The function of the Dublin Transportation Office, which comes under the aegis of the Department of Environment and Local Government, is to advise the Government on transport strategic planning and to monitor and co-ordinate implementation of those plans in the greater Dublin area.
As I stated in a recent Parliamentary Question, No. 68 of 20 June, 2001, copy attached, individual decisions about particular rail stops on existing suburban lines are a matter for Iarnród Éireann who is required to operate its services as efficiently as possible within the annual subvention provided by the Exchequer. The Dublin Transportation Office's Strategy, A Platform for Change, includes a rail stop at Ballyfermot. The Luas line between Tallaght and the city centre planned for 2003 will service part of Ballyfermot. Furthermore, the DTO Strategy recommends a Luas line from Lucan to Docklands via Ballyfermot to be constructed in the period between 2006 and 2010. This would interchange with the suburban rail line at Ballyfermot.