Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister of State for that response. I note that Lucan is the largest town in Dublin without access to light rail, so when I talk about this extension, it is not just about transport but about fairness and inclusion.

The Minister of State referenced the public transport connectedness that exists across parts of the infrastructure currently. There is a very large public transport deficit in Lucan as well. BusConnects has taken some steps towards the catch-up that we need to play, but there is a huge opportunity for us here to get this right with the extension of the Luas infrastructure to Lucan. I am thinking especially of the working mother in Lucan who spends over an hour commuting by bus into the city centre. Her journey time could be halved, enabling her to have a better quality of life. I think of the older person living in the area who finds current transport options very limiting in terms of accessibility and cost. A Luas stop would provide that person with greater independence and access to essential services.

I welcome the fact that the Luas Lucan project has been highlighted for possible accelerated delivery under the NDP. I will be working with the Minister for Transport to advocate for that. It is a no-brainer to ensure that we accelerate the delivery of this project. I am of the view that we complete the process of designing the emerging preferred route as fast as we can. As soon as the detailed multicriteria analysis that the Minister of State referenced is done, we should move immediately to the emerging preferred route. We need to get that out into the ether as soon as we can.

We need to show an urgency with this in respect of the length of time we are going to spend on the public consultation. People should have their say but they should also see there is an urgency and an impetus behind this, especially in light of our discussion in this House last week on the need for the additional zoning of land, in Dublin in particular. This is the sort of project that enables that additional zoning.

I will keep fighting for this during my time in this House. I hope we can push it to planning as soon as we can.

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