Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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211. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the timeline for the Port of Cork to vacate the Tivoli site in order to allow the site to be redeveloped for housing and transport needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54103/21]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Given the current housing crisis I have asked all of the agencies under my remit, including the port companies, to examine their land holdings to identify land that might be released for housing. In reviewing the option of port land for housing, ports must in the first instance ensure that they deliver sufficient port capacity and connectivity to underpin our economy and also consider the facilitation of other priorities such as the accommodation of rail freight to the port and the facilitation of offshore renewable energy.

As the Deputy is aware, work has been ongoing for some time on the redevelopment of the port facilities at Ringaskiddy. With the completion of the new container terminal at Ringaskiddy, the container shipping business will begin to transition out of Tivoli over the coming years, commencing in 2022.

Due to capacity constraints on the existing N28 single lane road linking Ringaskiddy to the Jack Lynch Tunnel, An Bord Pleanála imposed limits on the ultimate capacity of this new terminal until the M28 Cork to Ringaskiddy road is built and the Dunkettle Interchange is completed.

In line with Project Ireland 2040, the Dunkettle Interchange Project is on target for completion in 2024 and the Cork to Ringaskiddy project has now proceeded to the Advanced Works Stage.

Seveso and chemical importation activities currently located at Tivoli will also need to be relocated before the Tivoli site becomes a fully viable development site.

Overall, this means that the Tivoli Port site will have a role to play in container shipping for a number of years to come. In the meantime, the Port of Cork Company has confirmed its support for the redevelopment of Tivoli in line with the Government Policy objectives set out in the National Planning Framework – Ireland 2040. It is continuing to progress plans for the development of Tivoli and have already received ERDF funding to assist in this work.

In addition, the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy sets out the framework for investment for the provision of Public Transport Implementation over the next 20 years in Cork and includes recommendations with regard to a Cork Commuter Rail Programme.

The National Development Plan states that Phase I will be completed by 2026 as part of Ireland's National Recovery and Resilience Plan and also commits to Phase II implementation over the latter period of the NDP. Phase II includes the potential development of a number of new stations , including at Tivoli, as set out in the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy.