“Dublin deserves better than a transport plan from a billionaire whose only experience with buses is when he is pretending to be one,” added the MP.
Ryanair boss against metro project in Dublin
Monday, 04 Aug, 2025
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After decades of proposals and postponements, Dublin’s long-awaited MetroLink project is getting close of being approved in its definitive version. MetroLink is the single biggest public transport project in the history of Ireland. Dublin is now waiting for the final planning decision by the end of this summer.
Mostly underground, the driver-less metro will have 16 stations along the 18.8km route. It will have an end-to-end journey time of 25 minutes, with trains running every 3 minutes.
Costs already out of control?
MetroLink will serve residential areas as well as the city center at St Stephen’s Green and Dublin Airport. It will have connections with Irish Rail as well as tramway and bus services. It is estimated to carry 53 million passengers annually.
Costs for the construction of the system are exploding. Originally priced at around €3 billion in the early 2000s, Ireland Minister of Finance now estimates that the project would cost €11 billion.
Some of the worst-case scenarios suggest a final cost as high as €23 billion. Even Program Director Dr Seán Sweeney has already warned that the project is likely to exceed budget by as much as 40%. And it is unlikely to be completed by the targeted deadline of 2035.
The project could encounter further delays. Local communities could complain to courts about the “grievous disruption” that the construction might cause to homes and businesses.
Ireland government unshakable commitment
In between, Transport Infrastructure Ireland has already appointed a consortium of international firms to manage delivery. After the planning approval, procurement and construction could begin in late 2025 or 2026.
Despite growing political and financial doubts, the government maintains that MetroLink is vital to the capital’s transport future. It just announced an additional €2 billion for the project as it supports the development of low-carbon transportation. Ireland Prime Minister, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, explained that the funding announcement was “a very definitive commitment to the metro”.
The PM acknowledged that the actual cost of the project will be “very, very substantial”. But its construction is necessary “for the future of the country”.
“If you look at the expansion of Dublin, if you look at it over 20 to 30 year period, tgrowth in population will continue in Dublin. I don’t think you could sustain Dublin without a metro,” declared the Taoiseach.
Ryanair CEO ignites the debate
However, the strongest stance to the project came -as a surprise- from…Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary. He called it an unnecessary luxury, lighting up a war of words with the government.
In a radio interview, declared that “Dublin Airport doesn’t need it. Airport passengers won’t use it – they’re already well-served by buses.”
O’Leary claimed that the Metro will only serve a section of Dublin city’s residents – around 100,000 people. Ryanair CEO added in the interview: “Here’s the madness of this. This thing is going to start at Stephen’s Green in the morning. If you want to get to our first wave of departures, which leave at about 6.30 in the morning, you need to be at the airport at 5.30am.”
“Are you seriously going to drive into the center of Stephen’s Green, where there’s no car parking, to get this metro to get to Dublin Airport for 5.30 in the morning? No, you’re not. Does [the government] not understand that the buses actually will all be electrified by the end of this decade, which will actually be greener than light rail?“
“Dublin deserves better than a transport plan from a billionaire.”
O’Leary was consequently slammed for Dublin Metro ‘insult’ by Duncan Smith, a member of the parliament from the Labour Party.
“Dubliners live with daily gridlock. MetroLink is their best chance at affordable, reliable transport that serves communities, not corporate profits. I find it insulting to hear this kind of drive-by commentary from someone who clearly doesn’t rely on public transport to get to work,” reported The Sun newspaper.
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