A key part of the planning permission for Metrolink, the oral hearing, will start on February 19th.
An oral hearing is where a public meeting is called by the Planning Inspector to discuss any issues relating to the project. Oral hearings tend to be called for large or complex projects.
The meeting is open to the public, although the public cannot take part in the discussion, and it will be held in the Gresham Hotel, O’Connell St, Dublin. It has not yet been determined how long it will take.
After the oral hearing the Inspector will prepare a report and it will be referred to the board of An Bord Pleanala for decision. This phase usually takes several months.
It is expected that some of the focus of the oral hearing will be on the impact the project will have on St Stephen’s Green.
Cllr Ian Carey said:
“It is positive to see the date and plans for the oral hearing in relation to Metrolink. Given the scale and complexity of the project an oral hearing was expected but I would like greater assurances around the remaining timeline for the planning process.
“Given the strategic national importance of the project it is very unlikely that any issues raised here will put the project in jeopardy, so I want to ABP give this project sufficient resources to move through the planning process at pace.
“This government is the first government to give sufficient funding to see the project move to the delivery phase – some €5bn in the first phase of the National Development plan to 2030.
“The shelving of the projected by previous governments has seen it spend and long time in the planning phase. It’s time to get it built!”
