Off the rails

HAS our lovely little republic decended into a bureaucratic bearpit?

In an inspired and totally sensible move, Irish Rail sought permission from Cork County Council to install a park-and-ride service from Dunkettle to the city.

This would certainly remove a lot of the tension from the Dunkettle interchange — Cork’s own Red Cow.

It is planned to construct this as part of the Cork/Midleton line and the upgrade of the Cork/Cobh line.

No objection was made by local NRA officers but on reaching Dublin the highly-paid hierarchy objected because they might need the land — the property of Cork County Council — at some time in the future.

The matter is now referred to a third State body, An Bord Pleánala, which is too busy to make a judgment, while a fourth, Cork County Council, sits on its hands.

Irish Rail and the NRA are part of Noel Dempsey’s Department of Transport. Meanwhile, the people of Cork stew in traffic.

Peter Wolfe

Ilfracombe

Douglas Road

Cork