Fianna Fáil TD Jim O'Callaghan has called for the terminus for Dublin's MetroLink to be moved from Charlemont in the south city centre to Tara Street or St Stephen's Green.
Mr O'Callaghan, who represents the Dublin Bay South constituency where three MetroLink stops will be located, said that while he is in favour of approval being granted in general terms by An Bord Pleanála, it is "unusual" for a major European city not to have a termination point between the airport and the city centre.
He was speaking during the second day of An Board Pleanála's oral hearing into the MetroLink project.
It makes sense to have the southern terminal point end in the city centre to link up with other transport modes, he said.
Transport Infrastructure Ireland estimates that 10 million passengers a year will use Charlemont, he said, adding that the area is not equipped to deal with such volumes as the existing transport infrastructure will not be able to cope.
He said the only reason that TII has chosen Charlemont as the final destination is to facilitate future upgrades to the Luas green line in 20 or 30 years time.
Charlemont is not a major rail hub, he said, is not a city centre location and is a "minor Luas station"
TII said other termination points were considered but the analysis noted that there would be a "notable decrease in passenger numbers" in other locations, including Tara Street and St Stephen’s Green.
The body also said Charlemont is the best place to end the MetroLink as it has a good interchange with other transport links.
TII admitted there will be no set down or drop off points for taxis at Charlemont as their studies have shown that most passengers will use bus or rail to get there.
Senator Michael McDowell also agreed that Charlemont is not a suitable end point due to having only two road accesses to the station.
Mr McDowell said it is the most ""unobvious location you could imagine" to end the metro link.
Earlier, Labour's transport spokesperson told the hearing that he is fully supportive of the plan and the proposed route.
Duncan Smith, a TD for Dublin Fingal - where much of the project will be located - said Swords is the largest town in Ireland without a rail link.
He also added that Dublin ranks as the second worst city in Europe after London for traffic congestion.
The Labour TD told the hearing that it was "embarrassing" that the capital's airport did not have a MetroLink and that passengers have to use an overloaded bus service that was often confusing.
He described the MetroLink project as "transformative" and said that not enough credit has been given to its interconnectivity.
Mr Smith put a question to Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) regarding route alignment changes and how that would affect delivery.
TII said that it would have an impact on the timeline of delivering the project and there would be a "negative impact on the cost to the taxpayer".
TII said it is estimated that for each year the project is delayed, the total cost to economy is millions of euro.
'Human impact'
Resident associations in North Dublin appealed to An Bord Pleanala to consider the ''human impact'' of locating a metrolink stop near a local church.
TII plans to build the Collins Avenue Station underneath the green area in front of Our Lady of Victories Church on Ballymun Road.
Ballymun Road North Residents Association and Albert College Residents Association said around 200 residential homes would be impacted by up to ten years of construction works.
Residents would have to endure significant noise impact leaving them ''feeling like prisoners in their homes''.
There would also be visual and dust disturbances and potential damage to buried archaeological artefacts on church grounds.
Locals told the oral hearing that locals are very concerned about the impact on Albert College Court, a sheltered accommodation apartment complex for elderly people, located beside the church.
Residents said the construction work around the church would have a detrimental effect on the ability of the church, schools and other institutions locally to function effectively.
Residents noted that mature trees will be felled in all the options proposed by TII.
''Trees will grow again, repairing a damaged community may be harder,'' residents told the hearing.
Residents say they are not opposed to the project overall, but would prefer if the proposed site was located closer to DCU instead of the local church.
TII said it conducted a very detailed analysis on all the effects to the community.
The body said the proposed site for the Collins Avenue station is strategic, due to the interchange capacity and it is their preferred location.
All key elements, including environmental and noise impacts were considered according to TII.
