asked the Minister for Communications when it is proposed to give a decision on CIE's request for additional railway lines to Tallaght; when a decision will be given on the proposed development of the Con Colbert/ St. John's Road intersection, which affects CIE's proposals to extend DART to Tallaght; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dublin Transportation.
12.
There are no proposals before my Department for the extension of the Dublin suburban rail system to Tallaght. Any such proposals would fall, in the first instance, to be considered as a priority matter by the proposed Dublin Transport Authority, in consultation with Córas Iompair Éireann and in the light of the transport requirements of the Dublin area as a whole. I hope to establish the Authority as soon as possible after the enactment of the necessary legislation, which now awaits the Committee Stage in Dáil Éireann.
Dublin Corporation have submitted to the Department of the Environment details of their preliminary proposals for a major road project at the Con Colbert/St. John's Road junction on the South Circular Road. The main Dublin to Cork railway line passes under this junction. I understand that Córas Iompair Éireann are anxious that the reconstructed road bridge should be sufficiently large to accommodate two further railway lines intended to serve the Tallaght area. This aspect is currently the subject of discussions between the Department of the Environment, and Dublin Corporation and my Department will be consulted in due course before the Minister for the Environment makes his decision in the matter. I should add that, irrespective of what might be decided in relation to the span of the reconstructed bridge, it would be impossible to give any commitment at this stage to the provision of rail links to Tallaght. The high cost of rail systems and the low population density in the Dublin area would strongly suggest that bus-based solutions will figure prominently in the Dublin Transport Authority's examination of the transport needs of Tallaght and other new towns on the periphery of the city.
It is clear from the Minister's reply that he is aware of the interlinking dependency, if you like, of the application for permission to go ahead with the construction of the bridge, but is he also aware that the failure to give early permission for the construction of this bridge will have serious effects on the existing development of the Chapelizod by-pass, that if the two are not completed together, according to Dublin Corporation officials, that will cause severe problems, in fact render the whole process of developing the Chapelizod by-pass a waste of funds?
The question should more appropriately be addressed to the Minister for the Environment. But, as it is in my constituency, the Deputy can be assured that I am well aware of the details and of the necessity for completing not only the Chapelizod by-pass but the widening of Con Colbert Road and whatever widening is agreed in relation to the railway bridge at the section in question.
The question of the widening of the bridge is important and, presumably, depends on the decision of the Minister's Department in relation to what permission will be given CIE in regard to the extra lines——
Yes.
There is clearly a linkage of interest there between the Minister's Department and the Department of the Environment.
My Department will be consulted by the Department of the Environment before the Minister for the Environment takes a final decision. I think the point is that, if a decision was taken to go ahead with a widening which did not allow for some possible extra railway lines, that would pre-empt a decision in relation to the Tallaght railway and I am very conscious of that fact.