James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)

I thank the witnesses. They will have seen today that KPMG produced a report talking about a €70 billion investment which is needed in infrastructure in Dublin and transport is a key part of that. There is one specific project that I want to ask about. As the witnesses know, Dublin Port is carrying out a major expansion plan to meet its future needs. As part of its plan, it will construct a new bridge alongside the toll bridge. As the planning documentation makes clear, that could facilitate a Luas extension from the Point to Ringsend, Irishtown and Poolbeg. Does the NTA see that as a viable project? The witnesses might update us. I know a demand survey is under way, which is being carried out by Transport for Ireland, TFI, or the NTA, or both. Will the witnesses give an indication of the timelines for that? Do they agree with me that with regard to developing a pipeline of delivery, it would be important for contractors who are bidding on the Luas to Finglas to know that future projects are coming down the line?

We are good at identifying infrastructure projects in this city and country that go wrong, but one that went extremely well and was on budget and on time was the cross-city Luas. The trouble is that we did not keep it going and did not continue those Luas extensions. Luas extensions, relative to MetroLink, for example, cost much less. This plan has been in the ether for some time, but now the houses are being built. About 500 homes in Poolbeg are basically complete. Ultimately, 10,000 new people will live in Poolbeg, with more development to come, including on lands that we perhaps do not even know of yet, on those sites to meet the future housing needs of our city. We do not want to go back to a stage where we build the homes and we do not provide the infrastructure to meet the homes. My ask is that this project be given much greater priority than it has been given to date and that, perhaps in the context of the national development plan review in July, this might be a project that could at least be earmarked to get to a planning stage in the lifetime of this Government. The witnesses' thoughts on that would be much appreciated.