MetroLink could cost up to €17.5 billion to deliver under a cost estimate to be considered by the Government today.
The midpoint of the cost estimates, to be presented to Cabinet by Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien, is €15.75 billion, with a lower end of €14.4 billion.
The project, which will be the largest infrastructural development undertaken by the State, will span a 19km line from Swords in north Dublin via the airport to Charlemont near Ranelagh on the south of the city.
The Minister will essentially seek Cabinet approval for the MetroLink project to be put out to tender. When tenders are received, the Government will then have to make a final decision on whether to give the go-ahead for the rail line, which will run largely underground.
READ MORE
The new business case to be provided to Cabinet shows the project is considerably more expensive than previous forecasts.
The last estimates, drawn up in advance of the planning application lodged in September 2022, calculated €9.5 billion as the midpoint of a cost range between €7.16 billion and €12.25 billion.
The new business case maintains that construction inflation has, in the meantime, added about €1 billion to the projected costs. Changes to the design account for another €1.2 billion.
The new business case is expected to say that when only the benefits directly attributable to the project are considered, every €1 invested in MetroLink is expected to return between €1.13 and €1.78.
“When the assessment is broadened to include wider economic impacts, the return on investment rises to between €1.26 and €1.95 for every €1 spent.”
Meanwhile, Minister for Children Norma Foley, alongside Minister of State Emer Higgins, will bring legislation to Cabinet designed to improve the operation of the Assessment of Need process.
The assessments are used to identify the health and education needs of disabled people, and are supposed to be completed within six months. However, a large backlog has emerged in recent years.
The proposed changes aim to bring delivery of more assessments within that statutory time frame.
Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers will brief ministers on the Government’s expenditure strategy for Budget 2027.
He will say there is an obligation to ensure budget measures demonstrate a clear link to improved outcomes and better public services, outlining that a planned moderation in the rate of increased spending means choices and trade-offs will be needed for next year.
Minister for Communications Patrick O’Donovan will brief Cabinet on plans to reconstitute a lapsed taskforce on mobile and broadband, to be renamed the digital connectivity and infrastructure taskforce.
A central goal will be to help remove mobile phone and internet black spots, particularly along roads and rail networks.
Elsewhere, Government chief whip Mary Butler will update Cabinet on the Coalition’s legislative priorities for the rest of the year.
In addition to a slate of laws giving legal effect to next month’s budget, the Waterford TD will brief ministers on legislation across housing, health, infrastructure, climate, justice and public services in the autumn legislative programme.
These include laws on remediating defects in apartments and enabling the construction of private wires, on assisted human reproduction, immigration reform and cybersecurity, and on disability.
Minister for Higher and Further Education James Lawless will ask the Government to note the annual report of Research Ireland, marking its first full year of operation. He will tell ministers that the agency’s activity supported more than 8,000 researchers and is estimated to sustain 58,000 jobs.
Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon, alongside Minister for the Environment Darragh O’Brien, will bring a new National Bioeconomy Strategy to Cabinet which will cover the period up to 2030.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee will brief Cabinet on Ireland’s current engagement with the OECD, and also affirm plans to move ahead with scrapping the Triple Lock in response to a private members bill on the plan being brought by Sinn Féin today.
