John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms Graham very much for her opening statement. I will follow the same sequence as Deputy Rock and start with MetroLink, another version of which was announced yesterday. We have seen many versions of it. If one adds the timelines set out in the opening statement, it would take in or around ten years to deliver the project. It is a long way down the road before it becomes operational and that has an impact on the questions I will pose in relation to BusConnects. The MetroLink proposal, as published yesterday, has shrunk by about 7 km, so instead of the original 26 km, it is 19 km. Previously, the indicative cost of the longer MetroLink was €3 billion. What are the costings for the revised plan the NTA presented yesterday? What is the basis on which passenger traffic was calculated? What number of passengers was the original 26 km version of the MetroLink expected to carry and what number is expected to be carried on the shorter one? I am not opposed to MetroLink but it is a substantial change. The overall metro has been reduced by approximately 30%. The project that is currently proposed is now different. Was that accompanied by a cost-benefit analysis?

To be parochial, Ms Graham referred to discussion of metro north and metro south more than two decades ago. There was also a metro west.