Greens set out plans for Dublin in election bid

With 8 of their 12 TDs based in Dublin, Dublin was the main focus of the Greens’ election launch.

Launching their manifesto on Tuesday, the party, which has served in coalition with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael since 2020, said they would start construction on the Metrolink, the Luas to Finglas, extend the DART+ program to Wicklow town and design Luas extensions for Lucan, Poolbeg and Bray.

The party said they would complete the roll out of the Dublin BusConnects network should they get back into government, saying it would build the 12 bus corridors that re now emerging from planning and further advance the cycle and greenway network in Dublin.

“There is no reason why we cannot follow the examples of cities in the Netherlands, Denmark and France, which are showing how urban mobility in less car-dominated cities can work,” the manifesto read.

The manifesto said they would look to complete the introduction of a new city centre traffic management plan that has already started along the quays, which they said would “transform the environment right across the city centre.”

With most parties promising infrastructure spending of some sort, the Greens said they would look to start construction on the long-delayed Metrolink as well as the extension of the Luas line to Finglas.

Notably, the party said they would design Luas extensions out to Lucan, Poolbeg and Bray.

“All of these projects in Dublin will be critical for the development of the capital,” the party said.

With public transport serving as the party’s signature policy, they also pledged to hire more Bus Eireann and Dublin Bus drivers.

In terms of policy, the party has notably called for a directly-elected mayor of Dublin and for the Dublin City Centre Taskforce to be fully enacted.

“However, our country will not reach its maximum potential if all of the major development is focused on the east coast, and we don’t have similar investment plans for our other cities,” they added.

“We need to advance similar metropolitan rail, bus, and cycleway plans in each of our other main cities, which can provide a stimulus for ‘transport led development’ so that large scale and high-quality housing can be built close to public transport links.”

Party leader Roderic O’Gorman said “if look at the record of this government, it’s the Green Party that has been the active ingredient throughout. We’ve been the driver of change over the last four and a half years. We’ve delivered real benefits for families, delivered lower emissions, protected nature, delivered unprecedented investment in transport, delivered reductions in child care costs.”