Labour TD Robert Dowds has urged Iaranród Éireann to speed up the process of getting the Kishogue Railway Station in Lucan opened to the public, saying that having a brand new railway station lying idle for over two years was "an appalling waste of taxpayers money."

The station is very close to the location of several multi-national companies, including Pfizer, Microsoft and in the near future, Google.

"Construction of Kishogue station was completed in December 2009, yet the station has yet to take a single passenger. I understand that there is a problem with a property developer in financial difficulty owning a plot of land that was supposed to be used for a car park and that, bizarrely, the car park must be constructed before the train station can open. Though Iarnród Éireann is working to resolve the issue and will make a compulsory purchase within 6 month if necessary, they should have proceeded with a CPO long ago.

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"Regardless of the circumstances, it is totally unacceptable and a complete waste of taxpayers money to have a newly constructed railway station lying idle for over two years. I urge Iarnród Éireann to speed up the process of sorting out the problem. With so many large multi-nationals in the vicinity of the station, one would think that this problem would have been solved long ago. The sooner the station can start taking passengers, the better for commuters, for Iarnród Éireann and for the economy.

"As with many problems affecting the country, this one also involves a developer and the question of land ownership. It also has all the hallmarks of bad planning, as the station itself is not easily accessible from the main residential estates in the area. If it had been planned properly, there would have been housing estates near to the railway line, with easy access to the city centre."

(CD)