Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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44. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the estimated cost of completing the western rail corridor; the status of the project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27372/20]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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As the Deputy is aware, Iarnród Éireann commissioned a financial and economic appraisal of a proposed reopening of Phases 2 and 3 of the Western Rail Corridor, and, I can confirm that my Department has received from Iarnród Éireann a copy of the final report on the proposal. That report had been prepared in accordance with the commitment given in the current National Development Plan.

An independent review is currently being conducted by JASPERS, an agency established by the European Union and the European Investment Bank.  JASPERS has vast experience in advising Member States and public authorities on regional development proposals, such as the proposed reopening of Phases 2 and 3 of the Corridor.  Their analysis will provide a broader perspective on issues such as the potential wider economic impact, freight services, climate impact and a view on the potential for securing EU funds if it were to go ahead.  That work is expected to be completed very shortly.

I intend to publish these analyses as soon as is practical, including details of cost estimation; however, in line with the Programme for Government commitment I will first bring the matter to Government.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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45. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the estimated cost of completing the rail line from Dunboyne to Navan; the status of the project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27373/20]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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As Minister for Transport,  I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport.  The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure in the Greater Dublin Area in the first instance.

The issue of a potential extension of the existing Dunboyne/M3 Parkway line to Navan was considered by the NTA during its development of the statutory Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2016 to 2035. The Strategy concluded that based on current population and employment forecasts, the level

of travel demand between Navan, Dunshaughlin and various stations to the city centre was insufficient to justify the development of a high-capacity rail link at that time.

However, it was also stated that as part of the statutorily required review of the Strategy, the likely future usage of a rail connection to Navan would be reassessed, taking into account the level of development that will have taken place over the intervening period in Navan and Dunshaughlin and their environs. Obviously the issue of cost will be one of the considerations of any such reassessment.

I can inform the Deputy that the NTA has commenced preparatory work on the review of the Strategy and it intends to hold a full public consultation next year with the process expected to be fully concluded within the next 18 months.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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46. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the funding options or mechanisms available from the European Union to develop the rail network here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27374/20]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The most significant EU grant funding mechanism, in terms of rail infrastructure development, is the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). CEF provides co-funding to projects that submit applications through competitve calls for proposals, and supports projects on the EU's Trans-European Network for Transport (TEN-T). The focus is on cross-border projects, removing capacity and service bottlenecks along the main sections of the TEN-T network, and projects with a high EU added-value. The rate of co-funding varies depending on the type of project but is usually a maximum of 20-30% of overall costs for works projects, with a maximum of 50% for projects classified as studies.

The current CEF funding programme runs from 2014 - 2020. My Department together with Iarnród Éireann have successfully bid for two rail projects in that time. The first of these, the City-Centre Resignalling Project, which will remove an existing capacity bottleneck in the rail network, is in receipt of €10.9 million in CEF co-funding and is due to be completed in 2021.

On 16 July the results of the most recent call for proposals were announced and it was confirmed that another rail project is to be awarded €8.8 million from CEF. This project, which is part of the Government's DART+ programme, will focus on the DART South-West line and consists of studies and prepatory work to be carried out, including obtaining of necessary permits, before moving to the construction phase. My Department and Iarnród Éireann are currently working with the European Commission's Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) to finalise this grant agreement.

Futher details on these, and other successful Irish projects under the CEF programme, can be accessed on the European Commission's website at .

The next programming period for CEF will run from 2021 - 2027 and there is an expected budget of €11.3 billion open to all Member States for transport projects. My Department is examining the potential for some of the Government's major public transport projects, including DART+ and MetroLink, to apply for funding in the coming period.  In this regard, my Department has been engaging with the European Commission advisory service JASPERS, an agency jointly established by the Commission and the European Investment Bank to assist Member States with infrastructure development and implementation.

These major projects are on our core TEN-T network. During negotiations on the new CEF Regulation, Ireland submitted written comments to the European Commission in conjunction with two other island Member States, Cyprus and Malta, with the aim of ensuring that projects on the comprehensive TEN-T network in Member States which have no land border with another Member State could be included as eligible actions. This position was accepted by the Commission, and as a result the latest text of the proposal retains this amendment. Subject to the proposed Regulation being adopted, this means that during the period 2021 – 2027, projects on Ireland’s comprehensive TEN-T network, including the rail network, will be eligible to apply for CEF co-funding through relevant calls for proposals.

In addition, there are a number further potential options for utilising EU funding opportunities. My Department will be reviewing the potential for sustainable public transport projects, including rail, as part of the wider Government plans for availing of funding under the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility in line with the European Green Deal and the concept of competitive sustainability.  More immediately, the new PEACE PLUS Programme 2021-2027, which will build upon previous PEACE and INTERREG Programmes, will provide opportunities under the EU policy objective of “a more connected Europe”, contributing to the cross-border economic and territorial development of the region. In this regard, there has been significant bilateral engagement between my Department and the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland, in consultation with the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) and the Department for Public Expenditure and Reform, to examine potential transport projects, including rail projects, that fit the PEACE PLUS criteria.

Finally, the Programme for Government, commits to a review of how we can utilise and leverage European Investment Bank funding and other opportunities for external funding to the maximum extent possible to support our recovery and transition to a low carbon future. My Department will feed into this review and will continue to examine all funding opportunities and mechanisms with potential for the development of the rail network.