Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I reply to this matter on behalf of the Minister for Transport. I will certainly bring Senator Morrissey's eloquent plea for Donabate to the Minister's attention, but I must outline his views on the matter.

The Senator is well aware that Transport 21 includes the provision of a metro line from the city centre to Swords via Dublin Airport and the timeline for the completion of this metro line is 2012. This does not include an extension to Donabate, nor was such a link envisaged in the strategy, A Platform for Change, published by the Dublin Transportation Office.

It is envisaged that the metro north will terminate at Lissenhall, north of Swords. As Senator Morrissey outlined, a major park and ride side is planned at this terminus. This will benefit people from Donabate, Portrane and other areas of north Dublin and people from counties Meath and Louth travelling to the airport or onwards to the city centre. It will be possible to park at the terminus and take the metro to the airport or onwards to the city centre. The park and ride facility will also include a bus interchange. The metro journey time from the terminus to the airport will be under ten minutes and will be under half an hour to the terminus at St. Stephen's Green.

A metro line north of the proposed terminus at Lissenhall is unlikely to be sustainable without the land being developed in a manner conducive to a metro, that is, high-density residential and commercial development. The land between Swords and Donabate is designated as a green belt area in the Fingal county development plan and, thus, is unlikely to be developed. However, the metro north project will be designed to facilitate its further extension should the circumstances, especially land use policy, change in the future. Therefore, while this indicates there is a stop in regard to the Senator's request, it is not entirely a full stop. The configuration of the terminus at Lissenhall will facilitate a further extension if a demonstrated need for that develops in time.

The population of Donabate is served by suburban rail. This service will be improved under Transport 21 with the construction of the interconnector tunnel through the Dublin city centre and with the associated electrification of the northern line, which will become a DART line running from Balbriggan to Kildare. This will enhance the service from Donabate and surrounding areas as the interconnector will provide extra capacity, that is, it will be possible for more trains to pass through the city centre than at present. As electrical rolling stock can accelerate faster, there will also be the possibility of reduced journey times and increased frequency of service for commuters.

The Balbriggan to Kildare DART line will have interchanges with the second DART line, which will run from Maynooth and Dunboyne to Greystones, at Pearse Street Station, the Luas red line at the docklands and Luas and metro services at St. Stephen's Green. It will also have an interchange with mainline rail services at Heuston Station. The completion date for these projects is 2015. In the meantime, work will commence in 2007 on the resignalling of the rail network in the city centre, which will mean a 33% increase in rail capacity within the city centre, which should facilitate some suburban rail service improvements.