Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Minister's response which I had the benefit of reading in advance. I compliment the Minister and the Department on the level of detail in it. I never get this level of detail when I ask parliamentary questions and thank the Minister for it. I welcome his reference to the potential availability of further funds to accelerate the delivery of the metro north project. This may well occur with a little luck. The Minister hit the nail on the head when he spoke about linking with the spatial and planning strategies. The sustainable development of the north Dublin corridor is of paramount importance to Dublin City Council and, more appropriately, Fingal County Council which has many greenfield and brownfield sites to develop along the corridor. If the development goes ahead, the councils will have the ability to provide for a great deal of investment that will be of assistance in terms of job potential and community development in the coming years.

It is very important to recognise that the delivery of the metro north project is not just about getting people from A to B; it is also about creating communities and giving people in them the links to get from A to B. There is nothing worse for those living in the communities to which I refer than knowing it will take them 70, 80 or 90 minutes to get to Dublin city centre at peak times. That is the reality for people living in the north of the county and Swords. That is how long it takes to traverse the Malahide Road or the Drumcondra and Swords roads if one has to drive, which is the case in many of the examples brought to my office. While there are excellent bus services in the area in question, there is no comparison between a bus service and the service provided by a for-purpose singular vehicle when people are trying to get to and out of the city centre.

I noted with interest a couple of weeks ago the flying yet again by Iarnród Éireann of its kite about the provision of a heavy rail link to Dublin Airport. I ask Iarnród Éireann to allow the policymakers to make decisions on transport infrastructure in this country. Those involved with the company should focus on driving their trains and planning their strategies to keep the network up to speed and allow the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and his officials in the Department to get the job done.

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