A judicial review filed against the long awaited MetroLink has sparked a backlash from both government and a public fed up with delays. Ministers are treading carefully, defending the right to object while clearly hoping the residents of Dublin's leafiest of leafy suburbs back down. Will this be a short planning skirmish or a defining infrastructure war?

Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, and Jane Matthews look at why this case has touched a nerve and what comes next.

Also: a shift in tone and policy on migration raises questions about what’s driving the government’s tougher stance. Public pressure or EU alignment?