Delivery of northside Metro must be prioritised, as called for by Fine Gael TDs Alan Farrell and Noel Rock
Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell has stated that Transport Infrastructure Ireland must separate the plans to deliver Metro into two separate faces and prioritise the Metro link between the city centre, the Airport and Swords.
Deputy Farrell said: “As myself and my colleague from Dublin North-West, Noel Rock TD previously stated, it is essential that the plans to deliver Metro are separated into two distinct phases as a matter of urgency to allow for the delivery of a light-rail link between the city centre, the Airport and Swords.
“The people of north Dublin will not be left behind any longer in relation to public transport infrastructure. Given the growing passenger numbers travelling through Dublin Airport, with roughly 31 million passengers last year alone, we would be doing a disservice to Dublin in its entirety, to our national economy, and to our environment by not providing increased public transport links between the city and the Airport, including Metro, as an absolute priority. This call was also echoed by Chief Executive Officer of Fingal County Council, Paul Reid.
“The NTA and Transport Infrastructure Ireland must separate, and prioritise the north phase of the Metro plans now – anything less than this would be tantamount to these State bodies failing the people of north Dublin, and residents in Swords and its surrounding communities, and Dublin as a whole.
“The unfortunate reality is that, having listened to Minister Ross address debates on the need the separation of the Metro project in Dáil Éireann on two occasions now, myself and Deputy Noel Rock must reiterate our call to divide the overall Metro project into two phases, and not allow the entire project to be derailed by southside route alignment concerns.
“Our call for the separation of the Metro project into a north phase and a south phase is not a matter of constituency politics, but it related to the delivery of a piece of vital rail infrastructure for our capital city.
“These communities require the development of Metro to provide them with necessary transport infrastructure they require and deserve.
“All issues which arose regarding the route alignment for the delivery of Metro to north Dublin have been resolved and the route is approved. It is logical, given the needs of the north Dublin, of the Airport, and of local communities in Dublin North-West, and Swords in my own constituency that the delivery of the north phase of Metro would be separated from the south phase. This would allow the NTA and Transport Infrastructure Ireland to enter the planning process for the northside Metro immediately.