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.
There are four light rail proposals identified for development and delivery within lifetime of the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) Transport Strategy 2022-2042. These are proposed expansions of the Luas network to Finglas, Lucan, Poolbeg, and Bray.
Luas Finglas being the most advanced of these projects, having received an Operative Railway Order, or full planning permission, in April 2026. With respect to Luas Lucan, it is currently anticipated that an emerging preferred route will be identified in Quarter 3 2026, and a non-statutory public consultation will be undertaken to inform the public and stakeholders on the proposed route and obtain their feedback on the proposals. Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) are undertaking work to identify an emerging preferred route for Luas Poolbeg, and this is expected to be published in 2027. Luas Bray is at an earlier stage in the project lifecycle and has not yet advanced to consideration of an emerging preferred route.
TII published the Luas Cork Emerging Preferred Route in April 2025 and held a first round of non-statutory public consultation. Following this consultation period, feedback was considered and the Preferred Route was published in April 2026. TII held a second round of non-statutory public consultation until June 2026. This feedback is being incorporated into ongoing design development to advance the scheme to Preliminary Design stage, alongside the preparation of a Preliminary Business Case for submission to Government to secure approval.
Subject to this approval, a Railway Order planning application will be prepared and submitted, including a further statutory public consultation process. Following the granting of full planning permission and confirmation of funding, construction of Luas Cork may then commence.
In 2024 the NTA allocated funding to Iarnród Éireann (IÉ) for the establishment of a design team to commence work on the Navan rail line project. This work involves route option selection, planning and design phases of the project. IÉ commenced the procurement process for this pre-construction phase of the project and issued a tender to prequalified consultants at the end of May 2024. In November 2024, multi-disciplinary consultants RPS were appointed by IÉ for the duration of the project to work with the rail company’s in-house project team.
The Emerging Preferred Route for the Navan Rail line was announced with the launch of the first Non-Statutory Public Consultation on Wednesday 20th May. That public consultation process will ultimately result in a defined route for the line, and it will support the development of a Preliminary Business Case, which will need to be approved in line with the requirements of the Infrastructure Guidelines' before any planning application.
Noting the NTA's responsibility in the development of public transport infrastructure in the GDA, I have referred the Deputy's question to the NTA for a direct reply. Please contact my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 days.
