Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

I agree with the Deputy. There is no doubt that north Dublin is in serious need of a transport solution. I dislike the way it is often presented as an airport solution, because that is not the full capacity of what we should be delivering. There is the issue of the population base and the location of the metro, as well as the opening of further land for housing development. We need a transport solution for north Dublin.

This ten year envelope changes the perspective that I can bring to transport solutions for Dublin and the rest of the country. That is why the Minister for Finance announced this in his budget speech. The issues outlined in my response and those raised by the Deputy are on the desk. I want to make sure we pick the best of everything, but not in isolation. There has to be connectivity between all of the elements. We have to look at the connectivity between central Dublin, its suburbs and surrounding towns like Kildare, Maynooth and Drogheda. The different solutions, such as the metro, the interconnector and electrification of the lines, are all on the table.

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