Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to address this issue in the House.

As he is aware, the national development plan, which was published earlier this year in conjunction with the national planning framework as part of the Government's Project Ireland 2040 plan, sets out the major transport investments that are planned over the next ten years. I understood from the Topical Issue matter that was furnished to me that the Deputy was seeking to discuss the need for me "to carry out a full assessment of transport needs for the greater Cork metropolitan area in consultation with both local authorities and Transport Infrastructure Ireland". The Deputy will forgive me if I answer the question he tabled.

The national development plan makes it clear that the Cork local authorities, in partnership with the National Transport Authority and Transport Infrastructure Ireland, are finalising a Cork metropolitan area transport strategy. The national development plan includes a number of commitments in respect of transport in Cork. These commitments will be included in the Cork metropolitan area transport strategy, which will contain proposals relating to all modes of transport, including road network improvements; a revised, more extensive and higher-capacity bus system; enhancements to the commuter rail service, including additional stations; a future light rail corridor; and a number of bus-based and rail-based park and ride sites. The Deputy referred specifically to investment in roads. The national development plan proposes various major roads projects for Cork, including the N20-M20 scheme, which will link the cities of Cork and Limerick with a high-quality transport corridor. The Deputy mentioned the Cork north ring road, which will be examined as a part of the overall planning and design of the M20 scheme. The M28 project between Cork and Ringaskiddy and the N8-N25-N40 Dunkettle interchange upgrade scheme are also being pursued.

On the public transport side, the national development plan commits to the Cork BusConnects programme, which will deliver a revised bus network for Cork city. It will comprise the delivery of crucial bus corridors, enhanced services, cashless fares and account-based ticketing. As part of the delivery of this programme, a network of park and ride sites, serviced by the more efficient bus network, will be put in place. The Cork BusConnects programme has enormous potential to transform the bus system in Cork radically by making it much more efficient, reliable and attractive to new passengers. The national development plan also provides that the Cork transport strategy will include an evaluation of a light rail corridor to serve the increased population growth up to 2040 that is envisaged by the national planning framework.

The objective of the Cork transport strategy will be to provide a long-term strategic planning framework for the integrated development of transport infrastructure and services in the Cork metropolitan area over the next two decades or so. It will be used to inform transport investment levels and investment prioritisation over the longer and shorter terms. It will also inform sustainable integrated land use and transport policy formulation at strategic and local levels. The transport strategy is at an advanced stage of preparation. I understand that a draft is expected to progress to public consultation early in 2019. Feedback from the consultation process will be taken into consideration in the finalisation of the transport strategy for the Cork metropolitan area. As the Deputy may be aware, the Southern Regional Assembly is finalising a draft regional spatial and economic strategy for public consultation. Officials from the Department, the National Transport Authority and Transport Infrastructure Ireland have worked closely with the regional assembly on the transport elements of the regional strategy. The strategy will include a metropolitan area strategic plan for Cork, as set out in the national planning framework.

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