ALMOST €300 million has been spent on the Metro North link, Old Metro North and Metro West Projects, despite no physical construction having begun, according to a report published by the Irish Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on July 4, writes Hassard Stacpoole.
The metro project first promised in 2000 linking North Dublin, Finglas and the airport to Dublin city centre was due to be delivered in 2010. Just over a year later, the Metro North project was halted due to the economic downturn. In 2015, a new Metro North project was announced, which was meant to be delivered by 2026.
The Government has now promised that a metro will be up and running by 2034, which would be 23 years after planning permission was granted to the original Metro North project, according to the committee. About €150m of taxpayers’ money has been lost on previous rail projects: Metro North, Metro West and DART interconnector projects.
Every year of delay to the project adds between €100m to €300m, and the long-promised largely underground line is estimated to cost the taxpayer between €7.16bn and €12.25bn.