David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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243. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the amount of funding drawn down by the electrification of rail services project in the Cork metropolitan area to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7619/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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As the Deputy is aware, funding of €164million is allocated to the Cork Commuter Rail project through the National Recovery & Resilience Plan (NRRP) as agreed by the EU Commission.

This investment measure proposes an acceleration of investment in Cork to support the longer-term objective to provide electrified rail services in the Cork metropolitan area, as set out in the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy. Furthermore, the investment will expand sustainable mobility capacity on the metropolitan area commuter rail network and enable sustainable urban development in line with relevant regional and metropolitan planning strategies.

Payments under the Recovery and Resilience Facility will be linked to performance, and the Commission will authorise disbursements based on the satisfactory fulfilment of milestones and targets reflecting progress on the investments within the plan. In line with EU requirements, progress reporting including financial matters will be provided to the Commission twice annually. As the Cork Commuter Rail project is in early stages of design and development, such financial information as that requested by the Deputy will be available in due course.

The Deputy should note that all works will be completed by August 2026 in line with the requirements stipulated in the NRRP.