Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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16. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to carry out a double-tracking improvement along the East coast Greystones to Wexford rail line; if he will confirm media reports that suggest no cost-benefit analysis has been carried out owing to the high cost of the tunnelling portion at Bray Head; the estimated cost of this; if his Department has considered other viable options to upgrade the line to double track without the need for expensive tunnelling; if he can provide the cost for those options; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50648/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy may be aware, as Minister for Transport I have responsibility for policy and overall funding of public transport in Ireland, including, in conjunction with Iarnród Éireann, in relation to the rail network. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure, including in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA).

The All-Island Strategic Rail Review was undertaken in co-operation with the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland. Following two public consultations, the Review’s Final Report was published in July 2024.

The Review's Final Report sets out 32 strategic recommendations to enhance and expand the rail system in Ireland and Northern Ireland up to 2050, aligning with net carbon zero commitments in both jurisdictions. The recommendations seek to transform the quality of the rail system to the benefit of passengers and wider society on the island, through additional track capacity, electrification, increased speeds, higher service frequencies and new routes.

The Review considered interventions to enable faster and more frequent journeys between Rosslare Europort and Dublin, including adding passing loops, tunnelling through Bray Head, developing a new railway along the M11 corridor, and building a new line for DART services along the N11 corridor. Many of these solutions would be very costly and unlikely to be justifiable as the line would not be expected to support more than one or two trains per hour in each direction. As these interventions were not further assessed under the Review, there was no cost-benefit analysis performed.

You may be aware the DART+ Coastal South project involves an improvement to DART services on the existing DART line south of Dublin city, with the current focus on enhancing services between Bray and Greystones.

In addition, the NTA's GDA Transport Strategy 2022-2042 includes a recommendation to extend the DART service to Wicklow town. I understand this extension can be facilitated through utilising the new battery-electric DART carriages, which are currently undergoing safety testing. The NTA is currently examining this issue with a view to progressing the extension by around 2029, subject to funding and approvals.

Noting the NTA's responsibility in this matter, 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.