Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

There have been no substantial changes to the design plans for metro north, nor are any under consideration by the Government. The Railway Procurement Agency, RPA, placed copies of the railway order application on display on 17 September in accordance with the six-week statutory public notice requirement pursuant to section 37 of the Transport (Railway Infrastructure) Act 2001. This application defines all the principal elements of the project, including the proposed alignment, underground sections and station locations.

The Railway Procurement Agency continues to make good progress on the public private partnership, PPP, tender process for metro north. The initial phase of the PPP public procurement process was conducted in 2007, resulting in the formation of four pre-qualified consortia for the purpose of tendering for the project. Tender documentation was formally issued to the four pre-qualified consortia on 12 May 2008. Since then the RPA has held a number of meetings with the consortia. Following on from a request from some of the consortia, the RPA recently agreed to extend the closing date for submission of tenders by two months. Receipt of tenders is now required by 6 February 2009.

The target date for the completion of metro north is 2013 but that is dependent on the outcome of the planning and procurement processes. A final decision on the project will be taken by the Government once the planning and procurement processes are complete. The Government remains committed to the implementation of the metro north project, which is contained in the Transport 21 strategy to transform the public transport system in the greater Dublin area.

With regard to the wider Transport 21 investment, several national road and public transport projects that are currently under construction will be completed in the next two years. The start and completion dates of projects that have not yet commenced will be determined by the funding allocation available during the current difficult economic climate. The commencement dates for these projects will also be influenced by the time taken for public consultation, the relevant statutory process and the procurement and contract award processes.

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