Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan says he expects plans for Dublin's troubled MetroLink rail line to go to public hearing within the next two weeks.
"I expect it to get permission by this year. And then we start building," the Green Party leader told Miriam O’Callaghan on Prime Time on Thursday.
MetroLink, which is estimated to cost €9.5 billion, will consist of a fully segregated railway running from north of Swords to Charlemont in the south of Dublin city centre. The scheme is to comprise 16 new stations and will carry an estimated 53 million passengers a year.
Mr Ryan was speaking after his announcement that the Dublin City Centre Transport Plan is expected to come into effect by August.
The proposals to restrict traffic driving through Dublin city centre will make the capital a more attractive place to work, live, shop and go out at night according to Minister Ryan.
"Look at Pearse Street, look at Tara Street, look at the quays. Do you think that's an attractive environment? It's not working for car drivers, because everyone's stuck in traffic. It's not working for people visiting the city or people working and particularly people who live in the city."
"The MetroLink is going to public hearing in the next two weeks."
— RTÉ Prime Time (@RTE_PrimeTime) February 8, 2024
Minister for Environment, Climate, Communications and Transport @EamonRyan tells @MiriamOCal that he expects the troubled rail line to get permission this year.
WATCH:@rtenews | #rtept pic.twitter.com/ruYd4CYhnD
Minister Ryan added that the plan includes commitments to continuing investment in public transport, with a "whole range" of projects set to be delivered.
"We're going to triple the level of the DART service in Dublin and introduce the Busconnects scheme, which we've already started. We've introduced five of the Busconnects corridors. And what's happened? A dramatic jump in the number of passengers," he said.
Results of a public consultation on the plan, carried out by Dublin City Council, showed support levels of more than 80%, out of 3,500 consultations, for the new proposals.
But there has been criticism too.
Independent Senator Michael McDowell made a submission to a public consultation on the draft plan. He called it "too radical" and said it "will seriously harm the vibrancy and social and commercial life of Dublin."
"I think the whole process has been defective," Senator McDowell told Prime Time.
"People are blithely ignoring the real consequences of what I believe will be too much too quickly and will end up atrophying the commercial heart of Dublin, making it less livable."
Labour Party Senator Rebecca Moynihan disagrees with Senator McDowell and broadly supports the plan.
"I think it's very good. I think it's very ambitious. It is definitely going to cause upset, but the reality is this plan is better for all Dubliners," Senator Moynihan said.
According to Dublin City Council, two out of every three cars currently driving through the city do not have the centre as their destination and the plan sets out to reduce traffic by removing these cars in order to allow for the implementation of cycling and walking plans.
"What we're looking to do is to take out the through traffic. About 60% of the traffic in the city centre core. We're talking about an area from Smithfield to the Custom House and from St Stephen's Green to Mountjoy Square," Minister Ryan said.
Included in the plan are measures that would see areas of the inner city like Bachelor's Walk and Aston Quay closed to motorists and the removal of car traffic from Parliament Street and Customs House Quay.
A concern Senator McDowell has is what effect this could have on people living in the city centre.
"Nobody's actually looked at people who are city centre dwellers," Senator McDowell said.
"Supposing an electrician lives in the south inner-city and he or she has to go to work in north county Dublin how are they to get there? What this plan does is cut off north south and east west traffic in the inner city almost completely."
But Senator Moynihan believes the plan could actually benefit residents of the city centre by reducing the congestion on the quays.
"It's better for public transport users, it's better for cyclists, it's better for pedestrians, and it's also better for drivers because it actually removes the gridlock that drivers are stuck in."
READ: Which areas of Dublin city centre are in the roads plan?
The plan can also play a role in reaching climate targets according to the Labour Senator.
"It is something that we need to do for our climate emissions. It's something that we need to do to decarbonise," she said.
But Senator McDowell isn't convinced.
"I know we have to do our best but nothing that will be tried in inner city Dublin is going to contribute to international global warming one way or another," the former Tánaiste said.
When pressed on some of the criticisms the plan has faced, the Minister for Transport said it's to be expected.
"There's always naysayers. There's always people who would say, 'it's going to be disastrous, don't change anything.’ We need to change. Our city is gridlocked. We do need to reduce emissions. We do need to create a Dublin city we want to revive," Minister Ryan said.
