Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said yesterday that his party will not be going around to every cross roads and promise a railway station or hospital.

He was responding to a question from Newstalk presenter Ivan Yates on the proposed Metro North light railway between Dublin and Swords.

Gilmore said: “This is a very different election. This is not going to be an election where the Labour Party is going to go around to every cross roads in the country and promise a railway station here or a hospital there or whatever the case might be.”

The Labour Party told Dublin Observer today that it is its policy to “strongly support” Metro North but it would be unwise to proceed without all of the facts.

“We recognise that it is an enormous construction project that has long-term benefits for public transport and for development in Dublin. However in the current economic climate, given the enormous damage that Fianna Fail has inflicted on the economy and on the public finances, it would be extremely unwise to give a blank cheque to the Metro North project without all the facts in our possession,” said Dermot O’Gara at the Labour Party press office.

He said the party wants a clear and transparent cost-benefit analysis to be undertaken before a final decision can be made.

The business cases released to date have key cost figures blacked out. Estimates for the project range from €5 billion, a number of years ago, to €2.5 billion leaked by government sources to a newspaper recently.

The Department of Transport, the National Transport Authority and the Railway Procurement Agency all say that the cost of the project will not be released before final bids have been made by the two groups of companies looking to build and run Metro North.

Eamon Gilmore yesterday said the railway line would be reviewed and repeated that the party wants focus on the projects which will deliver the most employment.

“We would do a complete review of the National Development Plan and we will bring forward those projects which are capable of delivering employment in the immediate term. We have already said that Metro is one of the projects that we are going to revisit and relook at,” said Gilmore.

Although, the Railway Procurement Agency says the metro line construction is expected to create 4,000 direct construction jobs and thousands more indirect jobs over the years of construction.

The redacted business case for the line says that when ‘spin off’ jobs are included, “Metro North is expected to generate approximately 6,000 jobs during the three years of peak construction, and in excess of 3,000 during the remaining years.” Construction is expected to last around five years.

Those against Metro North say that most of the jobs will go to foreign companies. However, supporters say that — as with the Dublin Port Tunnel – normal construction workers would get the bulk of jobs created, even many of the specialised workers are already living in the country, and nearly as many jobs could be created in the wider economy.

As we reported recently, more advanced enabling works are due to start within months and the RPA are to seek permission for a new depot location in April after its original location was rejected. Monuments are due to be removed from O’Connell Street as part of the enabling works.

For Breakfast on Newstalk’s interview with Eamon Gilmore in full, click below (new window pops up):

One of the main Dublin business groups has welcomed the approval of Metro North.

An Bord Pleanala yesterday gave the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) approval for the segregated light railway line from St Stephens Green to Swords via Dublin Airport.

Fine Gael transport spokesman Simon Coveney also welcomed the approval for Metro North. But he warned that there was an ‘information deficit’ about the project’s business plan.

“For some time Fine Gael has been in favour, in principle, of the Metro North project. It makes sense to dramatically upgrade public transport infrastructure on the northside of the city,” said Coveney.

Costs

He said he looked forward to the RPA publishing the business plan which says the project will generate €2 for every euro spent.

“At such a critical time for the economy, it is essential that taxpayers know exactly how much major projects will cost, and what they will gain from them. At this moment, we have only limited information about the project. We need an honest discussion as to whether we can afford it, even under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) structure,” said Coveney.

The RPA said today that a PPP deal could be finalised by the end of next year. However, it said it wanted to start works on diversion of utilities in the city centre and heritage works in March 2011. The Government have yet to give the final go-ahead for the project.

See more details of how Metro North is planned to be paid for here.

Conditions

Giving approval, An Bord Pleanala attached a number of conditions. The most significant change is that the metro route would go no further than Swords.

The conditions imposed means two stops – Lissenhall and Belinstown – will now be removed from the plans. It is proposed that a new park and ride be placed close to the planned Estuary Stop, between the Estuary Roundabout and the N1 interchange north of Swords. The planned depot will also be relocated from Belinstown to the open land between Dublin Airport and the M50 around where Metro North is planned to link with Metro West.

Disruption

“The Dublin business community welcomes today’s decision as it provides clarity on how Metro North will be built,” said Gina Quin, chief executive of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

She added: “We would now call for the RPA to invest in a high profile marketing campaign to communicate this to the general public and key stakeholders as there has been a lot of discussion about the project. It is vital that people understand what changes will be in place and ultimately how Metro North will improve the city.”

Only a small section of Dublin businesses have been against Metro North, most has just called for strict traffic management arraignments.

An Bord Pleanala said that it acknowledged the construction phase of the proposed development would result in serious impacts on the Dublin region, but it said, “It was considered that such impacts were an inevitable consequence of the scale and nature of the project and that the applicant had demonstrated that comprehensive mitigation measures would be employed.”

It said: “The Board accepted that the long term benefits of the scheme would outweigh the short term impacts due to construction.”

Dublin City Council said that the city would remain open at all times for all activates.

Need for infrastructure

“A public transport friendly city is a key feature of the top performing cities in Europe. Therefore infrastructure such as Metro North is crucial for Dublin’s future economic growth. We have the opportunity to develop the most modern system in Europe within five years. It is value for money and funding is structured in an affordable way,” John Tierney, manager of Dublin City Council.

Ciaran Cuffe, the Minister of State for Sustainable Transport, pointed out that over the construction period there are due to be 4,000 direct construction jobs created as well as 2,000 indirect jobs.

“Metro North, a vital piece of infrastructure; ten years in the planning, will benefit the city of Dublin and its inhabitants for generations to come. It represents integrated transport and land-use planning. I am now hopeful that the Government will give final approval to the project so that the works can proceed without delay,” said Cuffe.

Gina Quin of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce added: “Failing to address our sub-standard transport infrastructure with the proper capital investment will only benefit our competitors. The delivery of Metro North is essential to Dublin in attracting international business.”

Quin said: “We have an inadequate public transport system as people are still choosing to drive to the city centre. The project will lead to improved commuting times for the capital’s workforce to the city centre and the surrounding Greater Dublin area.”

6PM UPDATE: Repairs are now complete on the burst Watermain at Marrowbone Lane.

The city council said: “No further updates will issue unless the situation changes… Recharging the network with water has commenced and normal supply should be restored to all areas over the course of the evening. ”

3PM UPDATE: Repairs are almost complete on the damaged watermain,  Dublin City Council has said.

After repairs are complete, the water network should return to normal in five hours, and supply should be as normal by this evening.

12.30PM UPDATE: Dublin City Council is deploying water tankers to areas affected by water shortages caused by a watermain burst.

The council said “in view of particular difficulties being experienced by people living in the Whitehall and Santry areas” that four water tankers will be at Our Lady of Victories Church, Ballymun Road; Swiss Cottage, Swords Road; Beaumont Stores, Beaumont Road; and Collinswood on Collins Avenue. People should bring their own containers.

It said that the tankers will be in place from 12.30pm, but there locations will be reviewed at 2pm depending on demand.

Working is ongoing on repairing the water pipe, at 12.30pm the council said it hopes to have the work complete this afternoon.

Discoloring of water in some areas is being called a temporary problem.

The council said: “As a result of using alternative routes to maintain supplies, many areas may be experiencing discoloured water; this is only a temporary problem and will clear as the situation returns to normal later today.”

It reports that there is a continued reduction in water pressure city wide, and the following areas of the city may have extremely low pressure with a high possibility of no water, until “approximately early evening”:

• South Circular Road from Adelaide Road to Kilmainham and surrounds.
• Baggot St Bridge to Leeson Street and surrounds
• Ballymun.
• Griffith Avenue, Collins Avenue and their surrounds, including Whitehall, Glasnevin, Drumcondra and Phibsboro.
• James Street and surrounds.
• Inchicore to Islandbridge and surrounds

IMAGE: Some rights reserved by malla_mi

Stream Global Services will create 425 technical support jobs, as reported over a week ago.  Stream is based in Santry, but the new jobs are to be based in Swords.

The company said it will invest €2.5 million in its new centre in the north Dublin town. The jobs are in technical support, covering 17 languages.

“Recruitment is commencing immediately and I am looking forward to getting the team established in our new dedicated media and entertainment centre in Swords,” said Martin Schoppler, country manager at Stream Ireland.

The jobs listing are available at http://careers.stream.com/.

Schoppler added: “With Ireland’s availability of highly qualified and skilled workers, we look forward to counting Dublin as a pivotal hub of our European presence.”

Stream provide customer and technical support and already employ 325 people in Santry. The company recently won a contract with Microsoft for tech support for the Xbox 360 games console in Europe. The investment is supported by IDA Ireland.

Chief executive of IDA Ireland, Barry O’Leary said: “This investment reinforces Ireland’s reputation as one of Europe’s leading locations for business services companies. This significant win for Ireland demonstrates that the country is well positioned to benefit from growth in the services sector globally. Today’s announcement by Stream builds on the thriving digital media and games industries in Ireland.”

The Irish Times reported this morning that Stream Global Services based in Santry are to create 400 jobs by the end the year.

Most of these are in technical support. Recruitment has begun, jobs are listed on the companies website at careers.stream.com and on jobs.ie.

Stream previously confirmed it would use it’s Santry offices for a contract it won with Microsoft to offer technical support  in 16 different languages for the Xbox 360 console (pictured).

The Irish Times also reported that networking site LinkedIn said it would add 35 finance positions to its planned international base in Dublin. See linkedin.com/jobs for more. The same newspaper reported, Irish banking software firm, Fenergo, are to create 33 jobs at EastPoint Business Park over the next three years.

Meanwhile, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation today said Spencer Stuart is to create 100 tech jobs in the next fives years. The firm is an executive search consultancy.

The department said the company are at present still looking for a premises in Dublin, but recruiting for the jobs immediately. Those wishing to apply for the IT positions at Spencer Stuart are advised to email irelandjobs@spencerstuart.com.

Announcing the jobs today, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Batt O’Keeffe said: “Shortly after taking office, I met senior Spencer Stuart executives in their Chicago offices where we discussed their business model and investment opportunities in Ireland”.

“Almost three months on, the Government is delighted to announce 100 jobs in Spencer Stuart and the firm is a welcome addition to Ireland’s thriving internationally traded services sector”.

IMAGE: Photo by Microsoft of the company’s redesigned Xbox 360 console.

The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) claimed today it is to “create more than 500 new jobs” at the soon-to-be opened Terminal Two.

However, the airport authority did not say how many of these “new jobs” are staff from the old Terminal One transferring to the new building. Calls to the DAA this afternoon went unanswered.

The Irish Independent recently reported that workers were opposing an offer from the authority to move 100 workers to the new terminal. The workers were being offered redundancy of up to €32,500 if they agreed to move to the new terminal, but pay rates offered for the new jobs were up to €20,000 per year less than the old jobs.

The DAA also claimed that 400 new jobs created by the retail and catering outlets, however only seems to be a prediction.

“We are delighted to have been given the go ahead to operate Terminal Two and will continue to focus on putting the customer first and operating T2 as efficiently as possible,” said DAA chief executive Declan Collier in a statement.

The authority said the recruitment process is now underway and that details are available at www.daa.ie or by telephoning 01 8955715.

The airport also said it is looking for volunteers to test the new terminal, details of this can be found here.

IMAGE: Dublin Airport Authority media centre.