Legal challenges to Dart expansion plans dropped
The extension of
Dart
rail services to Maynooth,
Co Kildare
and the M3 Parkway near Dunboyne,
Co Meath
can finally go ahead following the withdrawal of
legal action against the project
.
Irish Rail
said it has reached a 'confidential settlement' with two parties which had taken judicial review proceedings blocking the €1 billion Dart+ West project granted permission by
An Bord Pleanála
last July.
Burke Brothers, a hardware and electrical wholesale company close to the Navan Road and Ashtown train station, and its neighbour Gowan Motor Group, had separately challenged the board's decision to approve the project.
The High Court had set June 23rd for hearing the judicial review challenges, but both have now been withdrawn.
READ MORE
Irish Rail said it hoped to award contracts for construction of the line by the end of next year with services to start from 2031.
The project will double train services along the Maynooth line from six to 12 per hour per direction, increasing hourly passenger capacity from 5,000 to more than 13,000 each way.
The extension of the
Dart to Maynooth
was part of the Government's Transport 21 strategy published in 2005. However, Dart expansion programmes fell victim to the economic crash and the project did not re-emerge until 2020, rebranded as Dart+.
Irish Rail at that time intended to apply for permission for the Maynooth line in mid-2021, but following public consultations which resulted in changes to the project, it deferred submitting a railway order application to An Bord Pleanála until July 2022.
The project is part of Irish Rail's plans for a major expansion of Dart services, which also includes the electrification of the rail line to Drogheda, Co Louth; Celbridge, Co Kildare; and a significant upgrade in capacity to Greystones, Co Wicklow.
Once completed, the full Dart+ programme aims to treble the current network from 53km to 150km and the number of people living within one kilometre of a Dart station would increase from about 250,000 currently to 600,000.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
The Irish Times view on the economic threat from the Middle East: yet more uncertainty
The US strikes on Iran cast yet further uncertainty on the international economic outlook. As if there was not enough of this around already. Inevitably, this will have implications for Ireland, too, though to what extent is as yet impossible to judge. The most obvious way in which this will affect western economies is the price of oil. It will fluctuate now based on the news from the Middle East, in a nervous market. Any sustained rise would lead to increases in petrol and oil prices for consumers and Irish businesses before too long. To judge how serious this could become, a few factors are important. One is whether there is any impact on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow channel between Iran and the Gulf states through which around one third of the world's seaborne oil is transported. It is unclear the extent to which Iran could block these shipments, but it could certainly cause some considerable disruption. In turn, if sustained, this could lead to a spike in crude oil prices. Goldman Sachs, the investment bank, predicted that oil prices could rise to over $100 a barrel if there was substantial disruption to oil flows through the Strait. READ MORE The second key issue will be whether Iran chooses to target the oil production facilities of US allies in the region, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The resulting disruption in production could hit supply and drive up prices. It would also cause nervousness in the market. All this means further risks facing the global economy, at an already uncertain time. Sustained higher oil prices would feed through into higher inflation and lower economic growth. This will be an issue, too, for Donald Trump, who will be conscious about the price sensitivity of US consumers, particularly to prices at the pump. Following the US bombings, the world now looks on to see what Iran does next. Like the rest of the EU, the Government here, already facing the uncertainty from US tariff policy, now has another risk to put into its calculations ahead of the budget.
RTÉ News
4 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Plans to extend DART network to go ahead as judicial reviews withdrawn
Two judicial reviews for the DART+ West project linking Dublin city centre and Maynooth and the M3 Parkway have been withdrawn, paving the way for work to begin on the project next year. An Bord Pleanála approved the Railway Order for the project in July 2024, but the court actions had delayed its progression. Iarnród Éireann said the project will double the capacity and treble the electrification of the Greater Dublin Area rail network, increasing it from 50km to 150km, extending to Maynooth, M3 Parkway, Hazelhatch and Drogheda. Last month, it invited applications for the first phase of the tender process for the project. Work is expected to begin at the end of 2026, while the first of 185 new carriages are due to enter service in the same year. Irish Rail is awaiting a decision from An Bord Pleanála on the Railway Order it submitted for the DART+ Coastal North, which will link the city centre and Drogheda. The planning process is still underway for the DART+ Coastal South route linking Greystones in Wicklow to Dublin city centre.
Irish Times
5 hours ago
- Irish Times
Dispute over failed €23m sale of Leopardstown site by religious order
The sale of religious order-owned land in Leopardstown , south Dublin , to a developer for €23 million has fallen through due to a dispute over the provision of a school on part of the site, the Commercial Court has heard. Developer Rimor Magna Ltd is suing the trustees of the Legionaries of Christ in Ireland, owners of the land at Rocklands, which was to be sold to Rimor with a provision that it would also construct a new faith centre and school to replace the existing Creidim Centre and St Michael's House special school. It is claimed the sale fell through after a 2022 planning application for the school, faith centre and two office buildings was rejected by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Council on the grounds that the development failed to provide for a mainstream primary and post-primary school in accordance with Department of Education requirements. The claims are denied. On Monday, Rimor's case seeking an order that the congregation be prohibited from rescinding the contract for sale was admitted to the fast-track Commercial Court. READ MORE The application was made by Marcus Dowling SC, for the defendants, who said his clients did not want a substantial damages claim hanging over them and were seeking an expeditious hearing. Niall F Buckley SC, for Rimor, said that while not opposing the application for entry to the fast-track court, his side was arguing that it was given to understand by the defendants that Department of Education support was available for the plan but it was not. Mr Justice Mark Sanfey said while there had been an argument about delay in bringing the proceedings, any culpable delay was on the part of Rimor rather than the defendants. He was satisfied it was a suitable case for entry to the commercial list. He approved agreed directions between the parties and put it back to November. In an affidavit seeking entry of the case to the Commercial Court, Fr Mariano Ballestrem, manager of the congregation's affairs in Ireland, said the trustees terminated the contract with Rimor in November 2024 over its failure to comply with a special condition that it secure an acceptable grant of planning permission. The defendants also tendered the return of the €2.3 million deposit Rimor had paid. 'Insofar as the congregation is concerned, that was or should have been the end of the matter,' he said. Fr Ballestrem said Rimor's proceedings depend on a role allegedly played by a certain individual in the planning process. This individual held himself out as an agent of the congregation and represented that he had ascertained the requirements of the department prior to the lodging of the planning application and that the department would not object to the development, he said. After rejection of the application, the individual said the department would be satisfied with just one mainstream school on the development and represented that this strategy had been approved by the congregation, Fr Ballestrem said. However, at a meeting of the congregation in October 2023, there was no such approval and it was expected the terms of the contract would be complied with, he said. Fr Ballestrem said the congregation disputes that the individual had any significant role to play in Rimor's engagement with the department or that he represented the congregation in that regard. Rimor is claiming to have spent more than €1.7 million on efforts to secure planning permission. The defendants deny the claims, including claims for damages, brought by Rimor.
