Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to address this matter in the House. As he is aware, the recently published national development plan which was launched earlier this year by the Government as part of Project Ireland 2040 brings together the metro north and metro south projects, as envisaged by the NTA’s greater Dublin strategy, in one project called MetroLink. The MetroLink project involves the development of a north-south urban railway service that will run between Swords and Sandyford, connecting key destinations along the 26 km route. There will be 25 stations in total, 15 of which will be brand new. A large proportion of the route will be underground, including where it passes under the important city centre area and Dublin Airport. The underground section will terminate close to the Charlemont stop on the Luas green line in the south city area to where the MetroLink will connect and run southwards on the existing Luas green line. The Luas green line will be upgraded to metro standard as part of the project. It will provide Dublin with a high capacity, high frequency cross-city rail corridor, serving critical destinations such as Swords, Dublin Airport, Dublin City University, Ballymun, the Mater Hospital and existing destinations along the Luas green line to Sandyford. MetroLink will provide faster reliable journey times to and from these key destinations, while offering an interchange with other rail, DART expansion, light rail and bus services. It is predicted that capacity for 15,000 passengers per direction per hour during the busiest peak times will be required along the corridor. MetroLink will have capacity for 30 trains per hour in each direction; therefore, it will greatly enhance the public transport offering in Dublin. The creation of approximately 4,000 jobs during construction is also envisaged, which is very significant for the economy in the region.

The NTA, in conjunction with TII, completed a public consultation process on the emerging preferred route earlier this year. The emerging preferred route is the proposal which has been identified as the likely optimal scheme from a technical design perspective, without the benefit of public consultation and input. It is riot a finalised and selected scheme; the final layout will only be determined after consideration and evaluation of the issues raised during the consultation process. The purpose of the process that also included public consultation meetings was to obtain the views of the general public, particularly those along the identified emerging route, and take that input into account in finalising a selected route. TIl and the NTA received approximately 8,000 submissions, including one from the residents in College Gate apartments, which they are reviewing, with assessing changes to the scheme in order to address a number of the issues raised.

The NTA is aiming to complete a report shortly identifying a final preferred scheme which will be the subject of a further public consultation process. The report is expected to be published later this year, following a full appraisal of all stakeholder submissions. While I absolutely understand the concerns raised by affected stakeholders, believe there are many benefits that the MetroLink project can bring. I am confident that the NTA and TII, through the consultative process they undertook, will find a way of delivering the MetroLink project and maintaining good routes that will interchange with other public transport services, while doing so in a way that will respects the social and community life of the city. Until the public consultation report is published, it would not be appropriate for me to comment any further on the details of the proposal at this time.

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