Minister for Transport Darragh O'Brien has said around ten houses in Ranelagh in south Dublin will be bought as part of mediation with residents that led to them withdrawing their judicial review application into the MetroLink.
Mr O'Brien welcomed the withdrawal of the application by some residents on Dartmouth Square as a "really significant step forward".
"The mediation approach has worked," he said. However, Mr O'Brien said he did not have the "exact details yet".
"I wasn't directly involved in the discussions that are there," he said.
The application for a review had been submitted by residents of Dartmouth Square off Leeson Street, which is located close to the planned final stop of the line.
There had been concerns that a protracted legal action could have delayed the 18.8km line for up to three years.
It is planned to run from Charlemont near the capital's city centre to Swords Estuary via Dublin Airport. Recent timelines suggest that if there were no objections the project could be completed in the mid 2030s.
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The minister said he would not speculate on how much the purchase of the houses will cost, but said the cost "will be managed and will be managed carefully".
He thanked residents for engaging and said, "now we have a clean planning permission we can activate... so it would be the next step now moving forward to procurement".
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, the minister insisted that MetroLink will be delivered.
He said he expected the tendering for MetroLink to take place in 2026, and that there are three consortia which have publicly stated that they will be bidding for the project.
"With a fair wind and everything being in, we could start enabling works in 2027 and start building in 2027, towards the end of it [the year]," he said.
"I think it's about a seven-eight-year build, so if we start in 2027, early '28, you've seven, eight years from there."
He said he has asked MetroLink to consider opening the line in phases and that this is being "looked at".
Read more: Why MetroLink is a much needed connection for north Co Dublin
He said it is "too early" to say at this stage ahead of procurement how much the project will cost, but that a figure of €23 billion "wasn't an estimate that was given to me at all".
He described that figure as being "too high" and "far off the mark".
"The last preliminary business case was between €7.16bn and I think €12.25bn," he said.
"I would imagine it to be higher than that.
"I'm going to get the next assessment of projected investment early in the new year, I'm not going to speculate.
"But when I get it, I can assure you that's something that will be discussed and will be publicised".
