I thank you, Sir, for allowing me to raise this matter on the Adjournment. It was stated in the National Development Plan that the DART would be extended to Greystones, County Wicklow. While this may seem a minor detail it is a matter of grave concern to the large population in north Wicklow, particularly those living in Greystones, in view of the Minister's response to my parliamentary question of Tuesday, 2 November, when he stated that the issue was being examined only in the context of the draft operational programme on transport. The natural expectation was that the proposal would be included in the national plan, particularly as a consequence of its inclusion in the Dublin Transportation Initiative interim report which recommended that £28.6 million should be spent on upgrading suburban rail services and specifically included a figure of £6 million to extend the DART service to Greystones. However, the National Development Plan specifies that only £20 million will be spent in that area. There is a shortfall of £8.6 million between the two figures and that is a matter of concern for the people in Greystones. There was no firm commitment in the Minister's reply in regard to its placing in the operational programme. He stated that the Dublin Transportation Initiative report would be substancially implemented by 1999. In view of the shortfall, what will be omitted? That is what the people of Greystones are concerned about.
It is worth mentioning that the area covered by the report includes 50 per cent of the population of County Wicklow. Yet, the only recommendation to invest in public transport in the country appears in danger of being ignored while all the money may be spent on public transport in County Dublin. If this is the case it would be a total negation of the Dublin Transportation Initiative report which recognises that, to relieve Dublin's traffic congestion, it is necessary to provide a good public transport service beyond County Dublin. The Dublin Transportation Initiative report recommends that the DART service should be extended to Greystones, the only definitive DART extension recommended in any report. The managing director of Iarnród Éireann considers the DART the most logical and cost effective solution to the transport problem of Greystones. That argument is further reinforced by the fact that an extension of the DART service to Greystones will pay its capital cost within 12 years through increased usage. That would make it the most financially viable rail investment set out in the national plan.
We are not talking about simply improving the service to Greystones but about upgrading it to a level which pertained in the past. During the years 1983 to 1989 nine direct trains travelled each day from Greystones to Pearse Street station, that has been reduced to one train per day. In ten years the population of Greystones has increased by 50 per cent, but the train service has been almost wiped out. When Greystones had its service withdrawn other commuter rail services such as those to Malahide, Maynooth and, more recently, Clondalkin, were vastly improved as a result of substantial Government investment. I assure the Minister that the people of Greystones would not take to the streets — as they did last year — unless they believe in what they are doing, the case they have presented during the past number of years is a strong one. The DART service is the most effective solution to the transport needs of Greystones, it is also the most cost effective solution because far more people would use a direct and reliable service than a diesel shuttle service. The extra users would more than pay for the extra capital cost involved.
The proposal outlined by the Dublin Transportation Initiative group would provide a park and ride site in Greystones which would service people from Delgany, Kilcoole, Kilpedder and Newcastle and relieve traffic congestion in Bray and in the city of Dublin. That proposal has been welcomed by the Dublin traders.
Will the Minister make a clear commitment to the people of Greystones to extend the DART to their town? Strong arguments were advanced in favour of this and the Dublin Transportation Initiative group was seen as the body to advise the Minister on the best way forward. No greater signal could have been received by the Minister from DTI than its clear and unequivocal support for the extension of the DART service to Greystones. What we and the people of Greystones now need is similar unequivocal support and direction by the Minister to provide an extension of the DART service to Greystones.
