Mr. Hugh Creegan:

Opening the Phoenix Park tunnel has made a big difference to the case for the DART tunnel. When we carry out modelling work, as we do for all these things, we have roughly 1.4 million public transport trips a day in the Dublin region. When we test with and without the DART tunnel in place, there are about 10,000 additional trips due to the tunnel. The tunnel will have lots of people coming through it but they come off the Phoenix Park tunnel link, in the main, and off the bus system. Because the Phoenix Park tunnel link is open, the case for that DART underground is not immediately strong. As we say in the strategy, we think it will be required in the future and we think the line should be preserved and the issue should be revisited and reviewed. When we analyse it in depth, that is what we are getting, although that is different from the situation six or seven years ago, before the Phoenix Park tunnel link was opened. Once it opened, it changed the possibilities and we will now, I hope, have the DART running through it in three or four years.