I've a friend who was in low to middle management in the DAA for a few years who told me this. He also said most people in the DAA are at some sort of management level, so it might not hold much weight.

Personally I think they may have side-stepped the rail issue (politically only) via the sheer number of bus routes now operating out of the airport. Shur if you have a bus going virtually 24/7 to Ballina via Longford, or to Navan, then it keeps people quiet. Ironically it's most of the greater Dublin area (with a few exceptions) that is the hardest to get to/from the airport. But then again, as a culchie living in Dublin for 25 years, the Dubs were always sold short, and allowed themselves to be.

The DAA would certainly be more interested in a rail link to the rest of the country than to Dublin. One to Dublin would is just going to take people who were flying out of Dublin from one transport form into another. Only if congestion near the airport got so bad that Dubliners would consider flying from another airport (and the nearest is 2 hours away) would it be a priority.

In terms of taking passengers from other airports, the big prize for them is the 7.7m passengers flying out of Belfast Airport, so they would far prefer to see the Belfast line diverted to operate through the airport.

Endless redesign is a recipe for nothing happening. But I suppose once the vested interests are happy with the status quo then that’s fine.

I don't know about keeping quiet but fact remains that the bus from the airport is a far better option for me here in Longford than the train even though I'd much rather travel by train.

The bus is cheaper, runs services for first flight out and most last flights in and is generally faster than taking a bus into town and changing to the train.

This discussion shows up the dysfunctional governance of public transport investment decisions in Ireland. Major projects such as Motorways, rail electrification and new routes, main airports, all involve big external impacts (e.g. a new motorway will impact on some main rail lines, an expanded airport will impact on the demand for different modes of surface transport). As such they should not be regarded as "ordinary" investments where the only relevant measure is the financial impact on the investor.

This is why we have bodies such as the NTA, and a Department of Transport. They exist to regulate transport providers and co-ordinate big investment decisions. If a major airport acts like a car-park provider and retailer with some runways attached (OK I know this exaggerates a bit) this is clear evidence of regulatory failure. Thus a rail link to Dublin Airport should be an NTA/Government decision and the criterion should be based on costs and benefits to society as a whole, and not just to DAA (or Irish Rail for that matter).

If we have a minister of transport whose main concerns (or even obsessions) seem to be the appropriate penalties for driver misbehavour or for the procedure used to appoint judges, then it is almost inevitable that major questions of governance and regulation in the transport sector will be neglected, with huge long-term consequences.

Has anyone noticed the silence of the politician on the subject? Reason probably is that there are few votes in such a decision, no natural constituency at the airport and you only get votes from doing something local rather than national interest. This why likes of NTA need to drive progress though I’m sure there is a political hand there also.

Whatever about the link to the airport, I'm surprised that TDs covering Swords (and possibly even Ashbourne where it could be arranged for a line to terminate) haven't been more vocal.

Knowing the way commercial interests have sway in this country, we will probably eventually get a line to Tayto Park, which just happens to serve Dublin Airport, Swords and Ashbourne on the way.

Better than nothing.

Diverting the Belfast line through the airport has so much to commend it but is way beyond the current restricted vision for public transport in general and rail in particular. It will happen eventually but not until a small fortune has been expended on plans, enquiries and half baked schemes.