Ivor Callely (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Seán Ryan for raising this matter. He asked me to take action. The House will appreciate that I am a man who does not need to be asked or encouraged to take action; it comes naturally to me.

I am aware of Deputy Ryan's concern about the issue he raised. Deputies Sargent, Wright and Glennon have also raised the issue of the metro for north Dublin. I am delighted to respond positively to this debate as a "Dub", a public representative for the constituency of Dublin North-Central and also as Minister of State for transport. I fully accept the need to provide a metro line and a new Dublin docklands rail station. I assure Deputy Ryan that I am fighting hard, and I believe he knows that, for both these projects and I am confident that during my watch real progress will be made on the metro and the Dublin docklands rail station. I am not stopping at that, however, if Deputies will excuse the pun. There will be other improvements in public transport services in the north Dublin region.

Deputy Ryan referred to the Minister for Finance's contribution to the budget debate. In fairness, the Deputy must acknowledge and give due credit to the Minister, Deputy Cowen. For the first time a Minister for Finance gave the Department of Transport a ten-year envelope which will allow us go about the planning of what are deemed to be long-term projects, whether it is the metro we will deliver on, the Dublin Port tunnel or the tremendous carriageways and dual carriageways we are building throughout the country. There are long lead-in times for these projects and the ten-year envelope will give us great scope in that regard.

The programme for Government contains a commitment to develop the metro for Dublin. The Railway Procurement Agency has submitted to my Department a detailed case for phase one of the metro, which would be procured on a public private partnership basis. The RPA has proposed that phase one would run from St. Stephen's Green to the airport in approximately 17 minutes. It would serve key areas such as Trinity College, the Mater Hospital, Ballymun and DCU and an extension to Swords is under consideration.

It is estimated that phase one would carry about 24 million passengers per annum, rising to about 50 million over time. It will provide a new rail commuter corridor through north Dublin in areas not served by rail and would be a significant step in the creation of integrated public transport for Dublin, which is a reflection of Fianna Fáil policy on transport for Dublin. The cost of phase one of the metro will be met by the Exchequer through an annual availability payment over a 26-year period commencing when construction is complete. While value for money for the State will remain a central consideration, the cost of the metro ultimately will be determined by market forces through a competitive tendering process.

By way of giving information to the House, I recently made an interesting visit to Munich, some of which was covered by the media, and an aspect I examined there was the metro and the costs associated with that. I was greatly impressed with what I learned and saw in Munich.

A business case has been submitted to my Department by Iarnród Éireann for the development of a greater Dublin integrated rail network, which is also required, aimed at meeting the projected demand for rail services into the future. Included in the business case are proposals to construct a new rail station in the city centre area; provide an interconnector tunnel linking the existing rail network and serving the Dublin docklands; provide a spur off the Maynooth line to the N3 beyond Dunboyne; and expand the capacity of the DART.

The Government is considering the metro, the Iarnród Éireann plan and all other proposals for the development of the transport system in the context of a national ten-year transport investment framework that will propose an integrated solution to the transport challenges facing greater Dublin and the country as a whole.

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