TII treatment of residents and sports clubs completely unacceptable – Rock

Fine Gael Dublin North West TD Noel Rock is putting together a coalition of sports groups and residents to campaign against their homes and properties being demolished for the proposed Metrolink.

Deputy Rock today revealed that a document outlining exactly which residential properties would be affected by the Dublin rail project disappeared from Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) website this morning (Friday) – after a number of residents had not been contacted about the possible compulsory purchase order of their homes to facilitate the mammoth transport project.

Deputy Rock said: “This is completely unacceptable. Thursday’s launch of Metrolink should have been a great day for the Northside but instead we now have a fresh round of upset stakeholders.

“Yesterday  I met with the Project Director of the new Metro project and urged him to find a solution to this matter which would not involve ripping up Na Fianna’s pitches. Today, I have launched a coalition with local residents and businesses to attempt to organise a campaign to put a halt to same.

“The revelation that Na Fianna would be torn up was startling, but what was even more utterly disappointing was the unacceptable treatment of Na Fianna as a stakeholder – where they were only informed on a bank holiday Friday by phone call, some three days before the announcement was made public.

“This latest revelation involving the disrespect of home owners along the route is further unacceptable treatment.

“If this project is to succeed – and an improved transport system is much needed across the northside of Dublin – they need to find a way of amending this route slightly to prevent TII from tearing the heart out of the community,” Deputy Rock said.