Eoin Ó Broin demands date for Dart Plus South West funding

Minister, could you provide us an update with when you intend to approve and release the funding for a vital piece of public transport infrastructure in Dublin Mid-West, the Dart Plus South West. It is urgently needed, it is greatly delayed, both ourselves as political representatives but also crucially people who are living along that rail corridor were deeply disappointed when you made the announcement last year not to honour your predecessors commitment to approve the funding and have the project start as a matter of urgency and I'd welcome an update. Yeah thanks Deputy, look the Dart Plus programme and Dart Plus South West specifically are priority investments for me as Minister and for the Department of Transport. Collectively the programme will triple the length of the electrified Dublin commuter rail network and double its capacity with customers starting to experience tangible benefits from the middle of next year when services to and from Drogheda come into operation, that's the first iteration of it. In terms of Dart Plus South West specifically, a major milestone was cleared in November 2024 as you know when the project secured full planning approval. Procurement for both Dart Plus South West and West is now progressing, both of them, I want to be really clear, with pre-qualification questionnaires for design and build works advertised just in May of last year and that was for both. Last year the National Development Plan allocated funding to advance Dart Plus West into construction from late next year, while Dart Plus West must proceed first in terms of infrastructure programmes and it also includes new depot to house the expanded Dart fleet and necessary city centre capacity upgrades to expedite the subsequent delivery of Dart Plus South West, so they're interlinked. The procurement approach will see supplier frameworks established across both projects, so Dart Plus West and South West, for the common project elements, so we will be able to advance this sooner. NDP funding was also allocated to commence the compulsory purchase orders for this very line and that was done in February of this year, so the Dart Plus South West have commenced those CPO orders, I'll continue to engage with colleagues on this, it's my intention to be able to true those frameworks to deliver elements of both projects together, the depot piece, there is some scheduling between both projects, but this is an absolute commitment for us and we intend to deliver it. The problem is that's a very different scenario than was promised by your predecessor, who actually indicated that funding would be approved and announced in 2025 when he was the Minister and the project would be completed by 2030. I don't accept in all the conversations I'm having with public transport providers, I do not accept that the electrified depot capacity is the problem, my view is that government simply isn't willing at this point to commit the funding for Dart Plus South West. That means at the earliest, we'll start in 2028 or 2029, but possibly not until 2030 and the hard working people of Dublin Midwest will have to wait then four to five years, so into the middle of the next decade and I have to say Minister, I think you are misleading the House and you're misleading the public when you try and link the refusal to bring forward the funding for this project as a matter of urgency to the infrastructural provision elsewhere in the system. So can you at least tell us this? Can you at least tell us this? And Minister? Firstly, I don't mislead the House, I haven't misled the House, I don't do that, you should withdraw it. You're famous for it Minister. Look, you see, this is the first time actually I think you've even come in to transport questions here to even ask about this project. You're feigning an interest in it. There's other colleagues across other parties who are regularly advocating for this. You don't like good news and you don't like it to see any progress in Anganon because it doesn't actually suit, it doesn't suit your political, it doesn't suit your political narrative. I've missed you for my days in housing, we just continue to barrack people all the time and you lost that debate too in the last general election. We're going to deliver this project. We publish an NDP that's fully funded, we are bringing the funding forward on this for Darplus West and South West, both of them. It's clear, I've said it, that's what's happening. So there's no resiling from that whatsoever and this period of time is actually the delivery period for many transformational public transport projects right the way across the country and it might disappoint you to actually see those commencing and being delivered because it gives you less to give out about. Well first of all Minister, I would be more than happy to commend you and welcome an actual announcement on the actual date the funding is going to be released. And I would even write you a personal letter to thank you on behalf of my constituents. The problem is you took a decision to delay a vital piece of public transport infrastructure for five years on a commitment given by your predecessor, they're the facts. And yes, it's the first time I've come here, but you know I've been raising this matter with you since you have become a minister and I did so with your predecessor. So it's a very simple question. When will the NTA have the funding? Procurement is going to take possibly about a year, then they're ready to go. So are you saying that if they're ready to go and commence construction in 2027, you're willing to provide the funding or 2028 or are we going to have to wait until we get the NDP review and maybe the funding will be released by 2030. All I'm asking for is an actual date and as a minister who had a long track record of misleading the house under your previous responsibility, I won't stand for it now just like I didn't then. Sorry, I'm in the chair. You should not make those remarks, Deputy O'Brien, unless they're factually accurate, which they are. No, hold on a second. And you should allow the minister to answer the question you've put in time. So Minister O'Brien. Because I've respect for his constituents, it's very difficult to respect the deputy when he continues to behave in this way. And I completely and utterly reject what you've said. It's the first time in 18 months that you've come into this chamber and have bothered to take the time of raising this project that apparently you care so much about. And I contrast that with your colleague, Deputy Shane Moynihan, who's regularly advocating and has sought meetings, meeting with the NTA. Would you like... Sorry, would you like... Deputy O'Brien. Deputy O'Brien, allow the minister to use his time to answer you or leave the chamber. Deputy O'Brien. I don't know how things operate in Sinn Féin, I have a fair idea. You maybe can get away with bullying people within your own party, Deputy. You won't bully me. You won't barrack me. This isn't important. Is there any point in even trying to answer any of these questions? I'm going to move on to the next question because there is no point. Pathetic. Oh, I'm pathetic. Deputy O'Rourke.