Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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751. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if the European Investment Bank has been approached in respect of funding for DART underground in any of the years since 2011; if so, the amount involved and the outcome of the approach; if any other funding streams are being pursued and if so, the details of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20526/16]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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​Following the comprehensive review of capital expenditure carried out in 2011, a decision was taken to defer a number of major capital projects due to the financial situation, including DART Underground.

In the context of developing the current Capital Plan which was adopted in September 2015, the National Transport Authority (NTA) was requested to review the business case for the project. Based on the outcome of that review, the NTA recommended that the project be redesigned to provide a lower cost technical solution.  The project remains a key element of integrated transport for the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) and is included in the NTA's transport Strategy for the GDA 2016-2035 which was approved and published earlier this year.

Funding has been provided under the Capital Plan 2016 - 2021 for redesign and planning for the revised lower cost DART Underground.  All potential sources of funding for the project, including potential EIB funding, will be considered if a decision is made at a future date to proceed with a redesigned project.