Ranelagh residents who took a legal challenge to the multibillion MetroLink rail project are set to accept an offer from Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to buy their homes on Dartmouth Square.
The surprise move, which will end judicial review proceedings, is expected to facilitate the early development of the rail line. The project, set to be the largest infrastructure project in the State, was facing years of delay if the court action went ahead.
Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien said he was “delighted to hear the news that the judicial review has been withdrawn” and he wanted to “thank all of those who were involved in the mediation process for reaching this agreement”.
In a social media post he said it was “full steam ahead now to be able to go to tender and to procure this project, which is a project that we will deliver as a Government that’s going to be transformative for the north Dublin area and indeed the Dublin area and the region”.
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The residents of 12 houses in Dartmouth Square West in Dublin 6, last month initiated judicial review proceedings against An Coimisiún Pleanala’s decision to grant permission for the 18.8km, mostly underground, line.
The commission had in September approved TII’s application to build the line from Swords, in north Dublin, to Charlemont, close to Ranelagh in south Dublin. The route would have 16 stops serving areas including Dublin Airport, Ballymun, Glasnevin, Phibsborough and the city centre.
The houses at Dartmouth Square West back on to the Charlemont terminus of the line. The 19 residents living in the houses, and one company owned by a resident, sought an order quashing ACP’s grant of planning permission for the MetroLink. TII was a proposed notice party to the action.
Earlier this month the company Kalamunda Co Unlimited, owned by Sharon McCabe, of Dartmouth Square West, withdrew from the proceedings. Kalamunda is the holding company that owns the McCabes Pharmacy group, which was bought two years ago by PHX Ireland, the owner of the Lloyds Pharmacy chain.
At the same court hearing residents were given a provisional date for the hearing of the judicial review next March. However, lawyers for the residents told the court they were willing to enter mediation, after TII proposed pre-Christmas talks in an effort to resolve the dispute.
Mediation discussions were held this week and it is understood residents are willing to accept offers from TII to buy their Victorian homes and will end their legal challenge to the MetroLink project.
The houses on Dartmouth Square are substantial protected structures and, while they do not often come to the market, one sold for €2.7 million last month.
It is not known how much TII has offered for the houses, and whether their offer includes a small number of homes on Dartmouth Square West not occupied by those who took the legal case.
TII said it could not comment on commercial agreements. However, its chief executive Lorcan O’Connor, said he had personally met the residents in recent days. “I greatly appreciate their constructive approach, which has led to agreements that work for all sides. This is another significant step forward for Ireland’s largest infrastructure project.”
MetroLink programme director Seán Sweeney said the withdrawal of the judicial review provides critical clarity for the market. “With this matter resolved, our focus now is on progressing enabling works and advancing procurement, with contract notices for the main civil works packages to be issued in Q1 2026.”
TII is already in talks with a number of international consortiums who have indicated an interest in building the mega project.
MetroLink will require a workforce of approximately 8,000 and is expected to take at least eight years to construct, making it the largest infrastructure project in the State. TII hopes rail services could begin operating in the mid-2030s.
