The Government is to examine the estimated costs of the Dublin Metrolink project after its new director said the underground rail system could cost 20 per cent more than its projected budget of €9.5 billion.
New Zealander Sean Sweeney has also said the Metro project, which would connect Dublin Airport to the city centre, was unlikely to be completed by 2035 and that it would result in “grievous” disruption to people during the construction phase.
Dr Sweeney was also critical of the Irish planning system, saying he had noticed since coming to Ireland that things take longer.
“I think planning has to go back to a time like it was in the 1970s or 1980s, maybe with a few more checks and balances,” he said in an interview with The Business Post.
“But the situation in Ireland, where pretty well anyone can object to anything and stop it for six months or nine months, is not good for Ireland.”
Asked for a response to the comments, Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien said the costs would be examined in detail, but that the project was a high priority for the Government.
“The Metrolink is a critically important project, not just for the airport and the region but nationally too. I want to see construction work begin on the Dublin Metro during this term of Government,” he said.
“There is a variance in the cost projections and that’s something that will be looked at in detail before we proceed with the construction of the project in advance of the tendering process.
“It will drive further revenues for Ireland and will pay for itself in time. There needs to be further investment in infrastructure to ensure growth in Ireland and to underpin a modern economy.”
It was first interview given by Dr Sweeney, who is paid €550,000 a year, since taking up his role as programme director last year.
He also highlighted a concern about securing a large international contractor for the project, as no Irish contractor would have the capacity to construct it.
He said if he did not secure an adequate response from the international construction market, then “we’re dead in the water”.
Labour leader Ivana Bacik said her party was very much committed to the introduction of the Metrolink but would be seeking clarity from Government on the extent of the anticipated over-runs.
Her colleague Dublin Central TD Marie Sherlock said delays had not been caused only by people objecting to planning but also by the project team in the past. She said was there was an onus on those involved to get their “ducks in a row”.
Fingal East TD Duncan Smith said the “rightly critical” things Dr Sweeney had said about the planning process should not be taken as “just another reason to bash the Metrolink”.
“Dr Sweeney has said it is a project that can change a nation, and we also believe it will,” he said.
The Labour TDs were all speaking in Arbour Hill, Dublin, on Sunday in advance of the annual James Connolly commemoration.
The new Oireachtas Committee on Infrastructure, which is expected to be one of the most powerful in the 34th Dáil, is expected to hold hearings on the Metrolink project early in its tenure. It is chaired by Laois Fianna Fáil TD Seán Fleming.
