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

A Navan rail link was included in the draft greater Dublin area transport strategy of the National Transport Authority, NTA, as one of the proposed projects to be delivered by 2042. I am aware that this issue is one that generated a significant number of submissions during the public consultation held by the NTA in November 2020.

On the proposal itself, the assessment report undertaken by the NTA was published as a background paper to the draft transport strategy at the end of 2021. It considered again the strategic rationale for such a rail link, assessed rail and bus options, re-examined the potential alignments of a rail link and provided a high-level assessment of cost and demand.

The wider appraisal, which examined the qualitative and quantitative benefits of the Navan rail line, has shown that the scheme has the potential to deliver significant economic, environmental and social benefits along the Dublin-Navan corridor. On the basis of the assessment, the report concluded there was a strong strategic rationale for the proposal and this is why it has been brought forward for inclusion in the draft strategy.

The NTA's transport strategy is subject to a formal statutory approval process and a final version will ultimately be submitted for my approval later this year. If included in the final strategy, this project will require significant planning and design before construction can commence. As it stands, the draft strategy proposes delivery of the Navan rail line in the latter half of the strategy period.

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