Mr. Hugh Creegan:

I thank the committee for the invitation to attend. I am joined by my colleague, Mr. Tim Gaston, director of public transport services. I understand that the committee wishes to focus on traffic congestion in the Dublin area, the proposed College Green civic plaza and Luas transport. I will address these issues in my opening statement.

I will first discuss traffic congestion in the Dublin region. Following a period of reduced transport usage and suppressed transport growth, both in terms of private car use and public transport patronage, 2014 saw the start of a reversal of these trends. Public transport usage has increased for all modes since then and I mean in terms of bus, Luas and commuter rail transport. Paralleling the changes in public transport, car travel has grown across the Dublin region since 2014. Demand for travel is now on the increase and patronage on public transport is growing. During 2017 overall public transport numbers grew by 8% with increases recorded across bus, rail and Luas transport.

Major investment is needed in public transport to respond appropriately to this growth and address the congestion problems in the Dublin region. Both the NTA and others have advocated for several years for a major increase in public transport investment to prepare the region to deal with the growth in travel that was becoming evident. However, due to Ireland's recent economic circumstances, funding for the required investment was unavailable during much of the past decade.

The overall framework for transport provision to meet the needs of the region over the next two decades is set out in the Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy 2016-2035, which was approved by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport in 2016. The strategy outlined the various networks to be developed. They are as follows: heavy rail; light rail; bus; road; cycling and pedestrian networks; and supporting measures, including park and ride provision, information provision, integration and demand management measures.

A welcome uplift in public transport funding has been provided in the recently published National Development Plan 2018-2027, which has allocated €8.6 billion towards sustainable transport measures. The three largest projects are MetroLink, the Dublin Area Rapid Transport or DART expansion programme and BusConnects, all of which will serve the Dublin region. Let us remember that resolving the transport deficiencies caused by the unavailability of investment for a period of several years will take time and that major infrastructure projects take a number of years to deliver.

Supplementing those larger projects, other measures are being taken in the short term to deliver additional transport capacity. These include the provision of a ten minute DART service later this year, following the resolution of driver training issues; the current peak time rail services from the Kildare rail line that links with Dublin city centre through the Phoenix Park tunnel will be expanded to provide an all-day service; additional capacity will be provided on the Luas green line with additional 55 m trams coming into service; an order will be placed in 2019 for a diesel-electric rail fleet to provide an extended DART service across the Dublin rail network; the Go-Ahead contract for bus services on 24 public service obligation, PSO, bus routes in the Dublin metropolitan area will start operations in quarter 3 of this year; an additional bus fleet will be acquired and additional capacity will be added on busy routes currently experiencing high passenger numbers in peak hours; additional investment will be made in park and ride provision; and, there will be an increased level of investment in cycling projects. I reiterate that it will take time to remedy the consequences of prolonged under-investment in public transport.

In terms of BusConnects, we believe that investing in our bus services is critical when it comes to tackling traffic congestion in the Dublin area. That is why the NTA proposes to radically change the way bus services are delivered through the implementation of the BusConnects programme. BusConnects is our plan to fundamentally transform Dublin's bus network so that journeys by bus will be fast, reliable, punctual, convenient and affordable. There are three very significant milestones for BusConnects in the weeks and months ahead. Shortly, in June, a discussion document will be published. In the publication we will outline our thinking on the challenges and opportunities that will arise from our proposal to invest in infrastructure on 16 core bus corridors that operate in and out of the city. We intend to develop the corridors so that each will have a continuous bus lane in each direction. In the following month of July, we will publish for public consultation the redesigned network of bus services for Dublin. This will include a proposal for a major redesign of routes, schedules and fares structures. Finally, in October, we will publish for public consultation our detailed plans for investment in infrastructure on the 16 core bus corridors that operate in and out of the city.

I shall next discuss the College Green civic plaza. The provision of such a plaza at the location has been an objective of Dublin City Council for many years. Last May, an application for planning consent was made to An Bord Pleanála to develop such a scheme. An oral hearing on the proposal commenced on 12 March of this year and concluded approximately three weeks later on 29 March. The decision on our proposal now rests with An Bord Pleanála, with a determination anticipated to be made before 26 July.

That concludes my introductory statement. I trust that we can answer any queries that arise.