8,000 Workers Needed for Proposed Metrolink Project

With it being announced that 8,000 workers will be needed for the construction of the

Metrolink project, questions are being raised about the need for the new project.

The Metrolink, which was first proposed in 2001, will be a high-capacity metro service

which will operate in Dublin. The Metrolink will be an 18.8km route, with 16 new stations

running from Swords to Charlemont. It will also link to Dublin Airport.

The consensus in Dublin is that the Metrolink is needed. Due to no Irish

construction firm being able to deal with the scale of the project, the major contracts

for the Metrolink construction will go to international firms.

The €9.5 billion estimate from 2021 is set to rise and the aim to start construction in

2027 is being seen as “a stretch” according to Minister for Transport, Darragh O’Brien. It

will take between six to eight years to complete.

The Metrolink has struck up conversation across Ireland about where public transport funding should be allocated.

“I think that the Metrolink is a good idea, but Dublin has enough public transport with

the Luas and DART. There should be more funding towards the rest of the country”, said

Eoghan Hassett, who is studying at the University of Limerick.

“I have to rely on the bus to get to college. A lot of the time the bus doesn’t even show

up and it has had an impact on my attendance”.

The bus system has been described as “inconsistent” by Han Ming Cai, who is also a

student at the University of Limerick.

“There have been some days where I have been left stranded at college because the bus

didn’t arrive”.

“In order to go to college I have to get a bus to Colbert station and then get another bus

from Colbert to Ul. It takes so much time out of my day. It turns a 20 minute journey into

an almost hour and a half one. “

“I can’t afford a car, so my only source of transport is the bus. In my opinion, there

should be more focus put on public transport outside of Dublin. My life would be so

much easier if I could get a direct bus to UL.”

For most young people in rural Ireland, having a car is the only way to get from one point to another.

The number of bus passengers across the country in 2024 was 268,275 according to the

Central Statistics Office. This is an increase of 18,701 from the previous year. The statistics for the number of train passengers across the country in 2024 were 50,664, an

increase of 4,598 from the previous year.

This increase in passengers has made the demand for better public transport

infrastructure for the whole country a must.

For now, the government is set on the Metrolink project.