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THE GOVERNMENT HAS resurrected the Metro North plan to link Dublin city centre with the airport and Swords.
The relaunched project should be finished by 2026, it was announced today as part of the government’s capital investment plan.
The plan isn’t a new one – an older Metro North proposal was shelved by the coalition as it took office in 2011 on cost grounds.
It will cost over €2 billion.
What’s the plan?
Some sections close to the city and around the airport will be underground, with other parts of the mooted transport system running on elevated tracks.
The light rail system will run over fourteen new stops between the city centre and ‘Estuary’ to the north of Swords in Co Dublin.
The overall length of the project is 17km.
Here are some of the details announced today:
Haven’t I heard this one before?
The Metro North was granted planning approval in 2010 but was one of a number of projects mothballed by the Fine Gael-Labour coalition upon taking office, on cost grounds.
Today’s announcement was widely leaked in the last few weeks, with the Irish Times reporting last Wednesday that the government was considering a revised light rail scheme.
As you might imagine the Taoiseach and his ministers faced questions on whether it was all an election ploy, as the project was launched at Heuston Station in Dublin.
“One of the most important words that you have to be able to say as a government that’s serious about the future of the country is to say ‘no’ – because you have to turn down requests from many ministers and many departments and many organisations,” Enda Kenny insisted.
“The money is simply not there.
“We’ve said, we’re not putting Ireland in hock again.
“This is an affordable realistic plan and it’s based on dealing with challenges that people face every day.”
Broad welcome
Fine Gael, Labour and even Sinn Féin politicians in north Dublin have welcomed the plan.
“I remember in the last General Election the Labour Party were criticised for not committing prior to the election to deliver Metro North,” Labour TD Brendan Ryan said.
“We stated that we needed to do a cost benefit analysis before commiting to any large infrastructure projects.
“It was a prudent and responsible approach and one which was contrary to the populist promise-all, deliver-little approach taken by Fianna Fáil.”
Meanwhile Sinn Féin councillor for Ballymun Noeleen Reilly said that after “many false promises” she welcomed the announcement.
“Now what is important is where the stops are, it is vital that the Ballymun stop is in the heart of Ballymun at the plaza which can attract visitors into the area,” Reilly added.
Business group Dublintown said it was “excellent news” for the city.
“We had expressed our preference for investments that would benefit the city in the long term and the announcement today will certainly do that,” CEO Richard Guiney said.
“The new Metro Project provides the capacity required to sustain the city for the 21st century and beyond.”
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Time to declare this deadly virus a flu and disband NPHET
@Cillan Power: Totally.
@Cillan Power: Impossible to declare it a flu. Could treat it more like a flu but not declare it.
@Cillan Power: NPHET won’t be disbanded, it’ll find a way to keep going.
@Cillan Power: time to call a spade a pitch fork too?. And my cat is now a dog? A Corona virus can never be an Influenza virus no matter how hard it tries. Maybe you mean it should be treated like a flu but with a death rate about 25 times the average flu rate I personally think it is too early to treat this as a flu. Maybe the vaccines and Omicron will see the death rate fall and we can all dispense with some of the safeguards we have in place, but maybe not all. You know that in a flu outbreak there are safety measures taken to protect vulnerable too?
@Diarmuid Hunt: Yeah I understand, it’s a coronavirus so more similar to the common cold, however it is unique due to the fact that it was realised from a lab so I can see winter sickness being comprised of the flu, common colds and a mild covid strain.
@Cillan Power: The “common cold” is a family of over 200 viruses, it’s a colloquial name for the symptoms not the sickness. The flu refers to influenza but is mis-self-diagnosed quite a bit. I do understand what you mean, I do hope that covid soon takes it’s place among other predominantly winter viruses but it may be another few months before people who actually know what they’re talking about are confident enough to make that distinction knowing that lives are at risk due to the outcome of which way they decide.
It’s over abolish those covid passports and open everywhere up and get on with things.
@John brett: I can’t see any case for the covid passport if infections are as high as the CMO says. Infections seem to be totally independent of vaccination status
@John brett: I wish I could post screenshots of your previous comments here. Blowing the way the wind blows.
What is the point in restrictions anymore if the virus is already spreading to everyone in the country?
We gave up on trying to eliminate the virus a long time ago and have seemingly now given up on trying to contain it so why restrict anything? There’s no direction to any of this anymore.
@Rochelle: Methinks he knows that, but he can continue his anti drink & pub crusade.
He might be even lucky enough to have another anti-drink conference this year too.
@Rochelle: two more weeks, flatten the curve! Hang in there
Good, the more that gets it together now and gets immune to it, the better . We are getting near the time now to consign it to ‘reeling in the years’
Herd immunity, here we come? Hopefully.
@Peter Peterski: no such thing for this virus
@Hugh Morris: fun at parties are we?
@john smith iv: You come to the journal comments section on covid stories for fun? Are you lost? Do you need a map?
500000 cases this has bee going what 5 weeks so half the country has been infected. love the way nphet throw these numbers around with absolutely no proof.
@ed w: I’m no fan of NPHET but it’s called extrapolation. They have statistics, they can see what’s happening on the ground, and they extrapolate. Do you not think that there are more people sick who can’t get a PCR test than are sick and got a PCR? The place is riddled ya numpty
@ed w: it wasn’t 500,000 for each of those weeks. They are multiplying the known cases by 4-5. A few weeks ago that wasn’t needed because we were catching most cases.
@john smith iv: fun at parties are we?
The current close contact rules are a total disaster and surely unsustainable. Half my employees out isolating, none of them actually sick, and they have to sit at home for ten days. Its time to face up to the fact that omicron is not the threat of previous variants
@Damien McDaid: surely you get that it is a highly infectious virus right? Maybe your infected employees not coming into your workplace is the sensible approach…
@Mr Light: I understand that. But it’s not that deadly and illness anymore. I’m all for anyone who’s sick to not attend but those who are not sick shouldn’t have to isolate anymore
@Damien McDaid: but those who aren’t sick could pass it on to someone who could get very sick. Which is the whole point of people restricting their movements and isolating.
How do they know I bet not all the cases were covid.They are not giving the flu cases not all is covid cases we are not being told the truth
@Mick Dunne: thanks doc. The country would be in a much worse state without your sage medical information.
@Mick Dunne: try making sense and then people might listen.
@Mick Dunne: the flu cases are reported in the weekly influenza surveillance reports . You can get the flu information they are giving you for the current and previous flu seasons here https://www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/influenza/seasonalinfluenza/surveillance/influenzasurveillancereports/
@Mick Dunne: Jaysus, you’d want to loosen the auld tinfoil hat there Mick, you have her on way too tight! And maybe lay off the booze before commenting on here, you’re making an absolute f00l of yourself man.
‘People infected with Omicron are likely to suffer from long Covid, despite mild illness, said top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Long Covid can happen no matter what virus variant occurs. There’s no evidence that there’s any difference between Delta or Beta or now Omicron,” Fauci was quoted as saying in an interview with Spectrum News.
We should always be aware that when people get symptomatic infection – anywhere from 10 to up to 30 plus per cent of people will go on to have persistence of symptoms.’
@Munster1: Go back under your bed, we’ll let you know when it’s safe to come out.
@Munster1: The real Dr Anthony fascinating by Robert F Kennedy Jr I suggest you get a copy.
@Mark Malone: I’m not scared, your the one scared of reality.
@Munster1: Long covid. That has got to be the biggest load of horse manure doing the rounds.
@Robert Clifford: Dr Fauci is making it up? Dont make me laugh.
@Munster1: yea..like Dr.Fauci has never been wrong before…
@Munster1: Fauci is nothing more than a puppet. So more than likely. Yes.
He must be glad the 8pm curfew and open schools done so much to help the situation.
@Da Dell: going to the pub for a few pints is sadly a higher priority for some people that our children’s education. Both have some risk attached but some want the unessential recreational drinking establishments to open just because the essential education of our children continues in schools. Uganda closed it’s schools for 85 weeks… Should we close pubs and schools that long as well?
@Niall Ó Cofaigh: Sadly restricting opening time did nothing to alleviate anything.
One recorded outbreak in a pub in month on lead up to the curfew. If as you say education was so important, then they and people like you should have ensured schools were safe as possible before they re-opened. But no, ‘open the windows’ was about the extent of it. Ffs they still can’t even sort out filters, maybe if we had a year or two of …, oh wait now.
Why pick Uganada Niall ? Why not Switzerland where indoor hospitality opened May 31st 2021 ?
@Niall Ó Cofaigh: Have been plenty of other non-essentials open too, like coffee shops, fast food joints etc etc. And for the record, I haven’t been in a pub in Ireland since pre Mar 2020, I’ve been in pubs in Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland during that time. There are no pubs open where I am. Most of my family and friends caught Covid over Xmass, none got it in a pub, all got it from their kids, who got it in school.
@Niall Ó Cofaigh: But never mind, work day over now, heading for dinner and drinks with friends. And dont fret Niall, we all vaccinated and we all got Covid over Xmass.
Back in your box tony don’t be throwing numbers out like the lotto box
The need for restricted movements for those who are boosted and asymptomatic is being scrapped too according to Minister Donnolly.
“Following the science”, as some around here think we’re doing, is taking a back seat to keeping workplaces functioning it seems.
More fear po rn. Disband NPHET
Which means the current hospitalisation and ICU levels are miniscule in the context of projected actual cases
Between jabbed infected too young is there anyone left that can get Covid ?
The IFR for covid in that case must be well below even Stanford Prof John Ioannidis estimates:
“For people under 70 years old, the median Infection Fatality Rate of COVID-19 across 40 locations is 0.05%”
I love the pic they use of holohan for naughty covid articles.
Whatever happened to South Africa? Omicron there was unimportant and already out of it. SA has 36% adult vaccination. Cases peaked at 23k/day like here but with a population 5.5 times of Ireland. Peak was max 2 weeks and the whole wave took just over a month. There was little impact on deaths unlike their previous wave.
Why is Europe so affected? We are in the lead pack in terms of health care.
@Colin Conlan: Apologies, I need to update some numbers as I read some wrong or outadated numbers.
SA has a population 12 times of Ireland (60mil). Vaccination stands at 29.88% of total population and 45.41% of 18+ adult population.
@Colin Conlan: they also have more then the population of ireland immunocompromised/hiv patients at near 8 million.. And hospitals under no surge.
@Colin Conlan: they had circa 80% of the population previously infected with covid but apparently there is no such thing as herd immunity so those previous infections were no benefit in fighting omicron and therefore omicron for 70% of the population unvaxed was pretty benign.
Or maybe this virus is only a danger to over 70s and in particular over 80s of which there are very few in SA. If this is the case then vaccinating our young people under 40 who seldom require hospitalisation and where mortality rates are miniscule seems mad? Unless the vaccine prevents transmission what are we doing to our youth?
That’s a fair mask Tony’s wearing in that pic
Good many Tony.
I has covid and the only symtoms i has was a runny nose for 24 hours then it was gone. And apparently im in the high risk catagory. The restrictions are getting silly businesses
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