Dublin's MetroLink project dealt fresh blow as director steps down for personal reasons

Sean Sweeney is an expert in the procurement and delivery of large capital works and tunnelling and was the chief executive of City Rail Link, an underground rail link in Auckland’s city centre, and New Zealand’s largest-ever transport infrastructure project.

Dublin's MetroLink, the largest capital investment in Irish history, has been dealt a fresh blow after its director stepped down for personal reasons.

In a statement, New Zealander Sean Sweeney said he was leaving his €550,000 a year job because "the sacrifice of being separated from my partner, children, and grandchildren, who are over 10,000 miles away, has become unsustainable".

The beleaguered project, which would see an underground service running from Charlemont to Swords via Dublin Airport, has been beset by delays, complaints, and judicial reviews.

The multi-billion euro 18.8km MetroLink rail line, most of which will be underground, is to run from north of Swords, through Dublin Airport, and down to Charlemont in the south of Dublin city centre.

The project is the largest single investment project in the National Development Plan and transport minister Darragh O'Brien previously said he hoped work could begin from 2027, subject to no legal challenges.

However, supporters of the project have warned legal proceedings could delay the timeline for it to open to the mid-2030s.

In December, a group of 19 residents from Dartmouth Square in Ranelagh were granted permission by the High Court to seek a judicial review of the planning approval for the long-awaited transport project. The application was withdrawn following mediation, with an agreement put in place to buy up to 15 houses in the area. 

The now-departing Mr Sweeney is an expert in the procurement and delivery of large capital works and tunnelling and was the chief executive of City Rail Link, an underground rail link in Auckland’s city centre, and New Zealand’s largest-ever transport infrastructure project.

He said: "A programme like MetroLink will have many parents, and I always believed my role was to get the programme up and running. I am proud to leave the programme with a highly committed and experienced executive team, full Government support, as well as an operational railway order and MetroLink fully funded into construction. 

"MetroLink is no longer a 'proposed' plan; it is a live delivery project. The market appetite is huge, the political support is firm, and the team I leave behind is the best I have ever worked with."

Documents prepared for the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) by the Department of Transport confirm more than €200m was spent on the project across 2024 and 2025.