Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. The national planning framework, NPF, published in 2018, sets out a vision and strategy for the spatial development of Ireland to 2040. National policy objective 44 of the NPF specifically commits to further supporting and developing the economic potential of the Dublin-Belfast corridor, in particular the core Drogheda-Dundalk-Newry network, and to promote and enhance its international visibility in co-operation with the relevant departments in Northern Ireland. The draft revised NPF published on 10 July has undergone a nine-week public consultation process and it is envisaged that the final revised NPF will be published in October. That is an important document.

Speaking of Fingal specifically, which I am more than happy to do, we are in a major growth area. We are the youngest area in the country. We need to ensure that we continue to attract inward investment and domestic investment, and that our infrastructure keeps pace with that growth. That is why measures such as DART+ are crucially important, and DART+ coastal north in particular, which will improve the frequency of services along the Dublin-Belfast economic corridor to the regional growth centre of Drogheda. I visited Drogheda earlier this week, and we discussed at length here what can be done in the Drogheda area in particular. I know that is something the Deputy will support.

MetroLink is crucially important too. It is in planning, it needs to happen and it will serve multiple residential communities and major employment zones, education, transport and other facilities, including DCU, which is our local university, and the wider area. In addition, the recommendations of the all-island rail review, which was published in July, include the upgrading of the core intercity rail network, including the rail line between Dublin and Belfast to allow speeds of up to 200 km/h. We were talking about public transport as well. The increase in capacity and frequency on that route is crucially important, and our airport and its development is also crucially important. I will come back on the rest in supplementary replies.

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