Dáil debates

Wednesday, 19 September 2018

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Light Rail Projects

1:35 pm

Photo of Jim O'CallaghanJim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for being here ahead of time.

The reason for tabling this Topical Issue matter is that a number of weeks ago I met a group of residents living in a place not far from here called College Gate on Townsend Street in Dublin 2. The reason they contacted me was that they were particularly anxious about the fact that the plan for MetroLink which was published a number of months ago included a proposal to demolish their apartment block. It is important to point out that the apartment block comprises 70 homes. It also contains at ground level the Dublin City Council Markievicz leisure centre which is used widely by people in the locality. More than €1 million was spent on its refurbishment in late 2015 and early 2016. It is apparent, therefore, that this is not just some small location that is being proposed for demolition in order to facilitate a major infrastructural project. It is a large location and its demolition is going to greatly inconvenience people.

The people I met were generally young couples who had recently purchased apartments in College Gate. There are also many apartments within College Gate that are owned by Dublin City Council and which are rented to tenants. It is astonishing, at a time when there is a major housing crisis in Dublin, that a statutory body could recommend that an apartment block containing 70 homes be demolished. The Minister will be aware, like everyone else in the House, that when major infrastructural developments are proposed, it will, of course, be the case that, on occasion, individuals will be inconvenienced. Land will sometimes have to be compulsorily purchased. On other occasions, buildings may have to be demolished. However, what is being proposed is outside the norm. I say this for two reasons. First, it is extraordinary that a statutory body would propose to demolish 70 homes in the centre of the city at the time of such an extraordinary housing crisis. Second, the proposed demolition of the apartment block is not actually necessary. The National Transport Authority, NTA, and Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, state they need to demolish it in order to construct a top-down station for the MetroLink at Tara Street, but there are many other locations in the vicinity which would be suitable. I know that the residents made a proposal or submission to the NTA and TII which stated the well known location of Apollo House could properly be used for the purpose of constructing the new underground station.

The second part of this Topical Issue matter relates to the fact that, although the MetroLink will be a very welcome addition to the infrastructure of Dublin, some sensible political thought needs to be put into the route outlined by TII and the NTA. The proposal is that there will be an underground route from Dublin Airport into the centre of the city - a perfectly sensible idea - and that then when it reaches Charlemont it will come above ground. The Luas line is going to be dug up from Charlemont the whole way out to Cherrywood and replaced by the MetroLink. The Minister is well aware that there are certain parts of the city that are very poorly served by public transport infrastructure, particularly rail transport infrastructure. The areas that really need rail transport infrastructure are in the south west of the city and include areas in my constituency such as Harold's Cross and Rathgar and also areas on the way out to Firhouse and Templeogue. The Minister should recognise this and inform the NTA that it would be far better to leave the MetroLink underground and direct towards south west Dublin.

Photo of Shane RossShane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to address this matter in the House. As he is aware, the recently published national development plan which was launched earlier this year by the Government as part of Project Ireland 2040 brings together the metro north and metro south projects, as envisaged by the NTA’s greater Dublin strategy, in one project called MetroLink. The MetroLink project involves the development of a north-south urban railway service that will run between Swords and Sandyford, connecting key destinations along the 26 km route. There will be 25 stations in total, 15 of which will be brand new. A large proportion of the route will be underground, including where it passes under the important city centre area and Dublin Airport. The underground section will terminate close to the Charlemont stop on the Luas green line in the south city area to where the MetroLink will connect and run southwards on the existing Luas green line. The Luas green line will be upgraded to metro standard as part of the project. It will provide Dublin with a high capacity, high frequency cross-city rail corridor, serving critical destinations such as Swords, Dublin Airport, Dublin City University, Ballymun, the Mater Hospital and existing destinations along the Luas green line to Sandyford. MetroLink will provide faster reliable journey times to and from these key destinations, while offering an interchange with other rail, DART expansion, light rail and bus services. It is predicted that capacity for 15,000 passengers per direction per hour during the busiest peak times will be required along the corridor. MetroLink will have capacity for 30 trains per hour in each direction; therefore, it will greatly enhance the public transport offering in Dublin. The creation of approximately 4,000 jobs during construction is also envisaged, which is very significant for the economy in the region.

The NTA, in conjunction with TII, completed a public consultation process on the emerging preferred route earlier this year. The emerging preferred route is the proposal which has been identified as the likely optimal scheme from a technical design perspective, without the benefit of public consultation and input. It is riot a finalised and selected scheme; the final layout will only be determined after consideration and evaluation of the issues raised during the consultation process. The purpose of the process that also included public consultation meetings was to obtain the views of the general public, particularly those along the identified emerging route, and take that input into account in finalising a selected route. TIl and the NTA received approximately 8,000 submissions, including one from the residents in College Gate apartments, which they are reviewing, with assessing changes to the scheme in order to address a number of the issues raised.

The NTA is aiming to complete a report shortly identifying a final preferred scheme which will be the subject of a further public consultation process. The report is expected to be published later this year, following a full appraisal of all stakeholder submissions. While I absolutely understand the concerns raised by affected stakeholders, believe there are many benefits that the MetroLink project can bring. I am confident that the NTA and TII, through the consultative process they undertook, will find a way of delivering the MetroLink project and maintaining good routes that will interchange with other public transport services, while doing so in a way that will respects the social and community life of the city. Until the public consultation report is published, it would not be appropriate for me to comment any further on the details of the proposal at this time.

Photo of Jim O'CallaghanJim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Like the Minister and, I suspect, every person in this House, I think MetroLink is a good idea. The city requires such an underground service. In fact, the sooner we have it the better because there is a difficulty for people travelling from the outskirts of the city into the centre quickly. We have seen from another transport proposal, BusConnects, that the intention is to try to get people from the outskirts into the city promptly. However, the BusConnects project does not really take into account the fact that there are also people along the route into the centre of the city, in the urban villages, who have to be served.

The Minister has indicated that it is for the NTA to determine this matter which is still out for public consultation. However, it is astonishing that so little coverage has been given to the proposal by a statutory body to demolish a group of 70 homes. I commend Olivia Kelly of The Irish Timesfor covering it today. At a time when there is a severe housing crisis in the city, it is simply not acceptable for proposals such as this to be made, particularly when they are not necessary. There are many other routes and locations available for the construction of the underground station at Tara Street.

It is also obviously a political decision. Previously we saw the benefit of a lot of campaigning in the case of Na Fianna GAA Club in the constituency of the Minister for Finance. As a result of that campaigning, changes were made and it was indicated that the club would not be inconvenienced in the way that had been proposed. I commend and congratulate Na Fianna on its success, but we need to recognise that the Government has a role to play in developing important infrastructural projects.

We cannot simply have a situation where the Government states there is a statutory body in place which is performing a public function and the Government washes its hands of it. The Government funds these projects and should have a say in respect of them. Will the Minister recognise the concern of the people living in these 70 homes at the proposal that their houses will be knocked down?

1:45 pm

Photo of Shane RossShane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Deputy understands my position quite as well as I understand his. He is at liberty to champion this particular cause. If I were in his position, I might well be saying the same things. I am not at liberty to intervene in a process which will take me down the road which would be absolutely chaotic, however. That is why there is a public consultation. The Deputy will understand how the whole purpose of this is a thorough and democratic procedure.

The National Transport Authority, NTA, is in charge of what happens but is subject to one public consultation, maybe two consultations in certain cases, which are serious. It would not be going to them if they were not serious. I am certain that not only will the NTA be sympathetic to the 70 residents and their homes which have been targeted and compiled in the Deputy’s motion but also that it will also look at the non-political but reasonable requirements which have been made. I have full and total confidence in this consultation process which the NTA is running. It is perfectly legitimate for people to campaign. Many campaigns are based on logic, reason and humanity. I am sure the NTA will take all of those considerations into account when it comes to its final decision which is still several months away.