Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of public transport in the Bray area, including the issue of light rail. I note, of course, that Bray is set to benefit from investments in BusConnects and DART+, both of which will boost public transport capacity in the area. I am delighted that the final BusConnects network will be published today and that the National Transport Authority, NTA, can move forward with delivery of a much improved network of bus services.

The transport strategy for the greater Dublin area is the strategic framework within which transport infrastructure in the region is considered and developed. It has a statutory basis and, importantly, is integrated within land-use plans across the region, thus laying the foundation for a much more sustainable approach toward development generally.

The strategy is a 20-year framework and it makes a number of proposals in regard to light rail infrastructure over that period. These proposals include the Luas cross-city, which has been completed; the Luas green line capacity enhancement, which is well under way; and the proposed extensions to Bray, Finglas, Lucan and Poolbeg. Building on the strategy’s recommendations, the current national development plan provided indicative funding toward planning and design of those Luas extensions to Bray, Finglas, Lucan and Poolbeg in the greater Dublin area. Indeed, a number of weeks ago, I was pleased to launch a public consultation on the emerging preferred route option in regard to the proposed Luas Finglas project.

The transport strategy’s proposal in regard to extending Luas services to Bray was predicated on an upgrade of the existing Luas green line to metro standard. This was considered a prerequisite in order to ensure sufficient capacity on the line to cope with additional demand generated by the extension. More recently, the Bray transport study was published in 2019 and sets out a number of sustainable mobility interventions designed to facilitate continued population growth in the area. It recommends the introduction of a new bus service from Sandyford to Bray, via Old Conna, until such time as a Luas extension might be delivered, as well as other measures for the area.

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