The Government is to accelerate the extension of the Luas network to Finglas with construction now earmarked for 2028 rather than in the 2030s, Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien has said.
The Minister said the aim now was that the main design and build contract for the 3.9km off-road project, which will link up with the existing Luas line and mainline rail services at Broombridge, will go to tender early next year.
O’Brien said there was a railway order – essentially planning permission – for the Luas extension to Finglas in place since October 2025 and that three judicial review challenges to the project had now been resolved.
“Transport Infrastructure Ireland [TII] is seeking to position the project to a ready-to-start stage, with the aim that the main design and build contract being tendered at the start of next year. I want to bring this forward at that point in order that we can look to accelerating it with a view to getting into construction in 2028,” the Minister said in reply to a parliamentary question from TD Paul McAuliffe of Fianna Fáil.
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He said under the previous National Development Plan the Luas to Finglas project “was sitting in the middle of the 2030s”.
O’Brien said the new Finglas Luas line would serve an area with 58,000 households.
The Government is also likely to allocate a spending package for the extension, with a potential drawdown from the climate and nature fund – similar to a move done last year to pay some of the bill for MetroLink – possible. However, one source familiar with the plans said this was not highly likely.
Meanwhile the Cabinet is expected to consider plans to authorise the next phase of the Dublin MetroLink project in mid-July. O’Brien is expected to bring new costings for the metro plan to Government along with proposals to tender key elements of the projects.
There is speculation in the transport world that the bill for MetroLink – the largest public project in the history of the State – could be in the range of €15 billion to €18 billion.
It is understood there are some concerns within Government that comprehensive governance and oversight arrangements will have to be tightly locked down to ensure costs do not increase further.
Meanwhile there is no agreement yet in place regarding the remuneration package to be put in place for the new project director of MetroLink to succeed New Zealander Sean Sweeney who resigned suddenly in April after about 20 months in the role.
Sweeney had been paid an overall package which included a €550,000 salary, private health insurance for him and his family, and up to €30,000 in moving and relocation expenses.
In a statement the Department of Public Expenditure said it was “currently engaging with the Department of Transport on the terms and conditions for the recruitment of a new programme director for MetroLink”.
“The engagement centres on the remuneration package for the new programme director. It would be inappropriate to divulge any details prior to Minister for Public Expenditure’s decision on the terms and conditions proposed by the Department of Transport.”
Some sources in the transport world have maintained that to secure a candidate with top level experience of developing metro projects, a package of more than that awarded to Sweeney will be needed. Government sources insisted that they are happy with progress being made on replacing Sweeney.
