Luas, the £227 million light rail project for Dublin, is now expected to go ahead as planned, on-street in the city centre, rather than underground, with the issue likely to be decided at a Cabinet meeting tomorrow.
Ministers will be receiving copies of the final report of W.S. Atkins, the British consultants appointed last autumn to review the project, and it is known that representatives of the firm have been invited to make a presentation to the Cabinet.
The Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, declined to comment on the matter, other than confirming that this presentation will be made at the beginning of tomorrow's Cabinet meeting, after which a final decision will be made on whether to proceed.
It is believed that the report raises a number of issues about the project, such as the capacity of the system proposed by CIE to cater for passenger numbers, as well as other issues not so far ventilated in the public debate.
It is also believed that Ms O'Rourke, as the Minister responsible for public transport, will be making a recommendation to Cabinet colleagues that the project should proceed, not least because no more time can be wasted in dealing with Dublin's traffic crisis.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, who has taken a close interest in the matter, is understood to be fully aware of the contents of the Atkins report and of the view apparently taken by Ms O'Rourke that, on balance, Luas should go ahead for the sake of the city.
A public inquiry into the project is due to resume on June 2nd under the chairmanship of Judge Sean O'Leary. After hearing all the evidence, he will report to Ms O'Rourke on CIE's application for a light rail order. If she approves it, work might start in September.
The first phase of Luas will link Tallaght with Sandyford, via the city centre. Detailed preparatory work is already under way to build a second phase from the city centre to Ballymun, forming the skeleton of what could become an extensive light rail network.
A total of £114 million in EU aid has been allocated for the first phase, and this would have been lost if a decision had been made to run Luas underground in the city centre because of the additional time it would have taken to redesign the project.
This was made clear to the Government last November by the European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Ms Monika Wulf-Mathies, who called to see Mr Ahern last week. This meeting may also have been crucial in the decision-making process.
A number of interested parties argued for an underground solution, including Dublin Chamber of Commerce and the former Taoiseach, Dr Garret FitzGerald. But Dublin City Centre Business Association strongly supported the on-street proposal.
The likely outcome, assuming that the Cabinet approves the course of action now being proposed, will come as an immense relief to the CIE project team, headed by Mr Donal Mangan, who have spent the past five years working to implement Luas.
