69 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the amount of money which has been set aside in 2002 for the development of the proposed metro system. [4382/02]

The recently announced metro for Dublin, at an estimated cost of €7.2 billion, will be procured on a public private partnership – PPP – basis and I understand that the Railway Procurement Agency will commence that process shortly by inviting expressions of interest from private sector interests. A sum of €13 million has been provided in my Department's 2002 Estimates for the Railway Procurement Agency – RPA. This figure includes provision for the preparatory costs in relation to the metro. The Railway Procurement Agency has not made proposals to me for any additional funding for the metro.

70 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if she has carried out a further investigation into the possibility of upgrading the existing underground tunnel network in Dublin city in order that it could be the central axis of an underground system which could be utilised for commuter traffic. [4475/02]

The Dublin Transportation Office's strategy for transport in the greater Dublin area for 2000 to 2016 – A Platform for Change – is an integrated strategy comprising the upgrading of existing suburban services, the development of a light rail system, Luas, as well as a metro system. The construction of an interconnector tunnel from Heuston Station via Pearse Station to the docklands, which would link the Maynooth and northern lines, forms part of the proposals. Iarnród Éireann plans to commission shortly a more detailed study to develop this proposal. The DTO advises that the Phoenix Park tunnel is very limited in capacity and does not offer the development potential when compared to the proposed interconnector and the needs of Dublin in the period up to and beyond 2016. In the short-term, due to track capacity constraints in Connolly Station, it would not be possible to route additional services via the tunnel without restricting existing services.