Fingal Chamber welcomes MetroLink tender approval

Fingal Chamber has welcomed the Government's decision to approve MetroLink's move to the detailed tender stage, describing it as the moment Ireland's most significant public transport project finally shifts from debate to delivery.

The Cabinet decision, one of the most significant milestones in the project's 25-year history, allows the market to bid for the construction and operation of MetroLink. Enabling works are expected to begin next year, with tunnelling and station construction to follow from 2028. 

The 19km route from Swords to Charlemont, via Dublin Airport, runs through the heart of Fingal, and the Chamber says its greatest prize is housing. MetroLink will support the delivery of approximately 77,000 new homes along its route and, through integration with the wider public transport network, up to 200,000 homes across the Greater Dublin Area. For a county whose businesses consistently cite housing availability as a barrier to attracting and retaining talent, that connection between transport investment and housing delivery is the story.

Fingal Chamber Chief Executive Anthony Cooney said:

“The time for debate on MetroLink is over. Every year of delay has been a year of congestion, constrained housing and lost competitiveness for Fingal businesses. Today's decision means it's delivery time, and delivery is now the only measure that matters.

“This is a housing project as much as a transport project. Tens of thousands of the homes this region needs can only be built at scale along high-capacity transport corridors. MetroLink unlocks them, and our members feel the housing pressure every time they try to hire.

“We'll assemble a highly skilled tunnelling and engineering workforce to build this line, and it would be a waste to disband it when the last station opens. Government should plan beyond election cycles now for the extension and expansion of metro lines, so that expertise keeps delivering for the region for decades.”

The Chamber also calls for the same delivery focus across water, wastewater and energy infrastructure, and notes that as a low-carbon alternative to car travel, MetroLink supports both climate targets and quality of life in Fingal.

Fingal Chamber has consistently championed transport and infrastructure investment as central to housing delivery and regional competitiveness, and will continue to represent the collective voice of business in Fingal as the project moves through procurement.