Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 320: To ask the Minister for Transport if he will support a matter (details supplied). [39293/08]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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The Government remains committed to the implementation of the Metro North project which is a critical element of the Transport 21 strategy to transform the public transport system in the Greater Dublin Area. The Metro was originally recommended in the Dublin Transportation Office's long term transportation strategy A Platform for Change following detailed strategic analysis.

The project itself has been through a rigorous economic and transport evaluation undertaken by the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) in accordance with Guidelines for capital projects issued by the Department of Finance and which was independently assessed for the Department of Finance and the Oireachtas Transport Committee. I am satisfied that the economic and transport evaluation of Metro North has been in accordance with best practice for such a project.

An elevated railway within the constraints of the city centre would present significant difficulties. It would require a wide corridor of land to accommodate the viaduct and such a requirement would entail the demolition of a significant number of properties. There would be substantial construction impacts. In addition, an elevated rail system would also have an unacceptable visual impact and cause substantial visual intrusion in residential areas within the confines of the city centre and give rise to significant concerns about its environmental impact. It should be noted that outside of the city centre, where feasible and appropriate, Metro North will, subject to planning approval, run on elevated structures.

More fundamentally a decision now to opt for an elevated railway would result in the abandonment of the current statutory approval and PPP procurement processes and the start of entirely new planning, consultation, environmental impact assessment, railway order and procurement processes. The consequence of this would be an indefinite delay in the implementation of a public transport project which is urgently required.

The RPA placed copies of the Railway Order application on display on 17 September in accordance with the 6 week statutory public notice requirement pursuant to Section 37 of the Transport (Railway Infrastructure) Act 2001. It was open to interested parties to make submissions to An Bord in relation to the project during that period.