Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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253. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the status of and position regarding the DART interconnector in the context of the Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2016-2035. [46260/21]

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, including the ongoing review of the Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2016-2035, in the first instance.

I understand DART Interconnector (also known as DART Underground and now DART+ Tunnel) is being considered as part of that review. The review will include a comprehensive analysis of changes to population projections, development density, employment forecasts and future travel demand patterns across the Greater Dublin Area. The draft Strategy will be published in Q4 along with all of the background papers that informed its development. The publication of the documentation by the NTA will coincide with the launch of a public consultation process on the revised Strategy and I would encourage all interested parties to participate in that consultation process.