Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The National Transport Authority, NTA, has responsibility for the implementation and development of infrastructure projects in the greater Dublin area, GDA. Under this remit, the NTA has commissioned the Fingal-north Dublin transport study to examine all existing proposals as well as other possible options for a transport solution to meet the needs of the Swords-Dublin Airport-city centre corridor in the long term. Phase one of the study was published on 8 December and six short-listed project options were identified for further detailed evaluation. A public consultation process was also launched at that time.

In the next stage, the six projects will be subject to further analysis assessing cost, engineering, environmental and usage forecasts. This will form the basis for the selection of the recommended preferred option. The NTA has indicated it expects to have the output of this phase by the end of March. The output will then require careful consideration in tandem with other analyses being undertaken, including the updating of a business case for the DART underground project and the work being carried out in the preparation of a draft transport strategy for the GDA. I anticipate that I will finalise this review by the middle of the year, in conjunction with the development of the transport strategy for the region.

Regarding public transport provision at Dublin Airport, results of an extensive survey carried out by the NTA at the airport in late 2011 show that 33% of passengers travelled to the airport by bus, with a further 24% travelling by taxi. While this compares favourably with other airports internationally, I am conscious of the need to address this issue in the context of the needs for transport improvements for the GDA in general. The NRA has predicted an increase by 40,000 journeys into the city centre by 2023, which would necessitate the construction of an additional 40 multi-storey car parks, were all these journeys to be taken in private cars, a scenario that is neither possible nor desirable.

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