Dublin's delayed Metrolink has already cost €70m
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Dublin’s underground Metrolink rail system has cost some €70m over the past three years, despite its construction now not expected to occur before 2030.
A briefing note by the Department of Transport for the Oireachtas public accounts committee (PAC) shows that the project in its current iteration — linking Dublin Airport, the city centre, and the south Dublin suburbs — has incurred expenditure of €70.3m since March 2018.
The note states that the project’s preliminary design is now “substantially complete”, while its environmental impact assessment report is “progressing”. It says that the preliminary business case has been received by the department and is under review.
That case must pass the Government for approval before a planning application can be lodged. That is expected to happen in 2022.
Earlier this week, the National Transport Authority’s updated transport plan for the capital was reported as stating that Metrolink, which has been discussed in different guises for the past 20 years, would not now see the light of day before 2031 at the earliest, something the the NTA has since denied.
That updated plan places emphasis on improving bus services and cycling and pedestrian infrastructure. BusConnects, the plan aimed at a total overhaul of Dublin’s bus network, has cost some €76.7m since 2018, according to the Department of Transport briefing note.
The head of the same Department is due to appear before the PAC tomorrow morning, where issues such as the new NTA Dublin strategy, Metrolink, and issues of procurement at the department are due to feature high on the agenda.
Ken Spratt, the secretary general of the department, is expected to tell the committee that he ‘shares’ concerns regarding the controversial procurement of Coast Guard vans which were too heavy to accommodate either equipment or a full crew.
A review of that procurement by the State’s accountant the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) criticised the €1.4m purchase of 18 Ford Transit-style vans whose weight upon fitout was too close to the maximum allowed by law for a full complement of crew or equipment to also be accommodated.
That tender had initially been advertised at an estimated value of €160,000 for just four vehicles.
Also likely to feature at the committee hearing is the C&AG’s review of the department’s €6.5m spend on night vision technology for the Coast Guard’s four search and rescue helicopter teams eight years ago, technology which — as of 2021 — is still only functional at one of the four bases in question.