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THE GOVERNMENT HAS been urged to clarify plans for the MetroLink project in Dublin after reports that it may be delayed by seven years.
At the weekend the Mail on Sunday reported that the Metrolink, which is due to be completed by 2027, is now not expected to be finished until 2034.
The €3 billion metro line will run from Swords in north Dublin and terminate at Charlemont near Ranelagh.
Government sources told The Journal that no decision has been made to “push back” plans, but 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.
Fine Gael TD for Dublin Fingal Alan Farrell said these reported delays are “unacceptable and will be yet another set back for north Dublin”.
“Dublin Fingal has one of the fastest growing populations in the country and is also home to Dublin Airport, the necessity of a modern transport system cannot be understated,” he said.
“The latest reports of delays are, to put it simply, an insult to all residents who have engaged in good faith with the process and who eagerly anticipate MetroLink’s arrival.”
Farrell called on Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan to provide clarity on the future of the MetroLink “as a matter of urgency”.
In a statement to The Journal, 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.”
Labour TD Duncan Smith, who also represents Dublin Fingal, told The Journal he had suspicions in recent months that there may be delays to the project following responses to parliamentary questions that he received from the Transport Minister.
In the most recent response, Minister Ryan said there remained “an extensive body of work” in relation to finalising the preliminary design, completing the required environmental impact assessment reports and closing out property referencing issues before the railway order application will be ready for submission to An Bord Pleanála.
The Minister said aspects of this work were impacted by Covid-19 restrictions earlier in the year and it will likely be Q1 2022 before the railway order application will be ready, with submission to An Bord Pleanála expected shortly thereafter.
He said the preliminary business case for the project has been submitted to his department for review and once it has also been reviewed by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform it will be presented to government.
Minister Ryan said approval of this preliminary business case is required prior to any application for a railway order and he expects to bring the matter to government ahead of the finalisation of the application in the first quarter of next year.
Smith said people in his constituency are angry and frustrated at news of the potential delays.
“We all know this project has been politically divisive, there are people who just haven’t believed in it and I thought we were through all of that,” he said.
He said the local council had made a number of significant plans, including for high density housing, on the basis that the MetroLink would be in place.
“We’re going to have a repeat of the problem we had in the Celtic Tiger where we built really quickly, but didn’t have the infrastructure. This is the infrastructure that should have gone with the homes already built, nevermind the new ones to come.
Smith said it is “worrying” that the minister has not sought to publicly clarify reports of delays and he plans to raise the issue with the Oireachtas Transport Committee this afternoon.
- With reporting by Christina Finn.
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Bon Voyage and safe journey to all Irish nurses who will be leaving our shores because of the 20% reduction in starting pay.
This move demonstrates the level of respect our TD’s have for our Nurses.
Soon, there will be a recruitment drive overseas to import cheap nurses. Unfortunately, foreign nurses will be conned into coming here for poor pay and terrible working conditions.
We train the best and import the worst. Remember the Nigerian ‘doctor’ who couldn’t even take a pulse…??.
Once, I was so sick that I couldn’t even get into the car to go to the gp. My wife phoned ‘Southdoc’ who sent an African who was doing a ‘locum’, (€70) He used a lolipop stick, said I had a bad cold & prescribed ‘Benylin for flu’, – an over the counter medication. it got worse, A friend who was a real doctor called, he actually used a stetescope & diagnosed severe pneumonia, prescribed the antibiotic, ‘Klacid’ among several other drugs to ease my suffering.
There needs to be a clampdown on quacks like this, getting away with, possibly…….murder.
Who is in charge….??
Oh yeah….forget it.
The foreign nurses will go to other countries with better conditions, and the ones who are duped to come here will soon cop on and leave. It’s happened before and will happen again
@hector i have to disagree with the tone of your comments. plenty of good “African/Nigerian” doctors about.
would it have been possible you didn’t tell him all or symptoms or as with slot of illness it progressively got worse.
@ Paddy, – A hospital floor cleaner could have diagnosed what was wrong with me, – maybe that’s what this guy was…? – There is such corruption in parts of Africa, that you can buy a degree in anything for a few hundred bucks, – it’s a handy way of getting yourself into any country as long as no-one asks any awkward questions…
Pretty sure that the story you mention wasn’t actually a Nigerian – Eastern European, I think. Shocking how they got through the system but more a fault of the hiring system here, rather than anyone’s race.
wonderful, the goverment want to help banks make a profit while throwing the irish voters out on the roads of ireland while the ministers enjoy 3000e salary every week, oliver cromwell is reincarnated, to hell or connaught with the irish.
Not Connaught enda lives down that way
have your say