Mr. Garret Doocey:

To follow on from what Mr. Spratt said about the public consultation, the consultation process in regard to BusConnects, while lengthy, demonstrated a response to queries and issues raised in local communities throughout Dublin. Those lessons will be applied as BusConnects is rolled out in Cork and the other cities. It was a positive example of a bilateral engagement between an authority and local communities throughout the city.

As for where BusConnects and its roll-out sit within the Department, our core focus is on completing the review of the preliminary business case, which the Minister will bring to the Government. It is at decision gate 1 in the public spending code and its approval will allow the programme to enter into the planning system. At a project or programme level, the NTA is finalising the documentation in order that it will be good to go once the approval from the Government comes through. That will then enter the planning system and, once that concludes, there will be a schedule of delivery. Not all 16 bus corridors will be introduced at the same time because that would disrupt the city too much. Instead, there will be a schedule for the programme's roll-out. The priority on our end is to review the business case, get Government approval and complete the planning and documentation at a project level in order to be ready to enter the planning system.

The Senator spoke about his experiences with trains on the Continent. There are different approaches on the Continent in respect of the use or carriage of bikes on public transport. In the Netherlands, for example, which we all recognise as a country with a high uptake of cycling, there is a different approach whereby people cycle to the station do not take their bike onto the train and then pick up another bike at the other end. There are different approaches to how to maximise that last-mile, first-mile mix. I acknowledge that Hungary, which the Senator mentioned, and Denmark have different approaches as well. There will be increased bike-carrying capacity on the new DART fleet, for example, although it is probably unfair to call it simply the DART fleet given that it will apply to the commuter fleet in general. The battery electrics and full electrics, that is, those new units that will be purchased and delivered in the coming years, will have increased bike-carrying capacity as well.

As to the green line upgrade, I refer to my earlier comments on the increase in capacity that has been delivered this year. The medium-term aspect is to increase further the Luas capacity from the south side of Dublin city into St. Stephen's Green. That will require some works, although they are not significant. On the longer term ambition of an upgrade and the associated timings, thoughts and considerations will be set out in the greater Dublin area, GDA, transport strategy, which will be published for review before the end of the year. It will have a suite of background documentation relating to the analysis required by the NTA under statute and the consultation process that will take place. It will provide an holistic view of what is needed throughout that part of the city for the next 20 years.