DART station lift is “like something out of a horror movie”

Frustration is growing among residents of Clongriffin, Baldoyle and Myrtle, after the issue of the broken lift at the Clongriffin DART station has yet to be resolved.

A “temporary” structure giving access to Clongriffin Dart Station for Baldoyle residents was built over 13 years ago in Myrtle, The Coast, but has remained untouched since then, and in recent weeks the lift has stopped working altogether.

The structure is residents’ only access to the DART station and has fallen into massive disrepair.

Elaine Verdon, Chairperson of Myrtle The Coast Residents Association, said using the structure was “like something out of a horror movie”, and has invited Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan to “see for himself” what local residents have to endure.

Speaking to Northside People, Verdon said that the issue has “gotten worse” in recent weeks, and with the return of local schools and winter weather drawing in, she says a lack of progress on the issue is “not acceptable.” 

The lift has been out of order for over 2 weeks, and Verdon said that this is having a significant impact on people with visible and invisible disabilities in the local area, as well as those with buggies. 

Verdon claims there are no signs or indications that the lift is out of order, forcing people with limited mobility or sight issues to make alternative arrangements to navigate the station.

“Nothing has gotten better since we first raised the issue,” she said, and has expressed frustration at Iarnród Éireann for their lack of urgency on the issue.

“It simply isn’t good enough that this situation is happening in 2023.”

She noted that residents from Clongriffin, Baldoyle and Myrtle have expressed frustration with the issue, and compared using the station to a game of Russian Roulette.

“If the issue with the lift was addressed when we first raised the issue all those years ago and it wasn’t allowed to deteriorate into the state it is today, we would not be having this problem” she stated.

“We are not asking for a lot,” she noted.

At present, the structure is being operated by Richmond Homes, as the structure is part of the land owned by the organisation.

Richmond Homes, who are developing 2,000 homes in the Baldoyle area, have indicated it could be another 2 or 3 weeks before the issue is resolved.

Verdon said she “could not believe” that planning permission was granted when such a vital piece of infrastructure was left in such a precarious state, and 

Local Councillor Joan Hopkins of the Social Democrats said “our government has a legal and moral obligation to provide universal access under the EU for people with disabilities to our public transport.”

“We have climate change targets that rely on people living near public transport to choose it over private cars, but people in Baldoyle have been effectively cut off from accessing their local dart station.”

Hopkins said the issue was due to “decades of underinvestment and weak planning laws by the current government. It’s not good enough and people here are no longer prepared to tolerate it.”

A petition started by local residents in June has amassed over 2,600 signatures, and the petition calls for the structure to be taken over by Iarnród Éireann as well as the replacement of the “temporary” structure.

The issue was raised in the Dáil by Dublin Bay North TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, who said “if you were to visit it, you would absolutely agree with me that it is not sustainable what’s happening. When you come to a point that you’ve been campaigning for something for five years, you come to the conclusion that those overseeing it just don’t care – we need to find someone who cares to take over.”

“You have children, people with vision and mobility issues, elderly people, and people who feel vulnerable, and therefore their access to public transport is being curtailed and no one is a winner.”

Fianna Fáil TD Niall Collins said that the requests were “quite right and justified,” and would raise the issue with the Minister for Housing and Minister for Transport.

He said the situation was “far from satisfactory,” but now that the issue is in the Dáil record, more can be done to tackle the issue.

The issue was first raised in the Dáil in January 2022 by Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan, and at the time Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan said he would follow up on the matter with the National Transport Authority, which seemingly failed to materalise.