Regional Assembly reiterates support for extension of Western Rail Corridor to Sligo

The lack of accessibility to rail infrastructure in the Northwest has been described as the region’s ‘Achilles Heel’ by John Daly, Economist with the Northern and Western Regional Assembly (NWRA). 

Addressing a meeting of the Western Inter-County Railway Committee in Sligo, attended by Councillors from Clare, Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo and Donegal, Mr Daly said that, in terms of rail infrastructure, there has never been a better reason to invest in the Northern and Western Region.

He told members that “the region’s population is growing to up to 962,200 as of 2025 – our region’s labour market remains relatively strong with employment growing to 482,300 in Q3-2025 while our region’s economy continues to grow, with total economic output rising to just over €40 billion as per the latest CSO figures.

“However, while the region is growing, we aren’t growing anywhere near as fast in comparison to the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland. As such, regional inequalities in Ireland continue to rise, with our region’s share of Ireland’s population progressively falling over time to 17.6% as of Census 2022 and as per the latest CSO population estimates up to 2025.

“A central component to supporting a region’s competitiveness is the provision of high-quality transport infrastructure, particularly rail in the context of the transition to a low carbon society. At a basic level, rail amongst other things supports economic development by allowing for the efficient movement of goods, people and services.

“Based on the latest population forecasts out to 2040, regional imbalances in Ireland are likely to worsen unless there is a significant intervention by central government, with ESRI forecasts suggesting it could fall to 17% by 2040. The continuation of historical trends suggests our region’s share could even fall further than this forecast.

“While the revised National Planning Framework seeks to address this issue by targeting a 50:50 split in population growth between the Eastern and Midland Region and the other NUTS 2 Regions of Ireland, such a target won’t be possible under the current investment allocations for projects of scales that are in the pipeline for delivery, with these projects predominantly focused on the Greater Dublin Area.

“Central to addressing this trend of rising regional inequalities is enhancing the economic competitiveness of the Northern and Western Region of Ireland, making it more viable for the region to attract people, jobs and investments and provide a credible counterbalance to the Greater Dublin Area.

“It is clear from the European Commission’s “Regional Competitiveness Index” that if we want to improve our competitiveness, our region will go a long way to achieving this by improving our rail infrastructure, with this region’s Achilles heel being the lack of accessibility to rail infrastructure.

“Looking at the sub-indexes, our rail infrastructure is ranked in the bottom 20 NUTS 2 Regions in the EU, yet the region performs exceptionally in areas such as higher education (16th out of 234 regions), households with broadband access (46th) and people involved in science and technology (52nd).

“Regarding airport infrastructure, we perform relatively strong at 135th which is exceptional for a rural region and shows our overall “infrastructure ranking” of 218th out of 234 regions will be improved notably by focusing on growing our rail network.

“As such, the NWRA supports projects such as the full delivery of the Western Railway Corridor as documented in our recent submission on the revised National Development Plan and as per the objectives of the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy of the Northern and Western Region,” he concluded.

Councillor Michael Frain, Chair of the Northern and Western Regional Assembly, also addressed the meeting and reiterated the strong support of the Assembly for the full delivery of the Galway-Sligo rail link.

“A motion supporting the completion of the Western Rail Corridor to Sligo and supporting Iarnród Éireann’s commitment to preserving the line for rail development only was passed unanimously at the recent meeting of the Assembly and sent to both the Taoiseach and Tánaiste,” he said.

READ MORE: Over 7,000 signatures petition to block large-scale seaweed harvesting off Mayo coast