Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I understand from what the Minister has said that the DART underground project is being shelved for the moment. I know there were six projects under consideration originally, one of which was metro north. Has the bus rapid transit, BRT, plan been shelved because metro north is being considered? There are figures and speculation in the newspapers on this issue. Both the Minister and I know that there were three different options for metro north and that some €150 million was spent. Now we are being told the project will cost far less. The original figure was €2.5 billion, but now the newspapers suggest it will be €1.9 billion and that this can be achieved by reducing the number of stations and considering other options. The Minister has not given a straight answer in regard to what option he would prefer.

He says he has to bring it to his colleagues but there is a big case to be made for the metro north, in particular, and the effect it would have in terms of the amount of traffic it would take off the streets, the amount of employment it would create and the connectivity it would bring to the airport. Further, is it the Drumcondra route up through Ballymun to the airport that we are still talking about or is the Cabra option, cutting across Glasnevin and going underground, still being explored?

See this speech in context