Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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288. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if a business case has been presented on the light rail proposal for Cork; and the cost of that project to date, in tabular form. [17093/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Public Spending Code sets out the requirements for the evaluation, planning and management of public investment projects in Ireland. It includes the series of steps and activities which are necessary to take a proposal from concept to completion and evaluation, over the project lifecycle.

Prior to the publication of Circular 06/2023 by the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform on 29 March 2023, the first phase in the project lifecycle was the development of a Strategic Assessment Report at Decision Gate 0. A Strategic Assessment Report for this project was first submitted to the Department by the National Transport Authority in June 2021. To date, my Department has not received a preliminary business case for this project at Decision Gate 1 of the Public Spending Code.

As the NTA has responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure in our cities, including Cork Light Rail Transit, I have referred the Deputy's question to the NTA for a direct reply on the development of the project preliminary business case and in relation to the spend on the project to date. Please contact my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 days.