Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 April 2021
303. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Transport further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 28 to 31, inclusive, of 4 March 2021, the timeframe for the completion of the preliminary business case for the DART expansion project. [18262/21]
View answer304. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Transport further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 28 to 31, inclusive, of 4 March 2021, if the DART expansion project will be announced in advance of the launch of phase two of the review of the national development plan. [18263/21]
View answer305. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Transport further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 28 to 31, inclusive, of 4 March 2021, the length of time it will it take to complete the DART expansion project once the technical review of the DART expansion commences. [18264/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 303 to 305, inclusive, together.
As outlined in my response of 4 March the Public Spending Code sets out the requirements for the evaluation, planning and management of public investment projects in Ireland and the Code applies to all public bodies and to all bodies whose projects are supported by Exchequer capital funding.
The Code sets out a number of Decision Gates in the development of a project proposal; these are points where major decisions need to be made about the progress of a project and, for projects expected to cost over €100million, Government approval is required at these stages. For a project in this category, "Decision Gate 1: Preliminary Business Case" is the first stage where the Public Spending Code stipulates that formal Government approval is required.
In accordance with the Public Spending Code's requirements, the National Transport Authority has in recent days submitted the DART+ Preliminary Business Case to my Department. The Code stipulates that it must be reviewed by both my Department and the Department for Public Expenditure and Reform. Following completion of these necessary steps I will then bring the matter to Government for its decision.
The review of the National Development Plan obviously provides an opportunity to consider the funding requirements associated with the programme now that we have reached this milestone and I will certainly be engaging with my Government colleagues in that regard as that review process continues over the coming months.
In terms of delivery of DART+ itself, the Deputy is aware that the proposal is a programme comprised of various different elements primarily related to fleet expansion and then infrastructure improvements across the various lines: DART+ West, DART+ South West and DART+ Coastal. These elements will all move at slightly different times as they are all at different stages of development, with the fleet expansion and DART+ West elements the most advanced and these will be the first to be delivered, subject to Government approval of the Preliminary Business Case and of course the planning approval in relation to the infrastructure improvements.
