THE DIRECTOR OF Metrolink has said the government is likely to pay more than €30 million to buy homes in Dartmouth Square in south Dublin as part of a deal to see a judicial review withdrawn.

An application for a judicial review of An Coimisiún Pleanála’s decision to grant permission to the project had been lodged by a number of residents of the south Dublin suburbs near where the €9.5bn project will have a terminus at Charlemont.

There were 20 people listed in the case against the planning board’s decision, with many of the objectors residents of leafy Dartmouth Square.

However, it emerged on Christmas Eve that Transport Infrastructure Ireland had struck a deal whereby the homes would be sold to clear the way for development for Metrolink.

Speaking today, Metrolink Programme Director Seán Sweeney said it’s a “no brainer” to purchase the homes as the judicial review “could have delayed the project for easily one to two years”.

He said the cost “could be easily north of €30m” and will depend on how many people decide to take up the option to sell.

Sweeney told RTÉ’s News at One that he expects Metrolink to buy between 10 and 15 of the Dartmouth Square homes.

“What we’re giving people is the option for us to purchase their houses, and they can exercise that option in the next two years,” he said.

Sweeney added that the value of each of the homes will be “independently assessed” as part of a “fair and transparent way of assessing the value”.

Sweeney said that the sites can later be sold on and will likely have increased in value following the completion of the sales.

However, the first trains are not expected to be on the tracks until “sometime in the mid 2030s”, Sweeney added.

The homes back on to the proposed station at Charlemont, which is to see a 19-kilometre line will run up to Swords. This will include stops at Dublin Airport, Dublin City University and the Mater Hospital.