Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for his presence in the Chamber and his engagement on this critical matter of the completion of the second phase of the rail line from Pace to Navan. I also welcome members of the business community from Navan and Athboy who are in the public Gallery viewing proceedings. I sincerely hope to have a positive engagement with the Minister on this issue given his firm commitment and stance on sustainable models of public transport.

In the summer 2010, we saw the recommencement of rail passenger services from the Docklands station in Dublin to Dunboyne, which saw for the first time since 1947 passenger services back in those stations. It was the first phase of a major project to bring the rail line back to Navan. It was a momentous occasion for those of us who travelled on that special train that day as we looked forward to seeing the extension of the line to Navan.

In January 2011, final plans were compiled and the project was ready to move to the rail order stage. That would have seen the 35 km of line being constructed from the M3 railway station at Pace, taking in places like Drumree, the expanding village of Kilmessan and eventually into Navan, with stations at both Navan central and north Navan in Windtown being constructed.

The second phase of the project was anticipated to cost in the region of €550 million and was probably the most significant transport and economic project for Navan in decades. Thousands of people bought homes in Navan in the previous decade in anticipation of that line coming to Navan. Alas, the project was suspended when the new Government came to power in February 2011. What was even worse was the fact that the planning process for the project was not progressed even though the previous Minister had brought it to the point of advancement before leaving office.

The desperate need for that second phase to be completed manifests itself each morning on the congested roads from Meath into Dublin. I know there are huge demands on the Minister from TDs who already have rail services in their counties but who are looking for them to be expanded or retained but Navan is the only town in the greater Dublin area, and of any major capital town in the Leinster region, that does not have a passenger rail service. The negative impact on Meath’s capital town has been hugely significant both from a transport point of view and in terms of quality of life and it has been crippling in terms of our economic development.

There was capital road investment, most notably in the form of the M3. That project was mired in the courts and construction was delayed. However, that project alone does not present a sustainable model of transport because even before they leave the motorway at Blanchardstown, people join the bottleneck of traffic when the road network condenses back into single carriageway traffic the entire way into the city centre. It is brain damaging, and for the National Transport Authority to say it is investing in the bus system in lieu of the rail project being abandoned is no solution either because people are stuck on roads that cannot be extended in width any further.

The town of Navan is hugely important from a regional planning point of view and the huge numbers of people who moved from the city put huge pressures on our physical and social infrastructure. We have made great strides in terms of educational, sporting and cultural infrastructure but the critical piece of infrastructure lacking is the rail line. The fact that it remains off the agenda is severely hampering our county and towns.

Our latest economic strategy from our County Economic Department Plan illustrated that 54% of our population leave Meath each day to go to their place of work. That is some 33,000 people leaving each morning. We have the biggest outbound commuter population of any county in the country. Seventy-six per cent of those people are trying to make their way into the congested city of Dublin. That is a massive 25,000 people, mostly in the 20 to 44 age category. Those statistics provide the compelling evidence for the Minister to take a serious look at this project and breathe new life into it.

Some weeks ago the Minister committed to going to Westmeath with Deputy Willie Penrose to look at the rail situation in his county. I want to extend the same invitation to him now to look at the potential for the extension of the line from Dunboyne to Navan. I hope the Minister will accept that invite and that he will make his way to my home town early in the morning so he can see the choked arteries with the traffic coming in the opposite direction. As someone who has a commitment to sustainable modes of transport I ask that he would right the anomaly of Navan being the only town in the greater Dublin area without a rail passenger service, and complete the line.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I thank Deputy Shane Cassells for raising this matter and for his kind invitation to visit Navan to see what happens there. I hope it will not be too early in the morning because it is quite a long way from where I will be travelling from but I would be happy to accept his invitation. That is my duty as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport when Members take the trouble to come into the House and suggest I come to the town. It is only fair to say to the Deputy that I will come, although I do not know when. The demands of the type the Deputy made - may be not so compelling but the Deputy made a very good case - are many and the Exchequer is not quite empty but is not full.

In that context, I would be happy to visit but nobody should regard it as a signal that there will necessarily be a rapid follow-through. It is important, however, that I hear the case for it and see the position at first hand. I would be happy to do so and I appreciate the Deputy's invitation.

As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding of public transport. It is difficult sometimes for people to remember that I do not really interfere on a daily basis in matters relating to which trains run where or at what time. The National Transport Authority, NTA, has responsibility for the development of public transport infrastructure in the greater Dublin area, which includes County Meath, and Iarnród Éireann is responsible for the maintenance and operation of the heavy rail network. Obviously, I have an influence over policy. This matter would come under the heading of policy but the real detail of what goes where is normally a matter for the NTA.

The Navan rail link project was included under the Transport 21 initiative and was to be developed in two phases. Phase 1 of the Dunboyne rail line project involved the reopening of 7.5 km of a railway line running off the Maynooth line - at Clonsilla - to the M3 interchange near Dunboyne. This line opened in September 2010 with park-and-ride facilities, with 1,200 car parking spaces available at Pace and 300 at Dunboyne. Phase 1 was completed in 2013 with the opening of Hansfield Station. The plan for phase 2 involved the extension of the Dunboyne line between Clonsilla and the M3 Parkway Station, and onwards to north Navan. The development of the Dunboyne-Navan line, together with a number of other transport projects, as Deputy Cassells mentioned, was postponed in 2011 due to the economic and fiscal crisis.

The bad news, of which the Deputy will be aware, is that the NTA, which has statutory responsibility for development of public transport in the greater Dublin area, included an examination of the Navan-city centre rail corridor in the preparation of its transport strategy for the greater Dublin area for the period 2016 to 2035. The strategy was approved by my predecessor earlier this year. The NTA concluded that, based on current population and employment forecasts, the level of travel demand between Navan, Dunshaughlin and various stations to the city centre is currently insufficient to justify the development of a high-capacity rail link. Instead, it proposes to develop an enhanced bus service along the route and to develop a bus hub in Navan. The good news is that this position will be kept under review, taking account of future developments in the catchment area and the NTA suggests that the corridor identified for a rail link to Navan should be protected from development intrusion. In other words, it is not being ruled out.

The Deputy will also be aware that Exchequer funding for public transport projects over the coming period is already set out in the Government's capital plan. The transport element of the plan covers the period up to 2022. I have previously outlined that my Department's first priority is to ensure the maintenance of our existing transport infrastructure at steady-state levels so that it remains safe and fit for purpose. Based on the funding allocations for public transport under the capital plan, we should achieve steady-state levels by 2020.

In view of the current constraints regarding the availability of funding, the priority for the heavy rail network under the plan is to improve efficiency and maintain safety standards, rather than expanding the network by opening new lines or stations.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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If I could interrupt, it seems the Minister might need another two minutes to conclude.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I will complete the reply during my second contribution, if I may.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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If the Minister does not mind.

Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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I am particularly glad the Minister mentioned the NTA strategy and its summation in terms of population, etc., and, indeed, on whether the Minister and the Government have roles to play in respect of this matter. They most certainly do have roles to play.

I referred earlier to how the plans would see two stations located in the town, with the final terminal in north Navan. Only a stone's throw away from that station, there is a parcel of land of 51 acres to which a ministerial SDZ, zoning order is attached. The latter is the reason the north Navan station was going built in that part of the town. This SDZ, or strategic development zone, is designed to cater for 1,400 houses on that parcel of land. That is a significant number of houses by any stretch of the imagination. At present, the infrastructure in the town cannot cater for the near 30,000 people who live there, but here we have a ministerial order that would lead to the construction of 1,400 additional houses.

There are moves afoot. Only three weeks ago,The Irish Timesdevoted an entire half-page - beautiful maps, aerial photographs and all - to the SDZ and the ministerial order. This parcel of land in north Navan - which is already choked up - is retailing for in the region of €6 million, a knock-down price in current terms. The land in question is located adjacent to where the railway station would be located. Reference was even made to the abandoned railway line in the developers' pitch to potential purchasers. Only last week, a different parcel of land of 44 acres on the Dublin Road side of the town sold for €6 million. Across the river from that parcel of land, one can find another 30 acres for sale at Johnstown. My point is there are nearly 120 acres of land up for sale at present.

My party made a significant submission to the NTA strategy. I was a member of the local authority at the time. Our planners disputed the figures that the NTA used. The then Minister for Transport, Mr. Noel Dempsey, who advanced the matter to a particular point at the time, hotly contested with Iarnród Éireann its contention regarding the figures it was using.

My town cannot cope. It is under pressure and has been identified by Ministers as a location to accommodate strategic housing developments. What I am asking from the Government is that Departments should work with each other. If the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government is identifying landbanks-----

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy.

Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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-----for extensive housing development, it is surely incumbent on the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, given that there is SDZ zoning, to liaise and work closely with the former in order that we do not put more physical and social infrastructural pressure on these key commuter towns.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy for the follow-up.

The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport should, and does, work with those who are developing land and should keep up to date with the population projections and the building and development in the area in order to be able to adequately provide transport in advance or certainly prepare in advance for those sort of developments. I take the Deputy's point.

The rail portfolio is not all about closing stations, it is involves developing stations that need to be opened for commuters in Dublin or the greater Dublin area. Those stations might not necessarily produce a profit but they could fulfil the criteria relating to the societal needs and value-for-money considerations that exist.

I do not believe that rail a mode of transport for the past. It is probably one for the future, if it is developed selectively. I think the rail review, to which I urge the Deputy to make a submission in respect of this hopeful point, will identify where stations should be opened. I do not know whether it will identify closures but we will certainly have a clear picture after the consultation process.

I say this to give the Deputy encouragement. One of the most satisfying aspects of my transport portfolio was highlighted only a couple of weeks ago when the Phoenix Park tunnel reopened. The latter, in turn, facilitated the reopening of a line from Park West in the western part of Dublin to the docklands in order to satisfy commuters' needs, particularly in the context of bringing them across the city. That offers me some hope for the future for areas such as Navan, if they can justify and make compelling cases to bring commuters into the city in circumstances where there is no other viable mode of transport available to them.

Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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On a point of order, can I ask-----

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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There is no point of order.

Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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-----that the Minister come back to me on his commitment to visit the town? We could have that meeting, perhaps in the county council chambers, with the chief executive. The council chambers are located next door to the old railway station in Navan, which is right in the heart of the town.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I have already said I will do it.

Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister.