After An Coimisiún Pleanála granted planning permission in October 2025, it seems the development of Ireland’s MetroLink is finally under way. This comes nearly twenty-five years after the idea for a Metro line in Dublin was initially proposed, which begs the question- what took us so long to get here?
To put it mildly, Ireland’s metro system has a rocky history. Two confident, ambitious proposals for a metro line were put forward, one in “Platform for Change” in 2001, and a more concrete plan in “Transport 21” in 2005. Transport 21 proposed two lines, Metro North and Metro West. What could possibly go wrong?
In 2008, everything went extremely wrong when the recession occurred. Over the next few years, the project continued, but Metro West was forgotten entirely. Metro North was shelved indefinitely in 2011, by Leo Varadkar, who was Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport at the time.
Metro North remained in limbo for the next few years, until 2015, when it was brought back to life with a projected opening of 2027. In 2018, it was rebranded as MetroLink. Test drilling even began in 2019. However, this was put on hold when the Coronavirus pandemic shut the world down in 2020.
In 2021, it was announced, to the surprise of absolutely no one, that the proposed opening date of 2027 would not be met. The Minister for Transport at that time, Eamon Ryan, even said MetroLink was “never likely” to be finished at that time.
MetroLink has certainly been the victim of bad timing over the years. But there is something more at play here. The legal process of submitting proposals and gaining planning permission is certainly a lengthy one, but politicians seem almost reluctant to go near it.
On paper, the MetroLink seems like a great idea- an underground railway connecting Dublin Airport to the City Centre and passing through key areas in the Dublin area, one of which being Collins Avenue, right next to DCU’s Glasnevin Campus. However there are multiple concerns surrounding it, not least to do with the cost.
With large scale construction projects, governments have a habit of spending more than people think they will. Ten years ago, the estimated cost for the Children’s Hospital in Dublin was 650 million euro. Today, that’s risen to over 2.2 billion. But those are rookie numbers in comparison to what the estimated figures for MetroLink are.
Though it’s hard to say what the cost will be at this time, estimates are rising as high as 23 billion euro. As well as that, major rail lines are facing disruption for up to 21 months so that construction can take place.
With a project like MetroLink, there are many, many ways things can go wrong. When things go wrong, the Public Accounts Committee will start asking the party most associated with the project how this could have happened. The blame game will be played, and the various bodies associated with MetroLink will play hot potato over whose fault it is.
Ideally, in a democratic society, the goal of a political party is to serve the will of the people. Realistically, the goal of a political party is to keep themselves in power for as long as they can. Acting on something as huge as MetroLink is very risky, and they run the chance of not being able to reap the rewards. Depending on whether the general elections fall in their favour, one government could do all the work, then another will take all the credit when the MetroLink opens.
Currently, if everything goes well, MetroLink will be in operation by 2035. Less optimistic reports say “sometime in the 2030s”. I’m very dubious about both of those projections. While planning permission is a huge step forward for the project, construction is nowhere near to beginning. Construction may start in 2027, the same year the rail was originally meant to open.
If MetroLink opens in 2035, it will be a big step forward for Dublin in terms of development and connectivity. However, if that goal is to be achievable, things will need to move a bit faster than they have in the past.
