Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Geoghegan for raising this very important matter, which I am taking for the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. Deputy Geoghegan has raised this matter before. There is huge merit in what he has proposed, and I commend his contribution because it is about joined-up thinking and ensuring we are ready for the next phase of the area he mentioned.

As the Deputy knows, improving public transport services and infrastructure is central to improving citizens' quality of life and achieving our decarbonisation goals. The achievement of these goals has been set out in the programme for Government. I agree with Deputy Geoghegan's sentiments: this is about planning for the future and about that joined-up thinking approach.

The National Transport Authority has statutory responsibility for transport planning in the greater Dublin area. The development of a Luas red line extension to serve Poolbeg is one of the longer term projects in the NTA Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy 2022-2042, as approved by the Minister for Transport, for development and delivery within the 2037-42 timeframe.

It is important to recognise that the proposed Luas extension to Poolbeg is subject to the assessment of forecast travel demand arising out of development patterns in the Poolbeg west strategic development zone and environs. The comments Deputy Geoghegan made about the population increase and the ongoing work there fit into this matter succinctly.

TII is the sponsoring agency for the proposed Luas to Poolbeg project and the NTA is the day-to-day approving authority. I understand that the NTA recently instructed TII to undertake a pre-feasibility analysis of the Luas Poolbeg project. This analysis will include updated demand modelling to assess the initial feasibility of Luas Poolbeg from a passenger demand viewpoint. This is in line with the objective on the Luas Poolbeg project outlined in the greater Dublin area transport strategy. This analysis is expected to be completed in the summer.

I wish to highlight that there are four proposed extensions to the Luas network highlighted in the current greater Dublin area transport strategy. The most advanced of these schemes is the Luas Finglas project. TII submitted a planning application to An Bord Pleanála in November of last year for that project and we await a decision on the matter.

The Government is aware that the opportunities for people to live and work in Poolbeg are likely to increase. Deputy Geoghegan has given us figures in terms of the housing projections of around 10,000 more people living in the area. In a report prepared by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Department of Transport published in 2023, the Poolbeg west strategic development zone was identified as an opportunity for transport-orientated development. It is recognised as an area with the potential to deliver a mixed-use neighbourhood with a significant number of residential dwellings. It is also worth noting that in July of last year Dublin Port submitted a planning application to An Bord Pleanála for the 3FM project. This project is focused on developing additional port capacity on port-owned brownfield lands on the Poolbeg Peninsula. I agree again with Deputy Geoghegan that at this time the issue of the port is important and access to it is critical.

The Department of Transport and the NTA are cognisant that an increased demand for travel from Poolbeg to the city will need to be catered for in the coming years. The transport needs of the area will need to be met in the short, medium and long term. This demand may be catered to by bus, cycling and walking and, depending on the scale and phasing of development, possibly the Luas.

The Government understands the merits of the proposed Luas Poolbeg project. It is one of a number of projects that have been highlighted for possible acceleration as part of the review of the NDP, which is planned for later this year. As previously stated, the NTA has the statutory responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure in the greater Dublin area. The Department will engage with the NTA in considering the needs of new or accelerated potential transport projects in the greater Dublin area as part of the review of the NDP. Any consideration of that capacity in terms of funding will be made in due course. I thank Deputy Geoghegan again for his contribution.

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