Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

634. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he accepted the recommendation of the National Transport Authority that the design and planning work of the revised Dublin Area Rapid Transit underground project should be advanced to facilitate commencement of construction after 2020, the funding to be apportioned for this and if funding has been included to progress the project with a revised lower-cost tunnel to design and planning stages. [44783/15]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

​A project of the magnitude of the DART Underground Project has to be designed and delivered in a way that best ensures cost effectiveness for the taxpayer and the State. Following a review of the project, the National Transport Authority recommended that the tunnel element should be redesigned in order to provide a lower cost technical solution and the Government has accepted that recommendation.

  Funding is being made available under the new Capital Plan (2016-2021) for design and planning work on the revised tunnel element of the wider DART Underground Project.  Planning will be advanced in order to be available for the commencement of construction in the context of the next Capital Plan (post-2022) subject to compliance with the requirements of the Government's Public Spending Code.

The overall DART Expansion Programme remains a key element of integrated transport for the Greater Dublin Area and for the wider rail network and the Government intends to progress elements of that Programme which bring value in themselves, such as the electrification of the line to Balbriggan, subject to appropriate business cases and the availability of funding.