MetroLink looks to buy over 100 Dublin homes ahead of construction

Transport Infrastructure Ireland aims to have the process concluded by the end of June.

Talks have begun between MetroLink officials and some affected homeowners, with compulsory purchase orders also being issued to some city-centre homes owned by Dublin City Council.

Many affected residents are concerned over their ability to secure comparable accommodation in the capital due to the increasing lack of supply.

According to the Sunday Independent, plans to purchase the College Gate apartment complex on Townsend Street in Dublin city centre are progressing.

The building, which is home to 70 apartments, is believed to be being demolished to facilitate the Tara MetroLink station. 

Conversations with the building's residents are expected to take around two months, with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) aiming to conclude the process by the end of June to allow for excavation works in the second half of 2027.

Several apartment owners are being represented by BC Law, the same firm which struck a deal with TII shortly before Christmas over the attempted purchase of a terrace of red-brick homes on Dartmouth Square in Ranelagh, Dublin 6.

Furthermore, compulsory purchase orders have been issued to eight homes owned by Dublin City Council on Townsend Street, while MetroLink and TII are also in the early stages of acquiring approximately 50 units at Dalcassian Downs in Glasnevin.

These units are located near proposed stations and therefore will likely be purchased under MetroLink’s voluntary purchase scheme to acquire homes which are at risk of direct impact by tunnelling and/or construction works.

Under the scheme, homeowners would likely be offered the market value of their property as well as having their legal fees covered.

Separately, homeowners affected by compulsory purchase orders will also be entitled to receive the market value of their home as well as compensation for the cost of finding alternative accommodation, adapting their new home if they have additional needs, and to help with removals, setting up utilities and other expenses associated with moving.

Speaking to the Sunday Independent, Labour TD Marie Sherlock commented: “It is clear to me and the homeowners living in the apartments next to the construction work that it will be next to impossible to buy or rent somewhere comparable in the Glasnevin area.”

A spokeswoman for MetroLink said every effort is being made to minimise impacts on residential properties, though in some cases the company will need to acquire homes.