If you were building a rapid transit network from scratch in Dublin, it is unlikely that you would build a railway or tram to Howth.
A former island, it is nowadays accessible by road and rail across a low lying isthmus but, with climate change en route, how long will this last?
In addition, there are capacity issues on the DART line north of Connolly Station and therefore, the question is, is there a better way to deal with the Howth Branch?
It would be an interesting exercise to see if a LUAS line could be routed through Drumcondra, Whitehall and Coolock to Howth Junction, with the Howth Branch then being rebuilt as a LUAS line, with appropriate elevation from Sutton east.
Such a route would improve public transport in the Whitehall/Coolock areas and removing the Howth branch from the DART network would free up capacity on the DART line for future expansion to Drogheda.