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TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN has said that 2034 is a “realistic assessment” of when Dublin’s MetroLink will be delivered.
His comments come after the Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan indicated over the weekend that MetroLink will not be delivered by 2027, as envisaged.
The €3 billion metro line is set to run from Swords in north Dublin and terminate at Charlemont near Ranelagh.
While Ryan said he was still “very confident” the project would go ahead, he said the delivery timeline is dependent on the planning process.
“I think the existing [National Development Plan], if I recall rightly, said it would take five years. It would be completed by 2027. That was never likely to be achievable, I’ll be honest.
“The budget forecast for it is likely to be much smaller than the final outcome. There’s been a big cost inflation since then, particularly in big infrastructure projects. So those indicative numbers weren’t ones that we expected to be able to meet,” Ryan said on Sunday.
Labour’s Duncan Smith, who said the Taoiseach is the “chief” and “boss”, asked Micheál Martin in the Dáil today to state that he is still committed to MetroLink.
In reply, the Taoiseach said 2034 is a “realistic assessment of where things are at”, adding: “One has to be honest and realistic.”
The Taoiseach said the interpretation of what Minister Ryan said at the weekend – that the project is being delayed – is “completely wrong”.
He added that the minister “was misinterpreted” and he was merely pointing out the myriad of issues facing the project and the knock on impacts they could have on the project.
“There is a commitment to doing it,” he added.
Last week, Government sources told The Journal that no decision had been made to “push back” plans, but they said delays are expected due to a number of processes required for the project such as securing the railway order and compulsory purchase orders, as well as a tender process.
In a statement to The Journal last week, a spokesperson for the Department of Transport said that government approval and finalisation of documents to lodge the railway application with An Bord Pleanála, which are expected to happen in the next several months, will “determine the progress of MetroLink in the coming years”.
“The construction start date for MetroLink will ultimately be determined by successful receipt of planning permission (Railway Order) from An Bord Pleanála and then securing formal Government approval to proceed to construction under Decision Gate 3 of the Public Spending Code,” the spokesperson said.
“While the exact start date will depend on the granting of planning permission and government decision under the public spending code, there has been no decision to defer the construction start date to 2027.
“It is the Minister’s intention that construction commence within the lifetime of this government, noting the requirement for planning permission and the necessary government approvals.”
Within government parties, a number of TDs are unhappy with the news that the line will not be ready until 2034, with Fine Gael’s Senator Regina Doherty questioning why it has taken so long for clarity on the date. Fianna Fáil TD Paul McAuliffe said there is now a need to get to the bottom of why delays have occurred.
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In one pocket and out the other
yeah seems kinda silly. but i suppose it’s at a much lower interest rate.
are there rules in place as to how much can be borrowed? Surely if there was €8.4 billion of interest in this bond, then they should sell €8.4 billions worth and use it to pay the higher interest Troika loan. Right?
Probably wrong though….that’s why I’m not an economist i suppose!
Not really.
We are borrowing money at an exceptionally low rate, for a long time.
Economy growing at 4%, inflation at 0.5%.
This is debt as manageable as it gets.
We should be rolling over all the debt we can at this stage and replacing it in the next few years.
It is a once in a life time opportunity to reduce our debt pile. .
“In short, there has been no Irish miracle turnaround that would remotely warrant the massive bond rally that has occurred since the crisis—to say nothing of a negative yield on two-year notes. Instead, the crackpot financial engineers in Brussels have turned Ireland into a debt serf that, at best, may manage to tread water until the next global downturn puts the damper on its export recovery.
But here’s the thing. Virtually none of the punters who have heeded Mario Draghi’s word clouds actually own Ireland’s debt. They all rent it by the day.
That means that Irish two-year notes yielding negative 0.1% will be crushed on the sound of a single word. Nein!”
http://wolfstreet.com/2014/10/01/bailed-out-irish-government-gets-paid-to-borrow/
No need for the USC anymore then……
You never replace tax with borrowed money.
You only use debt to build for the future, not reduce the tax burden.
Re-balance USC, certainly but it will have to stay.
its been reported that bond holders were willing to continue to lend based on the fact that the Irish population will embrace just about any level of taxation for reducing services combined with the pacificity of their government and their pathological desire to be liked by the EU and the sociopath financiers in the US
Correct. Debt is a form of slavery. The more you are willing to be enslaved, the more you can borrow.
No, it is because we have good growth, the ECB says it will backstop all debt and people have to invest it somewhere.
People are loosing money by putting it in bonds in Europe, the interest rates are so low.
Where was that reported dee4?
Wouldnt it be a great chance for nama or the ntma to actually help the variable mortage holders..issue bonds..let people switch to a magical 2.5%..or is help only for the important people….
More money for the bond holders shame on u fg and labour
What an ignorant statement.
That has to be the most wildly ignorant comment of the day.
I’m sure you imagine it has something to do with James Bond.
It would be a mistake to believe that the NTMA require any particular skill to raise debt in the midst of the latest credit bubble.
Only in the midst of such a bubble could acquiring debt be termed “making money”.
“In Spain, where there was a debt crisis just two years ago, investors are so eager to buy the government’s bonds that they recently accepted the lowest interest rates since 1789.
In New York, the Art Deco office tower at One Wall Street sold in May for $585 million, only three months after the going wisdom in the real estate industry was that it would sell for more like $466 million, the estimate in one industry tip sheet.
In France, a cable-television company called Numericable was recently able to borrow $11 billion, the largest junk bond deal on record ”
have your say