VIDEO: Taoiseach backs NTA strategy on Navan rail line and says Government is fully committed to the project

An Taoiseach Micheal Martin has said the Government is fully committed to the extension of the rail line from Dunboyne to Navan and said the inclusion of the measure in the NTA Draft Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) was a statement of that intent.

The National Transport Authority report published last week confirmed the rail link would be delivered, but with a timeline suggesting it would be completed between 2031 and 2042.

Speaking during a visit to Navan today the Taoiseach also denied there would be any downgrading of services at Our Lady's Hospital, Navan and that there was and would be an "expansion of health services" in Navan and the North East and that "clinical and medical advice in respect to the optimal configuration of hospitals" would be taken.

He acknowledged that the Northeast is growing and that the health services in the region would "need to grow to reflect this."

Earlier this morning An Taoiseach also spoke with a number of Navan business people to discuss their resilience through the pandemic and their concerns against the backdrop of rising Covid cases and hospitalisations.

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