Land acquisition costs for the long-delayed Luas light rail system in Dublin have already reached €36.15 million and are expected to rise to about €70 million before the network is complete, it emerged yesterday.
Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show the Railway Procurement Agency spent €19.4 million to the end of last year for property on the Tallaght line, linking the west Dublin suburb with Connolly Station.
Land for the line between Sandyford and St Stephen's Green cost €16.75 million. The figures were disclosed to the The Irish Times by the Department of Transport after an appeal to the Office of the Information Commissioner, Mr Kevin Murphy. They provide the first definitive indication of the expenditure on land for the project. It was learned separately that the biggest single item of expenditure was payment of about €7 million for 3.85 acres of land in south Dublin.
This is property between Ranelagh and Alexandra College in Milltown which was a section of the old Harcourt Street line. The property was acquired from Southern Properties Ltd. Companies Office records suggest the company is in voluntary liquidation. Its directors are Ms Geraldine Cantrell, Ms Grace Kavanagh, Ms Angel Kavanagh, Ms Lorraine O'Donoghue, Mr Sean O'Donoghue, and Ms Pamela Rasmussen.
While some reports earlier this year suggested that overall land costs might be in the region of €40 million, the Railway Procurement Agency said yesterday that it expected to have spent about €70 million by the time the system is introduced next year. Many of the settlements under compulsory purchase orders went to arbitration, but sources close to the agency said land expenditure was "well within the budget". The chairman of the agency, Dr Padraic White, said yesterday that it expected the final cost of the entire project would include the original budget of €675 million and a "contingency" sum of €100 million. The expenditure would be "within" these limits, he said.
According to the Department, the agency spent €36.14 million purchasing 10½ acres of land from 210 owners. The Department refused the initial Freedom of Information request, made almost a year ago, because it said disclosure would weaken the State's bargaining position when compulsorily acquiring land.
