Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 June 2023
50. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform for an overview of the progress made to date under national strategic outcome No. 4 of the National Development Plan 2021-2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30886/23]
View answerNational Strategic Objective (NSO) 4 relates to Sustainable Mobility. While many of the projects under this strategic objective take a number of years to deliver fully, 2022 saw clear progress in the delivery of some key projects. BusConnects recently added 3 more spines linking West Dublin with Kildare. Proposals on BusConnects Cork network were published by the National Transport Authority in June. Galway City Council also submitted a planning application to An Bord Pleanála for the Galway Cross-City Link through Galway City Centre.
The Next Generation Ticketing (NGT) is another important element of the plan to improve bus services across the State. Next Generation Ticketing involves the upgrade of fares and ticketing systems across bus services in Dublin. The National Transport Authority hopes to award this contract by end-2023.
172 new buses for PSO bus fleets were delivered in 2022, which included 107 fully electric vehicles and 24 hybrids. The Railway Order for DART+ West was submitted in July and the Government approved an initial order of 95 new carriages (65 battery-electric and 30 electric units). In addition, in November of last year, the Government approved a further order for 90 new battery-electric carriages.
In relation to new Dart+ routes the first non-statutory consultation on DART+ Coastal South was conducted in Q1 2023, and the second non-statutory consultation on DART+ Coastal North is currently ongoing.
Furthermore, the new National Train Control Centre was completed in 2022. This will underpin both the planned and potential future expansion of rail services across the entire rail network. I am also aware that an additional, 41 Inter-City Railcars have been ordered, delivery of which commenced in 2022. These are expected to come into service during the year.
Finally, I would note that the National Transport Authority through its Active Travel Unit supported over 1,000 individual walking and cycling infrastructure projects in 2022. Local authorities delivered over 25km of new or upgraded cycle facilities and around 153km of new or upgraded footpaths through this programme.
I am aware that very significant progress was made by local authorities over the last number of years to align their respective city and county development plans with the National Planning Framework. This will help to ensure that our local authorities are delivering on sustainable mobility in line with the national and regional policies.
