John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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106. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans for the provision of bus park-and-ride facilities serving the commuter and Dublin populations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9405/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy may be aware, the National Transport Authority or NTA leads the development and rollout of strategic park and ride sites nationwide.

The NTA established the Park and Ride Development Office in 2020. Its purpose is to enable delivery of park and ride sites by the NTA in collaboration with Local Authorities and transport operators. In 2021, the Office published a Park and Ride Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area, which recommends the following:

- Seven new strategic Bus Park & Ride sites with approximately 3,550 spaces, including at Fassaroe in Bray and Lissenhall near Swords. Fassaroe has received planning consent, and an agreement on the NTA constructing the facility is expected this year, while a planning application for Lissenhall is expected in the coming months;

- Three new strategic Rail Park & Ride sites with around 3,000 spaces, including at Sallins/Naas, which will be serviced by DART+ West;

- One new strategic Luas Park & Ride site with about 350 spaces at Finglas, connecting to the proposed Luas Finglas, which is currently in the planning process; and

- An upgrade to an existing Rail Park & Ride site at the Navan Road Parkway Station, expanding the site to 400 spaces.

In total, these projects will deliver over 7,000 new car parking spaces in the Greater Dublin Area in the coming years, equivalent to a circa 70% increase in parking spaces, facilitating a reduction of almost 60 million car kilometres travelled per annum.

In addition, the Programme for Government commits to working “with local authorities and relevant agencies to develop affordable Park and Ride facilities on the outskirts of major towns and cities.”

I look forward to the development of Park and Ride facilities in the coming years, enabling thousands of people to travel in and out of our cities speedily and sustainably, in line with Government objectives.