Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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304. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if any funding has been provided under the National Development Plan to progress the design and planning stages of the Navan rail line; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30339/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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As the Deputy may be aware, the issue of a rail connection to Navan is being re-examined as part of the National Transport Authority’s (NTA) review of the Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area. The Strategy is a multi-modal, twenty year transport strategy for the region and one that must be reflected in relevant land-use strategies across the GDA.

A Navan rail link was included in the draft GDA Transport Strategy as one of the proposed projects to be delivered by 2042. The Strategy is subject to a formal statutory approval process and a final version will ultimately be submitted for my approval in the coming months.

If included in the final Strategy, this project will require significant planning and design before construction can commence. As it stands, the draft Strategy proposes delivery of the Navan rail line in the latter half of the Strategy period. The current National Development Plan provides capital funding to approved projects up to and including 2030.