Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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32. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will extend the greater Dublin area to include all of Drogheda, County Louth and its environs which are in the county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12391/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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As the Deputy is aware, the National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure and services in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) and the making of a transport strategy for the region is a core function of the NTA.

The Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2016-2035, which was adopted in 2016, sets out a statutory framework for transport investment across the region over a 20-year period and provides a clear statement of transport planning policy for the GDA which is comprised of the counties of Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow.

However, it should be noted that the National Planning Framework contains a policy objective to extend the statutory arrangements between spatial and transport planning in the Greater Dublin Area to other cities. Extending these statutory arrangements to all of Ireland’s cities will strengthen the levels of integration between spatial planning and transport planning across the country, to the benefit of our economy and society.

It should also be highlighted that the NTA works collaboratively with local authorities outside its statutory area and statutory functions on a regular basis. It has worked successfully on an administrative, non-statutory basis to assist several local authorities across Ireland in preparing transport related strategies or implementing transport related projects.

While there are no current plans to extend the current statutorily-defined Greater Dublin Area to include County Louth, it is the case that the NTA has supported, and is supporting, the enhancement of sustainable mobility options in Drogheda already. These improvements include the expansion of town bus services in the town, most recently with last year’s announcement which I know the Deputy has previously welcomed. Also the NTA is of course developing the DART+ programme with Iarnród Éireann which has the potential to radically improve the town’s rail connections. The NTA is also consulting with local authorities across the country in relation to a potential enhancement of more rural bus services under the Connecting Irelandinitiative.

As the Deputy can see from the above, it is the case that County Louth, and Drogheda, has access to, and benefits from, the expertise of the NTA and I look forward to continued improvements in its sustainable mobility infrastructure and services in the years ahead.