Cllrs welcome Navan rail line inclusion in the NDP

At Meath County Council’s October meeting on Monday independent Cllr David Gilroy said all in the council welcomed the announcement of the inclusion of the Navan rail line in the National Development Plan.

He said that Meath County Council had played an enormous role in presenting the need for the rail line and its role in the future development of the county. “Over the last 12 months, Meath County Council executive team, heavily supported by the elected members, had worked closely with the National Transport Authority on the feasibility assessment of the proposed project.

Former Cathaoirleach Gilroy, and Cllr Trevor Golden, chair of the council’s Strategic Policy Committee, sat on the NTA Elected Representative Consultation Committee on the Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area.

The committee consisted of the chairs of the Dublin and surrounding areas and fed directly into the progress on the Navan rail and other significant transport infrastructure projects.

“Meath County Council executive team led by chief executive Jackie Maguire and Director of Service for Transport Des Foley and Martin Murray deserve enormous recognition and the full cross-party support of all of the elected members of Meath County Council”, Cllr Gilroy said. He also praised the members of the general public who had participated in the consultation process. When the story was being told about how the rail line came to Navan, it was important to remember the great role that the local authority had played in that.

Fianna Fail Cllr Tommy Reilly congratulated the chief executive and her team for the huge effort and time they put in to ensure that this project was “back on track again”.

Fianna Fail Cllr Padraig Fitzsimons, associating himself with Cllr Gilroy’s remarks, said that it was important to remember the role the local authority had played in the process. It was great that the Navan rail project had been name-checked in the NDP.It was really important that the Navan project had been named in any report in 10 years and if the NTA backed it at the end of this month then it was “all systems go”.