Government set to approve next phase of Dublin Metrolink project

Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien is seeking formal Cabinet approval to move the metro into the detailed tender stage, which has been described by the Government as the most significant milestone in the project to date. File picture

The Government is set to approve the next stage of the Metrolink project, allowing companies to begin the bidding process to build and operate the metro.

Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien is seeking formal Cabinet approval to move the metro into the detailed tender stage, which has been described by the Government as the most significant milestone in the project to date.

After bids are received and approved, it will allow the project to begin the detailed procurement phase, with the Government expecting on-site works to begin next year.

The cost of the project is expected to have increased beyond previously forecasted levels, with the most recent estimates between €14bn and €21bn.

Meanwhile, communications minister Patrick O’Donovan will bring a memo to restart the work of the Mobile Phone and Broadband taskforce for the next three years.

The taskforce, to be renamed as the Digital Connectivity and Infrastructure Taskforce, will aim to remove mobile phone and internet blackspots, particularly along train lines and the road network.

It will include Government, local authorities, regulators as well as telecoms companies to remove existing red tape.

Among the priorities for the taskforce are implementation of the Gigabit Infrastructure Act, preparing for the copper wire network switch off as well as improving the quality, security and resilience of digital networks.

Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers will outline the Government’s expenditure strategy for October’s budget.

Mr Chambers will say there is an “obligation” on ministers to ensure all budgetary measures have a clear link to improved outcomes and better public services.

He will also say ministers must make trade offs and find priorities, particularly telling them to find efficiencies and reforms to reinvest funds in priority areas.

Separately, Children’s Minister Normal Foley and junior disability minister Emer Higgins will bring the Disability (Amendment) Bill to Cabinet for approval, which will improve the existing assessment of need process.