Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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76. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to consider the provision of a light rail transport system to serve the west County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15306/16]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for the development and implementation of public transport infrastructure in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA), including metro and light rail projects.

As funding remains constrained at present, the only new metro or light rail projects that have been allocated funding under the Government's Capital Plan Building on Recovery: Infrastructure and Capital Investment 2016-2021 are the Luas Cross City and the new Metro North.

In the longer term, proposals for the future development of an east-west Luas line, commencing in the residential areas of Lucan and connecting into Dublin City Centre have been included in the NTA's Transport Strategy for the GDA for the period 2016-2035.  This would provide a high capacity radial service from this area to the City Centre, sufficient to cater for the high transport demand along this corridor, and would serve Lucan, Liffey Valley and Ballyfermot along its route.  

The Strategy also envisages the development of a Core Bus Network, which would include a range of radial and orbital routes serving Dublin West, and a Bus Rapid Transit scheme linking Blanchardstown with UCD.