Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

For months, concerned residents of Kilcock and many other towns spoke about the vitality that this service would bring. It is seen as an essential part of the development of Kilcock and indeed wider north Kildare. All along, we were facing the prospect of the DART+ having its depot in Kilcock but no service in Kilcock. Now that this is off the cards, where will this depot go? It can go to the other side of Kilcock, to Enfield. There are many opportunities for a park-and-ride service. I acknowledge that the delivery of this extension to Kilcock is dependent on the service and delivery of the DART+ West project in general, but some sort of pre-planning can be done in tandem with the existing process that is under way.

We are told that an extension of DART+ is an objective of the National Transport Authority. While it is welcome that this is in the greater Dublin area transport strategy, the timeline for the railway order to the end of this is 20 years. That is a generation of more than 100,000 commuters who do not have that option. While the private car remains the most popular mode of commuting in Kildare, we have seen an increase in the use of public transport between the most recent two census profiles. Much of that is down to the increase in provision of bus services and accessibility to existing rail services. I commend previous Governments on their work and significant investment in that, because it has to be noted that there has been a significant increase in public transport services in Kildare. However, we are told that the DART+ project will require additional funding to that provided for in the current national development plan. Has this been estimated yet? I understand that a mid-term review of the national development plan was or is to happen. What is the update on this?

Last year, the Minister, Deputy James Lawless, announced that funding had been secured to prepare for the future roll-out of the DART to Sallins, Naas and Kilcock. I welcome this wholeheartedly. What does it mean exactly? Are details available? Will the Minister of State confirm that the contingency of the DART extending was and is not dependent on the depot being in Kilcock?

When can people reasonably expect to see DART trains in Kilcock, Sallins and Naas?

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