No funding has been sourced for the Luas extension to Finglas despite millions spent on designs and "incredibly extensive" consultation and enabling works, Dublin City Councillors have heard.
The proposed Finglas Luas line is approximately 4km long, running from from Broombridge to Charlestown Centre with four proposed stops at St. Helena’s, Finglas Village, St. Margaret’s Road and Charlestown. Councillors recently received a presentation detailing the timeline for the Finglas Luas, where they were shown "very high-tech designs".
But Independent councillor for Finglas Noeleen Reilly said those at the meeting were quickly hit with a sucker punch. She told Dublin Live: "But then what they said to us was, there's going to be a five year delay before construction starts."
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When she enquired about the reason for this delay at a council meeting earlier this week, the National Transport Authority said that funding has not yet been secured. Cllr Reilly explained that the Council has some large scale housing projects in Finglas, including a 2,000 homes project on Jamestown Road.
Counsillors have been telling residents concerned about the traffic in the area that by the time this major development happens, there would be better bus routes and a Luas to accommodate the 2,000 extra households. However, she said: “I'm not sure I can say that to them anymore because of what I heard last night.
"The NTA need to guarantee the people of Finglas that this project is going to happen, and that people are not gonna be left waiting. There's negotiations with residents going on at the moment and they might not be living there when this materialises."
A spokesman for the NTA told Dublin Live: "The NTA expects a Railway Order planning application to be submitted to An Bord Pleanála by the end of the year/early next year. The extension of the Luas to Finglas is currently not included in the government’s National Development Plan (NDP) up to 2030.
"We understand that the NDP is subject to a mid-term review in the next year or so. The NTA’s target is to get the Luas extension to Finglas prepared for construction, pending Government funding approval for the project."
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