Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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183. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he and-or his officials have liaised with the NTA and or Irish Rail in respect of the delivery DART+ West to include an extension to Kilcock for passenger services. [2661/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure in the Greater Dublin Area, including the DART+ Programme and its constituent projects.

As part of the DART+ Programme, the DART+ West project will provide an electrified and more frequent rail service to passengers between Maynooth, M3 Parkway, and Dublin city centre. A Railway Order application for the project was submitted to An Bord Pleanála in July 2022 and was granted in July 2024 subject to certain conditions, notably that the proposed depot west of Maynooth not be constructed due to concerns about flood risk.

In respect of the potential further extension of services westwards, an extension of DART services to Kilcock is included as an objective in the NTA Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy 2022-2042, which was adopted in January 2023. This will be developed as a separate follow-on project.

Noting the NTA's responsibility in this matter and the specific issues raised by the Deputy, I have referred the Deputy's questions to the NTA for a more detailed reply. Please contact my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 days.