Irish Rail announced today that both judicial review cases against the much-needed DART+ West project have been withdrawn and settled. We now have two shovel-ready rail projects awaiting funding in DART+ West and South West.

The DART+ project will transform the rail network in Dublin, Kildare, Meath, Wicklow and Louth by more than doubling the frequency of train services and passenger capacity. It will also enable much-needed new housing in the Greater Dublin Region.

Iarnród Éireann has already begun the procurement process for the construction contracts which will allow enabling works to begin in early 2026 and for the main construction to begin later in 2026 but only if funding is made available by the government in the coming months.

It’s crucial now that the government commits to funding the construction of DART+ as soon as possible. We need to see funding made available in the budget in October to allow for construction to begin early next year.