Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department and its agencies have overseen the ongoing delivery of a number of projects in North County Dublin across various parts of our transport system.

BusConnects

BusConnects is a transformative programme of investment in the bus system, providing better bus services across our cities allowing passengers to travel more conveniently, quickly and sustainably. It is the largest investment in the bus system in the history of the State and is managed by the National Transport Authority (NTA).

Following a public consultation process, the Government approved the Preliminary Business Case for BusConnects Dublin in March 2022. 100 electric buses are currently entering service using charging infrastructure in Phibsborough and Summerhill. The H-Spine between Howth/Malahide and the City Centre launched in 2021. The Northern Orbital Routes, between Blanchardstown and Point Village, and Finglas and Howth Junction launched in 2022. An Bord Pleanála recently granted planning permission for four of the 12 Core Bus Corridor (CBC) schemes including the Clongriffin, and Ballymun/Finglas to City Centre CBCs. Construction of the CBCs is expected to start by 2026.

MetroLink

MetroLink will be a fully segregated and mostly underground new railway line between Swords and Dublin City Centre, via Dublin Airport. It is a key project under the National Development Plan 2021-30. MetroLink will improve the quality of the urban environment and people’s lives, as well as enable the development of more well-connected homes. It will contribute to a shift from the private car to more sustainable travel, helping to decarbonise the transport sector, in line with Government policy.

A significant milestone in the progression of the MetroLink project was cleared in July 2022, when I secured approval for the project from Cabinet under Decision Gate 1 of the Public Spending Code. This decision enabled the project to move to the planning application stage, and in September 2022 Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) submitted a Railway Order application to An Bord Pleanála.

An Bord Pleanála commenced an Oral Hearing in relation to MetroLink on February 19th, which concluded on March 28th. Dependent on the outcome of the planning process, construction of MetroLink is earmarked to commence over the coming years with a view to potential operation by the mid-2030s.

DART+

In December 2021, the Government approved the Preliminary Business Case for the DART+ Programme. The programme will significantly expand the DART rail network and services across the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) and Eastern region, through the roll-out of new overhead electric wires, capacity upgrades and new fleet (carriages). Overall, the DART+ programme will approximately treble the length of the existing electrified DART network, from 53km to 150km, and almost double capacity to/from Dublin city centre from circa 26,000 passengers to 50,000 passengers each way per hour.

As a key project within the DART+ programme, the DART+ Coastal North project involves an extension of the existing DART service from Malahide to/from Drogheda and a substantial increase in passenger capacity on the Northern line between Dublin city and Howth/Malahide/Drogheda. The existing overhead electric wires will be extended on the Northern rail line from Malahide to Drogheda in Co. Louth, along with other upgrades on the Northern route between Dublin city and Howth, Malahide and Drogheda. The route serves numerous towns and communities, many of which are growing substantially, including Clongriffin, Donabate, Skerries, Balbriggin, Laytown and Drogheda.

My officials have reviewed the Preliminary Business Case for the DART+ Coastal North, which will be brought to Cabinet to seek Government consent at Approval Gate 1 in the coming weeks. Pending this consent, a Railway Order Application will be submitted to An Bord Pleanála in the Summer.

Luas

The Luas Finglas project is part of a number of proposed Luas network extensions identified in the National Transport Authority’s (NTA) statutory Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) 2022-2042.

The preliminary business case for the Luas Finglas project has been submitted to the Department by the NTA and will be brought to Government for its consent by the Autumn in line with the Infrastructure Guidelines. This will enable the project to enter the statutory planning process through the submission of a Railway Order Application to An Bord Pleanála. The precise start date for construction of the Finglas project will depend on a number of factors, including a decision in relation to the planning application.

Active Travel

The National Transport Authority is working to deliver an ambitious programme of Active Travel projects in North Co. Dublin. In Fingal specifically, some of the projects currently in construction include:

• Harry Reynolds Road Project, which will provide 3km of walking and cycling infrastructure along the Harry Reynolds Road, and is expected to be completed in November 2024.
• R132 Minister’s Road to Blake’s Cross project, which will provide 2.3km of protected cycle lanes, upgrade of junctions and front of school treatments at Corduff National school, and is expected to be completed in Q3 2024.
• Donabate Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge, starting on site in July 2024, and expected to be completed in early 2025.
• 6 projects under the Safe Routes to School programme, expected to be completed in Q4 2024.

Other major projects currently in development include:

• Broadmeadow estuary greenway, a 4.25km greenway linking Malahide to Donabate across the Malahide estuary. Bridge works have commenced on site, and completion of full project is expected in 2026.
• Sutton to Malahide Greenway, 7.5km of high-quality greenway linking Sutton to Malahide. A planning application is expected to go to An Bord Pleanála in early 2025.
• Rathingle Rivervalley Swords project, which is currently at detailed design stage, and aiming to go to construction in 2025.
• Skerries Harbour Road project, which is currently at preliminary design stage.

There are numerous other Active Travel projects currently in the early stages of development.

These are expected to be delivered over the next number of years subject to availability of funding.

Dublin Airport

In the National Aviation Policy (2015) the Government confirmed its support for the new parallel runway at Dublin Airport – the North Runway - and the development of the Airport as a secondary hub airport with the necessary capacity to connect key existing and emerging global markets.

The North Runway is an investment by daa in a key piece of strategic national infrastructure for current and future generations in Ireland which will ensure that Dublin Airport can meet expected future demand. The project was delivered on time and on budget at €320m with no recourse to Exchequer funding.

The new North Runway officially opened on 24 August 2022. daa advise that the North Runway will be capable of delivering a 31% gain in connectivity by 2034, underpinning Dublin Airport’s position as a leading European Airport, a key European gateway to North America and a driver of economic growth.

As part of its current Capital Investment Programme, daa has submitted a planning application to Fingal County Council seeking to increase the passenger cap at Dublin Airport to 40m passenger per annum and planning permission for capacity enhancing projects including new aircraft piers and stands which will facilitate its development as a secondary hub airport.

Dublin Port

The Ports of National Significance are our key international maritime gateways, handling approximately 90% of all tonnage. The NDP recognises that Ireland must be capable of delivering additional ports capacity and the importance of ports in connecting Ireland to the rest of the world in terms of trade and transport. In line with NDP objectives and National Ports Policy, the State ports are continuing to progress projects under their Masterplans. These ports receive no state funding, with the infrastructure development being funded from port revenues and borrowings.

Dublin Port is progressing implementation of its Masterplan in order to ensure that the Port can provide for future sustainable growth and changes in facilitating seaborne trade in goods and passenger movements to and from Ireland and the Dublin region in particular. Works include the redevelopment of existing berths, creation of new berths, deepening of the port’s navigable channel from 7.8m to 10m draught, upgrading of the road network, provision of unified state services facilities for control and inspections and improvements in utility infrastructure. Approximately 25% of the overall project has been completed to date, with considerable work completed on the Alexandra Basin Redevelopment (ABR) which is the first of three Strategic Infrastructure Development projects. The project includes the deepening and extension of existing quay walls in Alexandra Basin, the provision of a new 270m long Roll-on Roll-off (RoRo) vehicle trade jetty together with two new RoRo berths within the inner basin, infill of existing Berths 52/53, and the dredging of the Liffey fairway channel to a depth of 10m below Chart Datum. The final main civil engineering element of the project, the new quay walls at Alexandra Quay West, are currently under construction. This work was part funded by the EU's Connecting Europe Facility along with finance from the European Investment Bank.

Terminal 4 (T4) was one of the first ABR projects to be completed and provides capacity for handling European and UK unaccompanied RoRo freight units. The opening of the first phase of T4 in 2023 has allowed the Port to move some of its business to the new terminal and facilitates ongoing development works associated with the ABR Project, and the commencement of works on the MP2 Project. The opening of the first phase of T4 marks a major milestone in the project, as the fully completed terminal will have a capacity of 462,000 RoRo units, serving the RoRo berths created as part of the ABR Project. The MasterPlan 2 (MP2) Project is the second major capital development project from Dublin Port’s Masterplan 2040. Between the ABR Project and the MP2 Project, Dublin Port Company has now secured all of the planning permissions required for the major development works planned on the northern side of the port. The first main phase of the MP2 Project will commence in 2024, the construction of new Berth 53 and the eastern half of new Berth 52 at the eastern end of the North Port. This project will be followed by the completion of the western half of new Berth 52, so allowing the infill of a substantial basin area of circa 5.7 hectares to create additional cargo handling area. The new Berths 52 & 53 will be able to handle the largest in class RoRo vessels of up to 240m in length, and will have double-tier linkspans, so increasing the Port’s operational resiliency. Various enabling works, both land side and marine side, have been undertaken in 2022 and 2023 to allow the commencement of this first main project phase in 2024.