Luas extension to Poolbeg to arrive sooner than expected as NTA advances project

Ellen O'Donoghue

The Luas extension to Poolbeg is finally powering ahead, a Fine Gael TD has said.

It is set to arrive "far sooner than anyone expected," according to Fine Gael's Dublin spokesperson, James Geoghegan.

He said he received the confirmation from the National Transport Authority (NTA) through a parliamentary question.

“This project was once viewed as decades away but is now advancing to the next stage of development ahead of major changes in population growth and infrastructure planning in Dublin’s docklands,” Mr Geoghegan said.

The NTA confirmed the Luas Poolbeg pre-feasibility study has been completed, and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has been instructed to progress the project to phase one of the NTA's Project Approval Guidelines in 2026, including the procurement of engineering designers.

In 2021, the NTA considered the Luas to Poolbeg a long-term project that would not be examined until after 2042, based on demand projections at that time, but that position has now changed significantly, according to Mr Geoghegan.

"I’ve been campaigning for the Luas to Poolbeg for many months because the facts on the ground have fundamentally changed. In 2021, this was seen as something decades away, but that position has now shifted decisively," he said.

“We are now seeing real housing delivery in the area, including almost 1,000 people currently moving into the Glass Bottle site alone, with many thousands more to follow as development continues.

"I have consistently pushed for a common-sense approach, aligning the Luas extension with Dublin Port’s expansion plans, including the new bridge which has already been structurally designed to accommodate Luas tracks," Mr Geoghegan said.

He added that the confirmation from the NTA shows that the project is "now actively moving forward and on a dramatically accelerated timeline compared to what was originally envisaged.

"The new bridge forms part of the 3FM and Southern Port Access Route project and is designed to remove heavy goods vehicles and port traffic from existing public roads while also enabling high-capacity public transport into the Poolbeg area.”

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