Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

I agree with the Deputy and want levies to be used to help fund a metro. I intend to ask the Railway Procurement Agency to engage with Dublin City Council and the county councils to use levies to the full in the development of a metro. The Deputy will be aware that a levy has been proposed to raise funds with regard to the development of Luas at Cherryfield. In addition, Cork County Council has commenced procedures to raise levies to help fund the reopening of the railway line to Midleton. Levies have been used before and I intend that they will be used in the context of a metro.

I also agree that an extension to Swords, if it is possible, would give a metro greater critical mass. Taking a metro through high-density areas also makes sense given that it would have to break even operationally, as is the case with the Luas. The contract for the Luas requires Connex, a private French company operating the system, to break even over the next five years. While the State pays the capital cost and interest, the company must cover operating costs on a day-to-day basis through fares. A similar structure is envisaged for the development of a metro and the Planning and Development Act 2000 would be used to raise capital through levies from property owners along the route. The operator of the system would also have to break even.

Incidentally, there is increasing scope for the private sector to fund stations when railway lines are being developed. Iarnród Éireann has received proposals from the private sector indicating it is willing to develop and pay for railway stations at no cost to the taxpayer as the company opens up new areas for development. Any such proposals will have to fully comply with planning provisions.

As regards cost, advisers engaged by the Railway Procurement Agency have estimated the cost of the various options for phase 1 of a metro project. The current figure envisaged is €1.2 billion in total direct capital costs at 2002 prices. This figure increases substantially when one estimates a final cost which takes account of expected inflation between now and when the service commences, VAT fees, interest charges, the cost of risk transfer and provision for risk contingency. According to the RPA, an accurate cost for the metro cannot be ascertained until the final structure of the project has been decided and competitive bids received from international consortia. This will still be before a contract is signed.

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