Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

There are an awful lot of encouraging plans for Portmarnock train station but the situation is a bit chaotic at the moment. There are a couple of elements. Regarding BusConnects, for someone living in Portmarnock who wants to get a bus to the train station, it is almost handier to take the bus to Malahide than it is to go directly to Portmarnock station. The L81 service will not remedy that for many people who live in Portmarnock, given the planned route.

People living west of Portmarnock, particularly in the older and newer parts of Kinsealy, have to drive because there are no cycle lanes and in many areas there are no pathways. They reluctantly have had to drive to the train station for years, which is obviously not ideal. However, park-and-ride facilities are a feature of train stations almost everywhere outside of the major cities. What appears to be a temporary reduction in car park spaces is having a real impact.

The Minister mentioned that a planning application will be made next year. How many spaces will be included in that? Will it be a multi-storey car park solution?

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