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

This question appears to have been based on media commentary and conjecture in recent weeks which, I hope is apparent from yesterday, was not fully the case. As announced yesterday, the Government has agreed that the DART underground project should be redesigned to provide a lower cost technical solution. It is certainly not being cancelled. Indeed, the overall DART expansion project, of which the underground tunnel is a critical element, remains central to the Government's strategy to meet the growing transport needs of the greater Dublin area.

As originally designed, however, the underground tunnel element would have accounted for approximately €3 billion of what would have been an overall cost of €4 billion for the whole DART expansion programme. At the Government's request, the National Transport Authority, NTA, carried out an updated analysis of the business case and found the tunnel element of the programme could be redesigned to deliver a lower cost technical solution while maintaining the full connectivity of the original programme. The Government has now agreed that this redesign should proceed and this work will be funded under the new capital plan which will be announced shortly. The Government has also decided other elements of the DART expansion programme will be progressed under the new capital programme, including specifically the DART extension to Balbriggan and other works to increase frequency of existing services.

It is imperative we invest in our transport system to ensure we can meet growing demand and ensure congestion does not hinder economic growth. It is also important that in our investment strategy, we plan appropriately so that areas which will see major development and population growth in the future, such as north Dublin, will be properly served by public transport. I am confident the forthcoming capital plan will deliver on these objectives.

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