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PLANS TO UPGRADE the N11-M11, a new DART station for Spencer Dock, an extension of DART services to Wicklow Town and a raft of other road projects have been confirmed in the government’s new national transport plan.
A list of transport projects that are on the priority list for this government have been published today by Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien.
The plan for transport sets out what the government document describes as an “ambitious programme of investment” over the next five years.
The National Development Plan Sectoral Plan 2026–2030 outlines the pathway for future investment in Ireland’s transport system and provides more detail to the National Development Plan that was published during the summer.
Many of the projects mentioned in today’s plan will be familiar to readers. Some have been in the works for years. Today’s announcement sets out further detail on how the various roads, railways and train stations will be progressed.
The plan commits to the construction of the DART+ Programme, MetroLink, the Western Rail Corridor and expansion of BusConnects.
Construction will commence on new bus corridors in Cork (subject to planning), Dublin, and Galway, significantly improving the infrastructure available to support the continued investment in bus services, it states.
On the heavy rail system, Iarnród Éireann to start construction on the DART+ Programme, including construction of the new Spencer Dock station and the new DART+ depot, electrification of DART+ West, extension of the DART to Wicklow town, improvements on the Bray to Greystones section of the line.
The new DART+ fleet will enter service on the network in 2027, starting with the Northern Line, while there is also potential to commence works on other elements of DART+ Coastal North.
Funding provided under this plan will also see the Navan Rail Line progress through the statutory planning system to Railway Order stage, as well as supporting the construction of new train stations.
Minister for State Sean Canney said the Navan Rail Line is “a very important project”, adding that there has been some delays in the past on it.
“But I can assure the people in Navan and the surrounding areas that that is a project that we need to get to a stage where we can start construction on it. The rail order is the big thing,” he said, stating that “running some of the processes concurrently to try and sharpen up the time” is being looked at.
In terms of a timeline, he indicated construction is to begin 2029/2030.
“But I think we can pull that back when we look at it, if we get the rail order moving, we can move on the design concurrently with that, and have it ready for procurement once you get the rail order. That’s the kind of thinking we have to have in order to shorten that process to get to construction,” said Canney.
The plan sets out that construction on the Western Rail Corridor between Athenry and Claremorris, in line with the recommendation of the All-Island Strategic Rail Review and Ireland’s obligations, will begin.
On light rail, construction will commence on Luas Finglas, with a Railway Order application expected to be lodged in respect of Luas Cork.
With the Independent group of TDs supporting this government, there has been a priority placed on the construction and maintenance of the road network, and this is reflected in the plan.
This NDP will see the construction of many new national and regional roads across the state, with many others commencing construction or being advanced through the planning and procurement process.
The NDP funding will allow Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the local authorities to complete schemes such as the M28 Cork to Ringaskiddy, N21/69 Limerick to Foynes (incl. Adare Bypass), and the N5 Ballaghaderreen to Scramoge projects.
Construction on schemes such as the Donegal TEN-T Project, the N24 Cahir to Limerick Junction, and the Slane Bypass will also begin.
Speaking about the N11/M11 project, the transport minister said quite a significant amount of work was done on already from a design stage up to 2016. However, he siad “pretty much nothing has happened since then”.
“So we’re getting that back on the books now, back on track, there has been money allocated this year in relation to certain smaller parts of road upgrades along that but we’ll need some further detailed design work done on parts of that road as well,” he added.
“We’re looking at five to six years for delivery there. But it’s a major growth area, it is an area that suffers from congestion. So if we can pull that forward, we will,” said O’Brien.
On the regional and local road networks, it’s planned projects such as Coonagh Knockalisheen Distributor Road in Limerick, Eastern Garvoge Bridge and Approach Roads in Sligo and the Great Island Connectivity Scheme (R624 Cobh Road) will commence construction.
In addition, investment under the roads programme will also improve connections to Dublin Airport from the north and west, complementing improved public transport infrastructure and services to and from the airport, the plan states.
Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien said today that the Planning and Development Act 2024 is nearly fully commenced.
“So any new projects going in for planning will go in under a new planning architecture and new planning environment from next year. So that is important in itself,” said the minister, adding that changes to judicial reviews around critical infrastructure projects will make a significant difference in relation to having to delivering projects.
The report sets out that population growth targets and projections are crucial and play a significant role in planning and allocating resources efficiently and equitably.
It highlights that the economic costs of congestion represent a significant negative drag on the Irish economy.
The Department of Transport estimates congestion costs to be approximately €330m a year for the Greater Dublin Area; these costs are forecast to increase to €1.5bn per annum by 2040.
The respective figures for Cork and Galway are approximately €100m per annum.
“Congested traffic makes public transport less reliable, often discouraging people from using it. It also makes the environment for vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists, less safe, again leading people away from using active travel, particularly for shorter journeys,” states the report.
The plan also sets out funding to commence delivery of Next Generation Ticketing system, which has been long delayed.
In terms of the money allocated, active travel will get €360 million per year, while public transport will get €10.1 billion over five years.
Roads and road safety will get investment of €9.7 billion.
Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman TD said the approach to transport spending in the plan is “classic for government parties that think only in electoral cycles: cut the ribbon on a road or a bypass somewhere for short term electoral gain, and keep kicking the big public transport projects down the road”.
“It’s an act of national self-sabotage. There’s no vision for a system that could be better or more efficient, and no political will to take a big swing and invest in the kind of public transport that would change people’s lives,” said O’Gorman. He added that the government is condemning people to years more gridlock.
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