents forced to endure more than two hours on public transport over the weekend.
There has long been a stubbornness and reluctance towards investing in rural areas – cost and population size being among the most prohibitive factors cited. But connecting our island would boost tourism, increase economic corridors, decrease our emissions and ease congestion and housing pressures, in addition to revitalising our rural communities.
To prevent more people from falling below the poverty line, the Government needs to be more proactive in mitigating the impact of inflation and fuel costs. A plan to reduce the expense of public transport for young people has already come into effect, but why not go one step further and waive public-transport fees entirely? At least 98 cities and towns around the world offer citizens some form of free public transport. This, coupled with increased services, would reduce reliance on cars and, with it, cost.
Railways, dual carriageways, greenways and increased buses are all necessary in achieving the most important of our objectives, and so too is a re-evaluation of the routes currently in place. The Government set in place ambitious targets, with €35 billion earmarked for transport projects to be delivered by 2030. Whether that translates into anything more than lofty aspirations within the lifetime of this Government remains to be seen.
There has been a shift in the Government’s approach. Last year saw the launch of a public consultation on an all-island rail review, while the National Transport Authority launched a public consultation on connecting rural Ireland in tandem. Both are progressing at a glacial pace, however. There are pockets of progress: Sligo, Cavan and Leitrim are working with Fermanagh and Omagh district council to develop the Collooney-to-Enniskillen greenway; and, after a decade of stagnation, tendering for the Narrow Water Bridge is on the horizon; but in the interim more can and should be done.
As a cross-Border worker who regularly commutes from rural Fermanagh to Dublin via public transport – an endeavour which can take up to four hours each way – I can confidently say that we don’t need more reports or reviews: we need urgent action to provide aid to those who most need it and to unlock the potential of our island.