DART links to Naas and Sallins to be delayed for at least a decade

DART extensions to Naas and Sallins will be delayed for at least ten years, it has emerged.

The National Transport Authority (NTA) said links to the Sallins/Naas area as well as Kilcock will not be completed until after 2031.

However, the NTA said DART extensions to Maynooth and Celbridge are due to go ahead under the first phase of the Greater Dublin Area Strategy from 2022 to 2042.

Social Democrats TD for Kildare North and transport spokesperson Catherine Murphy said the news of the delays to Naas/Sallins and Kilcock is a blow to meeting climate action targets.

She said: “Between 1996 and 2016, population increases in the greater Dublin area and the commuter belt were largest in Fingal (41%), Meath (40%) and Kildare (39%).

"The areas which have the greatest amount of residential development, where people are most car dependent, are the areas that are not reflected in this revised plan."

The co-leader of the Social Democrats added: “We need to get real about this. Our climate action targets cannot be met without these large-scale public transport projects. As it stands, the government is making very dishonest announcements at Cop26 – revealing ambitious targets, with no credible way to reach them.

“It is not tenable to say we will meet our targets by motorists swapping from petrol and diesel cars to electric cars. Over €250 million has been spent on Metrolink and the Dart interconnector without delivering anything.

“You can’t keep expanding the footprint of a city, which has happened in the greater Dublin area, without providing the requisite public transport capacity for people to be able to move around, quickly, at scale.”

"These delays are beyond disappointing. They are an abdication of responsibility by the government."