The Government announced €27 billion plan for funding on capital projects
The Government detailed its €27 billion capital plan from 2016 to 2021 in a move to underpin its belief in a strongly recovering economy. Taoiseach Enda Kenny said that the new capital plan will contain something for every region, and is an attempt to address priorities in a whole range of sectors.
A rail link from Dublin city centre to Dublin Airport and on to Swords will form the centre piece of the transport plan.
The plan will see the creation of 45,000 construction jobs, a series of new road projects, and school programmes, as well as a new Metro North rail line.
The Government said it expects that the Metro North line will be in operation by 2026/2027. The light rail system will run over fourteen new stops between the city centre and ‘Estuary’ to the north of Swords in Co Dublin. The overall length of the project is 17km.
It also said the first phase of a multi-phase DART expansion programme will begin, with the extension of the DART line to Balbriggan and with design and planning to progress for expansion of DART services to Maynooth in the west and Hazelhatch in the southwest.
The DART Underground Project will also be redesigned to provide a lower cost technical solution, whilst retaining the required rail connectivity.
At the launch of the spending programme at Heuston Station, Tánaiste Joan Burton said the Connolly to Maynooth line will be upgraded to full DART service; the Phoenix Park Tunnel will be upgraded and opened to commuter trains in 2016 and the Cross City Luas to Broombridge in Cabra will come on stream in 2017.
Other key areas of the Capital Plan include health, housing, flood protection and especially education, which will be provided €3.8bn in direct funding for investment in primary, secondary and third level education facilities, including the upgrade and extension of existing schools and the provision of new buildings.
It is planned to create a further 19,000 additional primary school places required by 2018 and another 43,000 additional post-primary school places required by 2022.
A programme of replacing existing pre-fab accommodation with permanent classrooms and facilities will also start.
In the third level sector, the Capital Plan is committing an extra €110m for facilities in the Higher Education sector.
A mid-term review of the plan will take place in 2017 and new rules for public-private partnerships will also be announced.
