Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 12 December 2018
33. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the role of his Department in the decision-making process and consideration of the final route of the MetroLink project on the south side of Dublin city; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51961/18]
View answerAs Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure in the Greater Dublin Area, including MetroLink.
The Deputy is aware that there is a statutory Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area. That Strategy was subject to a full public consultation, appropriate environmental assessment and appropriate programme level appraisals.
The Strategy provides a comprehensive and integrated framework for the development of public transport in the Greater Dublin Area out to 2035 and details the measures to be taken across all modes of public transport, including active travel. Its development, publication and status as a statutory document is a very welcome approach toward planning and implementing the improvements needed in relation to our transport network as a whole.
That Strategy noted and explained the required development of what it then termed as New Metro North and also what was then termed as Metro South. Under the National Development Plan these projects have been combined as MetroLink which will provide a 26km high-capacity metro service between Sandyford and the Swords and which will benefit tens of millions of passenger journeys each year.
As noted in the Strategy, capacity on the current Luas Green Line will not be sufficient to deal with the forecasted growth in housing and employment along the corridor. The ongoing Luas Green Line Capacity Enhancement project will provide for extended trams across the Green Line but that is essentially an interim measure and a fundamental issue remains as regards the capability of a Luas type service to provide for the forecasted level of demand by 2027, hence the Strategy’s provision for an upgrade to a higher-capacity Metro service.
Implementation of the Strategy’s various projects is a matter for the NTA, in conjunction with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) as appropriate; however, all public expenditure is of course subject to the Public Spending Code and my Department’s Common Appraisal Framework for Transport Projects and Programmes.
The NTA and TII have already published an 'Emerging Preferred Route' for public consultation earlier this year and a further round of public consultation will take place in early 2019 on a 'Preferred Route' before any decision on a Final Route and later submission to An Bord Pleanála, at which stage statutory consultation periods will of course take place.
I look forward to the development of the Metrolink project by the NTA and TII, as provided for by the Transport Strategy and in accordance with the requirements of the Public Spending Code and the Common Appraisal Framework.
