Mary Lou McDonald
Question:72. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the progress that has been made on the LUAS BXD development [45133/12]
View answerThursday, 18 October 2012
Questions (72, 75, 85)
Eoghan Murphy
Question:75. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport when he expects construction on LUAS BXD to commence; when he expects the project to be concluded; the measures he will take to ensure that the impact on traders is minimised to the greatest extent possible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44939/12]
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Olivia Mitchell
Question:85. Deputy Olivia Mitchell asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport when work on the construction of the LUAS BXD project will commence and conclude; if he will outline the measures he has taken to ensure that disruption to businesses is kept to a minimum during the lifetime of the project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45064/12]
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 72, 75 and 85 together.
Following the establishment of the National Transport Authority (NTA) on 1st December 2009, the provision of infrastructure projects in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA), such as LUAS BXD, now comes under the remit of the NTA. Luas BXD to Broombridge was designed to be a key element in an overall integrated transport network for Dublin. It will create a Luas network by joining the Luas Red and Green Lines and will also link with rail services from Maynooth and Dunboyne and with existing Quality Bus schemes which enter or cross Dublin City Centre. It will also, in time, interchange with future key projects such as Dart Underground and Metro North. The project has been prioritised under the Governments's 5-year capital plan - Infrastructure & Capital Investment Programme 2012-2016 - Medium Term Exchequer Framework - which was published in November 2011. Funding has been included in my Department's capital allocation to 2016 to cover the cost of commencing the main construction works in 2015 and for pre-construction enabling works in 2013 and 2014. Construction is expected to take 4 years.
An Bórd Pleanála gave approval to the project on 2nd August 2012 and, following the statutory 8-week appeal period, the railway order (RO) is now operational. I understand that the business case for the project is now being updated by the RPA having regard to conditions attached to the RO and other information updates. There has been extensive engagement between the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) and both Dublin City Council (DCC) and Dublin Bus aimed at minimising the construction impacts of Luas BXD on all road users, including pedestrians, and on businesses in the city centre area. The ongoing engagement between the relevant agencies on these important issues, which now also includes the NTA, will intensify both prior to and during the construction of the project.