COUNCILLORS are continuing to press for the inclusion of Fermanagh in the upcoming All-Ireland Rail Review. 

At present, Fermanagh is the only county in Northern Ireland that has been left out of the review, and this could mean it is the only county in the island of Ireland that will have no rail access.

A previous Motion adopted by the Council described this as an "inexcusable exclusion", and a letter was sent to the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) to seek information on why the county had been left out of the review. 

Information sought by councillors included the data used to determine the inclusion or exclusion of all lines, including stop by stop breakdowns of estimated passenger numbers and travel times.

However, this information wasn't returned by DfI, which stated that it held "limited information", and that it was in "the public interest" to withhold this information. 

This decision can, however, be appealed to the Information Commissioner. 

SDLP Councillor Adam Gannon said that councillors have been "going round and round in circles" when it came to obtaining information from DfI regarding the All-Ireland Rail Review. 

The Erne West Councillor proposed that a letter be sent to the new Infrastructure Minister, John O'Dowd, to ask what steps he will take to ensure Fermanagh is included in the review. 

"I have to agree to disagree with the Department on why they won't give us information," Councillor Gannon said. "We have been round and round in circles with this, and they just aren't giving it to us.

"However, now that we have a Minister, we can make some headway that isn't just chasing Departments for information.

"I propose that we write to John O'Dowd to ask what steps he will take to ensure Fermanagh is included in the All-Ireland Rail Review."

The proposal was seconded by the SDLP's Bernard McGrath.