BACKLASH OVER €100M TUNNEL FOR MINISTER
Murphy accused of using Metro to boost his vote
HOUSING Minister Eoghan Murphy has been accused of electioneering over a €100m Metro tunnel in his affluent constituency to shore up votes in the next election.
Earlier plans to put the new MetroLink above ground in Ranelagh, where his constituency office is based, sparked outrage from voters and political rivals. This is the
latest political storm to engulf Mr Murphy, who is struggling to deal with the housing and homeless crisis. The proposal – which will cost at least €100m, if not double that when built – has been widely criticised by members of Fianna Fáil, Dublin city councillors, and homeless agencies, who feel that the funds are being wasted and would be best served in housing.
Fianna Fáil’s Dublin spokesperson and deputy chief whip John Lahart, said: ‘This has all the appearance of a political decision being made to benefit a politically troubled minister.’
Mr Lahart, who has consistently opposed the project, said ‘a hole is being dug to get the minister out of a political hole’. ‘I am gravely concerned €100m is being spent on a transport folly that would be better spent on extending the Luas to Rathfarnham and Templeogue.’
The controversial proposal is the latest add-on to the €3bn plan for Dublin’s MetroLink, which will stretch some 26km across the city. It will feature 15 stations from Swords in the north to Sandyford in the south side of the city when completed, possibly by 2027.
Earlier plans saw outcry from residents, who feared they would have to sacrifice their homes to allow for the construction of the new route above ground.
Now, among the proposed plans is for an interchange station at Charlemont near Ranelagh to be scrapped, with the line instead continuing further south to Beechwood before it emerges above ground.
While the plan falls under the remit of Transport Minister Shane Ross, Mr Murphy is believed to have forced the hand – and heads – of his Cabinet colleagues.
The minister had faced a constituency revolt led by Kate O’Connell on the overground proposal. At a meeting to discuss the proposals, the Dublin Bay South politician called for ‘a unifed response from everyone,’ according to a senior politician who attended. ‘She singled poor Murph out for a knifing saying he was the minister so he was the only one who could stop it. It was sweet but lethal.’
Last night, Mr Murphy declined to comment on the revisions to the plan when contacted by the MoS and Mrs O’Connell was not available to comment.
Anthony Flynn, of Inner City Helping Homeless, said Mr Murphy was more focused on his own political future than the housing crisis. ‘The minister is in election mode and housing and homelessness will take a back seat for the foreseeable future,’ he said.
FF’s Darragh O’Brien criticised ‘a back-of-an-envelope style proposal that appears to have a closer eye on electoral politics than the transport needs of Dublin’. It is, he said, ‘astonishing that €100m can be found in the blink of an eye in a constituency where a FG minister is in trouble.’ Some Fine Gael sources told the MoS that while asserting himself in Cabinet will be seen as a personal win, the minister has also been plunged into a major row over clientelist politics, with his confidence and supply partners in Fianna Fáil. Labour senator Kevin Humphreys warned the cost could be twice as high as the €100m figure. ‘Figures quoted in the National Transport Authority’s own proposal said that the cost of an underground option could be as high as €230m,’ he said.
Dublin Bay South political heavyweight Michael McDowell slammed the proposal. He said: ‘I do not agree with MetroLink in principle. There is no need to destroy the Green line and the crosscity Luas.’
Fianna Fáil’s Jim O’Callaghan also criticised the proposal. He said: ‘An underground Metro would be great for Dublin. However, bringing it above ground to replace the Green Luas is not the answer. Keep it underground and route it towards the southwest of the city.’ Dublin City councillor Mannix Flynn, told the MoS last night that the earlier plan had people in ‘parts of Ranelagh and Rathmines up in arms… and rightly so.
‘Electorally, it would have been suicide and Eoghan Murphy knew that. So Murphy has basically come up with a fake plan.’
Under the new proposals, Na Fianna GAA club in Glasnevin – in Paschal Donohoe’s constituency – will not be forced to surrender its pitches to allow for the construction of the MetroLink.
Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) now proposes using land owned by Home Farm Football Club instead, which will receive more than €5m in compensation.
‘A hole to get the minister out of a political hole ’