𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐋𝐮𝐚𝐬 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧

30th October 2025 - I welcome today's decision by An Coimisiún Pleanála to grant the railway order for the Finglas Luas project. The transport project involves an extension of almost 4km of the Green Line from Broombridge to Finglas, linking north Dublin to the wider Luas network.

This is a big day for our community. A project which everyone has been campaigning for now has full planning permission. When we started holding local meetings in 2018 calling on the NTA to extend the line from Broombridge, I think many of us thought it would not be achieved. The granting of full planning permission now makes the construction possible, and I will be working with An Taoiseach and the Minister for Transport, Darragh O’Brien, to ensure the funding is in place to allow us to go to tender.

I want to thank everyone who has campaigned so hard for this project, and the elected representatives who have championed it in Government, to Minister James Lawless who last year met with me and made sure the project received Cabinet approval before the dissolution of the Dáil. I also want to thank Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and the National Transport Authority (NTA) who have put thousands of hours of work into the project to ensure the planning is granted.

This summer, I met with NTA, TII, and Minister O’Brien to ensure they knew how important this project is and to ensure funding was ready and in place if permission was granted. Last week, I again met An Taoiseach to ensure funding was ready, and I will be keeping the pressure on to ensure there are no delays ahead.

In the National Development Plan (NDP) this technically remains a post-2027 project but for some time now it has been hoped that we can bring it forward. I expect the Government to approve it, given the ease with which it can be delivered. It is a short route and an extension of an existing line, so it’s a very deliverable shovel ready project. This project has the potential to transform North Dublin.

I now hope that we can finally get ready for the next stage of this project which will hopefully see the line up and running within the next few years. When it's up and running, the line witll include four stops at St. Helena’s, Finglas Village, St Margaret’s Road, and Charlestown. The line will also interchange with bus and rail services, and the St. Margaret’s Road stop will include a 350-vehicle park and ride, close to the M50 and M2 interchange.