Kevin O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Ms Anne Graham, the chief executive of the NTA. The Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area, 2016-2035 must be welcomed and hopefully it will not end up being an aspiration. I would like my city colleagues to be happy about issues arising from the route of MetroLink, such as the impact on the sports ground of Na Fianna and other disturbances. However, we on the committee also must consider the cost implications. The proposed single bore is almost the equivalent of a triple bore because to get the two bores into a single bore will require a bigger bore diameter. That would drive up costs enormously in extraction and back-fill. Has the costing been done for this proposal before we jump into taking this solution? I am not an expert on engineering but I can do the maths. Going deeper into the ground might be good for the residents on the route because it might lower noise pollution and keep it underground. My concern is about astronomical costs that will delay further projects down the line, as the money will be used on MetroLink, which is an essential requirement for the transport network in Dublin. Dublin Airport, one of the busiest airports in Europe has no connection to the city centre.

The proposed routes for BusConnects brings to mind a scene from "The Field". We never thought that green areas would become so important to urban people but it is the case. The tremendous motorways built in the north east by the second last Government have proven invaluable in terms of interconnectivity between urban areas. At that time, in fairness to Departments and Transport Infrastructure Ireland, they communicated with the landowners and the various property holders to find solutions. I hope the same process will happen. Obviously one will need to compensate property owners for taking green areas. My major concern is that on-street parking for housing terraces will go.

On page 21 of the BusConnects report, which sets out the "plans to mitigate those challenges" with regard to parking spaces, it states "we will seek to provide, where feasible, alternative parking close by". How close by is "close by"? How can private residents be compensated for the loss of parking spaces? While we welcome the overall thrust of this plan, we do not want it to be pursued at the expense of other projects. We do not want taxpayers to be inconvenienced or to have to contend with additional charges. Perhaps this money could be spent elsewhere to improve the national transport network outside Dublin.