TRANSPORT MINISTER DARRAGH O’Brien has urged the company that has sought a legal challenge against the Luas extension to Finglas to reflect on the matter. 

Speaking to The Journal in a wide-ranging interview today, the minister confirmed that mediation is underway with the plaintiffs in the Luas Finglas case, Firethorn Limited and Manhattan Peanuts, which has been based in Finglas since the 1970s.

The objection to this project comes just weeks after a separate application for a judicial review was lodged against MetroLink.

The High Court has granted permission for that legal challenge by south Dublin residents to proceed.

The High Court lists the plaintiffs in the Luas Finglas case as Firethorn Limited and Manhattan Peanuts. Company filings show Firethorn and Manhattan Peanuts are related firms.

As with other objectors to big transport projects, the minister asked for the companies to reflect on the matter, as the Luas extension will server about 56,000 homes in the area. 

The Luas Finglas project is “pretty much ready to go”, the minister said, adding that if the legal challenge to the project is withdrawn, the project could go out to tender next year. 

O’Brien said he is “really anxious” to see the work get underway that will link Broombridge to Finglas, highlighting also the park and ride facilities.

“So that is being mediated, that JR [judicial review]…. I would like us to be able to work that through with them, and I think it can, and we’ll be positive about that,” said the minister.

“If that can be dispensed with, we can get out, start tendering this next year, in 2026. So you could be starting work on that, all things being equal, in 2027, so that would be three years sooner than the last NDP [National Development Plan].

The planned Luas extension to Finglas. TII TII

Earlier this week, in a statement to The Journal, Manhattan Peanuts said it welcomed the proposed Luas extension and had engaged with TII in good faith, but the approved plans would remove access to its current entrance on St Margaret’s Road and lead to the compulsory purchase of lands where it currently has operations and had planned to further expand.

Managing Director Don O’Neill said: “Our involvement in this legal process does not oppose the Luas extension. Instead, it relates to a very specific and limited concern regarding the scale of land proposed to be taken from our rear yard – land which, in our view, is not required for the delivery or operation of the Luas extension and would result in unnecessary cost to the taxpayer.”

“We have repeatedly asked TII to reconsider the extent of land acquisition so that Manhattan Peanuts can continue to operate safely and effectively from its existing site, protecting local jobs and the long-term viability of a Finglas-based business that has served the community for almost five decades,” O’Neill said.

Manhattan Peanuts added that the timeline for the project meant there is “time and scope” for a solution to be found.

At the end of last month, the government signed off on plans to speed up the delivery of infrastructure projects, which are currently held up in the judicial review process. 

Judicial reviews are cases taken by citizens or groups to the High Court. In recent years, such cases have been used to challenge decisions made by An Bord Pleanála on large-scale property developments around the country.

Last month, Taoiseach Michéal Martin said judicial reviews are “killing us” when it comes to building major infrastructure in this country.

There has been widespread condemnation of the judicial review taken by 20 Ranelagh residents over the Dublin Metro, however some of which have withdrawn their objections, which is something the minister said that he welcomed.