Dublin’s planned new metro system will need about 8,000 workers to construct, an Oireachtas commitee has been told.
MetroLink programme director Sean Sweeney said the largest contracts for the growth of the 19km rail line, planned to run from south of Dublin’s city center to Swords in the north of the county, would be with international firms that were expected to bring in some personnel from abroad.
“There are no firms of the scale or expertise in Ireland to run those major contracts,” he told the Oireachtas committee on Transport on Wednesday. “They [the international companies] will bring a proportion of workers in and will be looking to supplement with local labor. We have done extensive Irish workforce analysis.”
“The top line is that the Irish construction industry cannot support the construction of this project and even that is without factoring in the other major infrastructure projects that are in play at the moment as well.”
MetroLink is a 19km mostly underground rail line for Dublin stretching from Swords to Ranelagh.
Stops include Swords, Dublin Airport, Ballymun, Glasnevin, O’Connell Street, St Stephen’s Green and ending at the charlemont Luas stop.The project was frist proposed over a quarter of a century ago and is expected to cost north of €10 billion.
A trip from the city centre to the airport will take 20 minutes and the service is expected to be operational by the mid-2030s.
“We think it is going to be a challenge. The constructors that I have spoken to know it is going to be a challenge. We are looking to engage with the local market but I think we are going to exhaust the local workforce before we run out of work for them,” Mr Sweeney added.
He said a lot of work had been put into planning for the housing for the MetroLink workforce.
“We are working with the Land Development Agency to see what options there are,” he said.
the rail link has 16 planned stops and will run largely underground, through both tunnelling and cut-and-cover sections of track. It will serve Dublin Airport and several locations in the city centre, and also the increasingly populous northside suburbs.
Fine gael TD Grace Boland said a programme or framework must be put in place for housing workers involved in the project, whether they be in temporary on-site accommodation or otherwise, and that it would be important to engage with the local authority in Fingal immediately to put in place a process for dealing with this issue.
MetroLink Project Costs Undergoing Recosting, Final Designs Delayed to Next Month
The projected costs for Dublin’s MetroLink project, currently estimated at €9.5 billion (excluding VAT), are undergoing a comprehensive review, according to recent statements by officials. The current estimate, drawn from a preliminary business case, is already three years old and doesn’t account for recent construction industry inflation or new requirements established through the Railway Order process.
Speaking on the matter, officials stated that the figures currently in the public domain are based on a 2022 business case, but rely on data originating from 2014-2019 that has been adjusted for inflation. He acknowledged that the existing estimates contain “a lot of approximations.” A re-costing exercise is underway in parallel with the completion of construction designs, with updated figures expected to be released early next year. However, these new costings will be based on earlier designs, as the final tender designs are not scheduled to be finalized until next month. https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2023/11/16/metrolink-project-costs-undergoing-re-costing-final-designs-delayed-to-next-month/
The €9.5 billion figure, as of November 16, 2023, excludes Value Added Tax (VAT). officials emphasized that this figure is highly likely to increase due to significant inflation in the construction sector and the incorporation of new requirements through the Railway Order process. The Railway Order is a legal process required for large infrastructure projects in Ireland, allowing for compulsory land acquisition and addressing environmental concerns.
Workforce Accommodation a Key Consideration
MetroLink representatives have acknowledged the potential challenges of accommodating the workforce needed for the project, particularly as demand from international firms increases during the main civil works phase. A dedicated team is working on a strategy to address this, focusing on a combination of local and international contractors. https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2023/11/16/metrolink-project-costs-undergoing-re-costing-final-designs-delayed-to-next-month/
Early phases of the project, such as advance and enabling works, will prioritize the Irish domestic contractor market. Planning is underway to support the workforce, with a particular focus on accommodation.the project team is exploring collaborations with organizations like the Land Development Agency (LDA) to accelerate the provision of accommodation,with the intention of returning the stock to the state after the MetroLink project is completed. The LDA is an Irish state agency responsible for developing land for housing and regeneration. https://lda.ie/
About MetroLink
MetroLink is a proposed high-capacity, high-frequency electric rail line planned for Dublin, Ireland. The planned route will run from Swords to Sandyford, passing through the city centre. The project aims to considerably improve public transport capacity and connectivity in the Greater Dublin Area. https://www.metrolink.ie/
Date: November 19, 2023, 18:53:00