I would like to assure the Deputy that all governance arrangements for public transport initiatives, including MetroLink, funded through my Department are in line with the requirements set out in the Infrastructure Guidelines, published by the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation. Governance arrangements are under regular consideration to ensure they reflect the scale of relevant initiatives, provide effective oversight of projects, and achieve value for money.
As stated in the MetroLink Preliminary Business Case which was approved by Government at Approval Gate 1 in 2022, the National Transport Authority (NTA) is the Approving Authority and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) is the Sponsoring Agency. In November 2025, the Government approved my policy proposal to establish a dedicated MetroLink delivery body and the preparation of legislation to give effect to this proposal. Once established, the dedicated MetroLink delivery body will become the Sponsoring Agency for MetroLink. My Department retains responsibility and oversight of overall capital budgets and ensuring governance arrangements remain aligned to the Infrastructure Guidelines.
MetroLink is funded through my Department’s voted expenditure, Vote 31, which is subject to the annual estimates process and parliamentary scrutiny, as well as through the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund.
In addition, my Department’s Major Projects Governance Oversight Group (MPGOG), which consists of Departmental officials and independent experts, engages regularly with the NTA on MetroLink project plans and developments.
It is too early to give a precise project cost for MetroLink, as it has yet to go through procurement process, though the Preliminary Business Case provided a range of potential costs at that time. The Preliminary Business Case showed how the project benefits exceed the project costs. The final budget for MetroLink will not be set until after the completion of tendering and procurement, with the Government having the final decision about whether to proceed to construction.
The NTA and Department officials will continue to monitor costs as the project progresses. Updated cost estimates will be supplied to my Department as part of Approval Gate 2 requirements; however, the final budget for MetroLink will not be set until after the completion of tendering and procurement, with the Government having the final decision about whether to proceed to construction, at Approval Gate 3.
