Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

I do not accept that there has been a planning failure as suggested by the Deputy. Transport 21 will provide for five additional interchanges for passengers on the Maynooth and west Dublin suburban rail line to which the Deputy's question refers. These interchange points will be with metro west at Porterstown, the cross-city Luas line at Liffey Junction, metro north at Drumcondra, the Tallaght Luas line at Spencer Dock and the DART interconnector at Pearse Station.

I understand that the majority of suburban rail services from Maynooth and west Dublin actually serve Connolly Station rather than the new Docklands Station. There is already a Luas stop at Connolly, which serves passengers wishing to transfer from the Maynooth line to Luas. The Docklands Luas extension will include a stop at Spencer Dock. This will be situated approximately 350 metres from Iarnród Éireann's existing station at Docklands and close to the proposed location for a new station for the DART interconnector.

The railway order which provided planning permission for the Docklands Luas extension was granted in 2006 and established the route and stop locations on the line. Construction of the extension is already well under way and is due to be completed next year. Any change in the route would require a new railway order application, preceded by preparatory planning and design and public consultation. This would substantially delay completion of the project and significantly increase costs and it is not justified on transport planning grounds.

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