Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would not be quite as nice to Meath people at a Leinster final or on an All-Ireland Sunday, as the Deputy was there. I thank her for raising this issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport. Improving public transport services and infrastructure is central to improving citizens' quality of life and achieving our decarbonisation goals. Achieving these goals has been set out in the programme for Government.

The National Transport Authority, NTA, has statutory responsibility for transport planning in the greater Dublin area, including in Fingal West. The NTA's greater Dublin area transport strategy, which was approved by the Minister for Transport in January 2023, sets out a framework for transport investment across the region over a 20-year period from 2022 to 2042, and it provides a clear statement of transport planning policy.

This strong policy support has been backed up by increased levels of Exchequer funding, which is supporting the roll-out of initiatives such as MetroLink, BusConnects Dublin and DART+. The delivery of these projects had been delayed due to delays in the planning approval process. However, there have been some positive developments recently, with An Bord Pleanála approving 11 of the 12 BusConnects Dublin core bus corridors, including the Swords to the city centre scheme, as well as the conditional approval of DART+ West and full approval of DART+ South West projects.

These projects will continue to advance in the coming years. It is anticipated that the first of the BusConnects Dublin core bus corridors will enter construction later this year, which will represent a significant milestone in the delivery of the major public transport projects. The first six phases of the BusConnects Dublin network redesign have also been rolled out in recent years. These new spines, including the A spine via the airport to Swords, will continue to be rolled out on an incremental basis in the coming years.

Two orders for the new DART+ train fleet have been placed so far. The first order is for the purchase of 95 additional DART carriages, which comprise 65 battery-electric carriages and 30 electric carriages. These carriages started arriving into Ireland last year and are currently undergoing testing, prior to entry into service. The battery-electric carriages are planned to enter service on the northern line from Dublin to Drogheda in 2026.

MetroLink will provide improved access to employment, education, leisure and healthcare facilities. This includes Dublin Airport, the Mater hospital, the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin City University, Trinity College Dublin, and numerous other locations in Dublin city centre.

The Government approved MetroLink under decision gate 1 of the public spending code in July 2022. This enabled the project to enter the planning system. In September 2022 Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, submitted a planning application to An Bord Pleanála. The railway order consultation period, following the submission of the railway order application, provided the opportunity for stakeholders along the MetroLink route to raise concerns about the project. The statutory planning consultation for the project closed in January 2023.

In 2024, An Bord Pleanála held an oral hearing and an additional round of public consultation in relation to MetroLink. A planning decision from An Bord Pleanála is awaited. In addition to the above, TII submitted a planning application for Luas Finglas to An Bord Pleanála last November. The statutory consultation period for this project closed in January.

This major public transport project will extend the existing Luas tram network northwards by almost 4 km from Broombridge to the Finglas area, shortening journey times to and from Dublin city centre to approximately 30 minutes or less.

This route will provide interchanges with Broombridge train station, which is on the planned DART+ west line, as well as bus services. These projects represent a major improvement to public transport offerings in the west Fingal area.

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