Dáil debates

Thursday, 16 February 2012

4:00 pm

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

The projects were discussed in great detail. When the revised capital plan to 2016 was decided upon, one question that arose, and one on which I and the Minister of State, Deputy Kelly, sought assurances, was that if the Luas BXD went ahead first, whether it would still be possible to build metro north and the DART underground without having to close down the BXD line for several months. A series of discussions and documents exchanged between the RPA and the NTA showed it could be done. There may need to be temporary restrictions from time to time but it should be possible to work on the other projects without shutting down the BXD line or digging it up.

An Bord Pleanála's request for additional information is reasonable. We all know this from our involvement in the planning process. The information will be made available to An Bord Pleanála soon.

The Luas line will run to Broombridge station. There are three reasons as to why we are not just linking up the two Luas lines but extending them to Broombridge. First, it is to regenerate the areas along the route such as Cabra, Phibsboro and Stoneybatter. Second, it will give life to the DIT Grangegorman project when it goes ahead. Third, it will create an interchange at Broombridge, significantly upgrading that station, and link the Luas network to the Maynooth line allowing people, for example, to get on a train at Leixlip, switch at Broombridge and go on to Dundrum.

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