In the 2000’s we built an entire intercity motorway network in just 10 years. It was all done on time and on budget!
Did we have unions back in 1925?
Not even fair to call it “the Dublin metro”… It’s a half of one line!
It’s simple, just build a more modest infrastructure project, but act like it’s a megaproject, and then you can say you’re not incapable of megaprojects.
See example: DART+
I object.
How many objections were there to Ardnacrusha? I bet there was not a huge queue of people looking to get paid big money like there is for the metro being constructed near them.
I think things have changed though. I doubt there was a whole section of society waiting for any mistake at any point in the project so that they could drag them through the wringer for months on end. Personally, I think the way we go after anyone who signs anything without a mountain of paperwork behind them is why we can get nothing more than producing a mountain of paperwork done.
National Broadband Plan on target to be completed in 2028, getting electricity to the full Island took the majority 20th century
Yes but now we need planning for the plan and permission for the permission and objections and consulting and palm greasing and …
Forget metro, is the children hospital done by now?
There are many reasons why, and obviously things aren’t black and white, but a large problem is that there are middlemen at every step of these government projects who have to take their own cut and do them in their own time, and they then delegate it to someone else, or their company, or whatever. It’s probably typical of many countries nowadays. I know Germany has become like that of recent. Also, I don’t know if this is still true, but Ireland was the only capital city in the EU that didn’t have a metro to its main airport. The train to Navan was stopped halfway so that the M3 could pay for itself and was never finished. And it was the local TD, Noel Dempsey, who was responsible for it. Edit: I meant to say the only capital apart from Bratislava, which is saying something.
Dev threatened to Nationalise the banks here, when they were reluctant to lend the money to the Free State government for the dam project. I believe the banks were still on the British sentiment and hadn’t bought into the new reality of an Irish state.
I’m rather unsure if construction will be started by 2035
But Main Street’s still all cracked and broken
Siemens built Ardnacrusha for us.
The fact they even started is better than the rest of us have. My commuter train is full to the brim every single day with standing passengers
Shit, did they actually say 2035? At least I might be in my 30’s when it happens instead of my 90’s – I’m pleasantly shocked by their optimism, however misplaced it may be…..
Love how something that exists in most cities of Dublin’s size is considered a “Megaproject”…
As someone who routinely works on infrastructure projects I’d say from my perspective the main problem is technical standards and planning requirements. Every year there are new EU standards, and the local authorities then sprinkle further ones on top that may be contradictory but whose requirements must also be met. These are hundreds of pages long for each design aspect and even with an infinite timeline you’re going to be contradicting some points.
Design work used to be very undemanding stuff got finessed on site or was just done badly. Now everything has to be documented up the wazoo and coordinated with every other parties input so it turns a weeks long job into a months long job. To be honest it’s more annoying than it is lucrative it’s not like most engineers are terrifically overpaid. At the end of the day you have to empower capable people to do a job not micro manage every nut and bolt because all the separate disciplines have become so technically convoluted now it’s not like the people overseeing it are likely to know what’s wrong anyway.
Bring back WT Cosgrave?
Some other more grim comparisons.
– Bogota Colombia is scheduled to open their metro in 2028. This is nation still under civil war and far poorer than ireland. Y
– Warsaw opened a new line of their metro back in 2008 despite being considerably less well off than Ireland.
– We are the only nation in Europe along with Slovakia (an Alpine nation) that have no metro system.
– Thessaloniki Metro just opened a few months ago. Despite living in one of the densest archaeological sites ever dug and routinely spotting every couple of meters for a new Roman/Greek/Byantine ruin.
– Romania just started construction for a new line in 2023.
The answer is a sheer lack of political will and complacency. If Colombia can do it faster than us, what else is the explanation? Our politicians are an absolute disgrace.
It’s true. The infant Irish state was less risk adverse, had greater ambition, and trusted young people far more.
I think the chief designer for Dublin Airport original terminal was only 26!
I was listening to an economist yesterday say he thinks UK house prices will double in the next 10 years not because they are unable to meet building demands, but because they haven’t got enough infrastructure like reservoirs to cater for the increases in housing.
what do you reckon changed
I’m always amazed that somehow this country managed to construct the port tunnel. It’s been a while since I read the wiki but I’m sure it went over budget and took longer than expected, but the objections must’ve been immense
Anything stopping us draining the canals and dropping an underground in there…. save the hassle of tunnelling. The Canals are in desperate need of restoration as it is.
Ram in 2 underground and link it with an overground along the M50 then expand the luas as links to serve the areas outside the canals
The Greeks are just finished in Athens… surely they could pop over and get it done.
Ardnacrusha would never have got off the ground now, esp with environmental issues.
Also now every bollix objecting to things hundreds of miles away from them not impacting their lives at all.
On the other hand, the labourers for ardnacrusha lived in accommodations not much better than pigstyes, sometimes actual pigstyes.
Next to no “health and safety”, for megaprojects back in the day there would be factored in an acceptable X number of deaths through the course of works, unthinkable now.
27 comments
In the 2000’s we built an entire intercity motorway network in just 10 years. It was all done on time and on budget!
Did we have unions back in 1925?
Not even fair to call it “the Dublin metro”… It’s a half of one line!
It’s simple, just build a more modest infrastructure project, but act like it’s a megaproject, and then you can say you’re not incapable of megaprojects.
See example: DART+
I object.
How many objections were there to Ardnacrusha? I bet there was not a huge queue of people looking to get paid big money like there is for the metro being constructed near them.
I think things have changed though. I doubt there was a whole section of society waiting for any mistake at any point in the project so that they could drag them through the wringer for months on end. Personally, I think the way we go after anyone who signs anything without a mountain of paperwork behind them is why we can get nothing more than producing a mountain of paperwork done.
National Broadband Plan on target to be completed in 2028, getting electricity to the full Island took the majority 20th century
Yes but now we need planning for the plan and permission for the permission and objections and consulting and palm greasing and …
Forget metro, is the children hospital done by now?
There are many reasons why, and obviously things aren’t black and white, but a large problem is that there are middlemen at every step of these government projects who have to take their own cut and do them in their own time, and they then delegate it to someone else, or their company, or whatever. It’s probably typical of many countries nowadays. I know Germany has become like that of recent. Also, I don’t know if this is still true, but Ireland was the only capital city in the EU that didn’t have a metro to its main airport. The train to Navan was stopped halfway so that the M3 could pay for itself and was never finished. And it was the local TD, Noel Dempsey, who was responsible for it. Edit: I meant to say the only capital apart from Bratislava, which is saying something.
Dev threatened to Nationalise the banks here, when they were reluctant to lend the money to the Free State government for the dam project. I believe the banks were still on the British sentiment and hadn’t bought into the new reality of an Irish state.
I’m rather unsure if construction will be started by 2035
But Main Street’s still all cracked and broken
Siemens built Ardnacrusha for us.
The fact they even started is better than the rest of us have. My commuter train is full to the brim every single day with standing passengers
Shit, did they actually say 2035? At least I might be in my 30’s when it happens instead of my 90’s – I’m pleasantly shocked by their optimism, however misplaced it may be…..
Love how something that exists in most cities of Dublin’s size is considered a “Megaproject”…
As someone who routinely works on infrastructure projects I’d say from my perspective the main problem is technical standards and planning requirements. Every year there are new EU standards, and the local authorities then sprinkle further ones on top that may be contradictory but whose requirements must also be met. These are hundreds of pages long for each design aspect and even with an infinite timeline you’re going to be contradicting some points.
Design work used to be very undemanding stuff got finessed on site or was just done badly. Now everything has to be documented up the wazoo and coordinated with every other parties input so it turns a weeks long job into a months long job. To be honest it’s more annoying than it is lucrative it’s not like most engineers are terrifically overpaid. At the end of the day you have to empower capable people to do a job not micro manage every nut and bolt because all the separate disciplines have become so technically convoluted now it’s not like the people overseeing it are likely to know what’s wrong anyway.
Bring back WT Cosgrave?
Some other more grim comparisons.
– Bogota Colombia is scheduled to open their metro in 2028. This is nation still under civil war and far poorer than ireland. Y
– Warsaw opened a new line of their metro back in 2008 despite being considerably less well off than Ireland.
– We are the only nation in Europe along with Slovakia (an Alpine nation) that have no metro system.
– Thessaloniki Metro just opened a few months ago. Despite living in one of the densest archaeological sites ever dug and routinely spotting every couple of meters for a new Roman/Greek/Byantine ruin.
– Romania just started construction for a new line in 2023.
The answer is a sheer lack of political will and complacency. If Colombia can do it faster than us, what else is the explanation? Our politicians are an absolute disgrace.
It’s true. The infant Irish state was less risk adverse, had greater ambition, and trusted young people far more.
I think the chief designer for Dublin Airport original terminal was only 26!
I was listening to an economist yesterday say he thinks UK house prices will double in the next 10 years not because they are unable to meet building demands, but because they haven’t got enough infrastructure like reservoirs to cater for the increases in housing.
what do you reckon changed
I’m always amazed that somehow this country managed to construct the port tunnel. It’s been a while since I read the wiki but I’m sure it went over budget and took longer than expected, but the objections must’ve been immense
Anything stopping us draining the canals and dropping an underground in there…. save the hassle of tunnelling. The Canals are in desperate need of restoration as it is.
Ram in 2 underground and link it with an overground along the M50 then expand the luas as links to serve the areas outside the canals
The Greeks are just finished in Athens… surely they could pop over and get it done.
Ardnacrusha would never have got off the ground now, esp with environmental issues.
Also now every bollix objecting to things hundreds of miles away from them not impacting their lives at all.
On the other hand, the labourers for ardnacrusha lived in accommodations not much better than pigstyes, sometimes actual pigstyes.
Next to no “health and safety”, for megaprojects back in the day there would be factored in an acceptable X number of deaths through the course of works, unthinkable now.
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