A more detailed plan is needed for the proposed new MetroLink South service, according to Fianna Fail.

Deputy Jim O'Callaghan for Dublin Bay South raised a proposal to scrap the plans along with the party's Dublin spokesperson John Lahart TD in the Dáil last week.

They claim the proposal will have a detrimental impact on homeowners and residents in the area, and would cause lengthy disruption to the LUAS line.

Thousands of submissions were received by the National Transport Authority in response to a public consultation.

Deputy O'Callaghan said the project will divide the community in two if it proceeds, placing residents on either side of a "high speed, noisy and constant rail link".

"I am relieved to learn today that that plan may very well now be abandoned," he commented. "Some 7,000 submissions were received by the National Transport Authority regarding the plan so it is quite obvious that this is a matter that has deeply frustrated those living in the areas most impacted.

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"A great deal of public money was once spent on delivering the LUAS Green Line which serves its passengers very well. Of course it is not without its faults but to tear it up entirely in order to pave a way for a poorly drafted proposal that sought to divide our local area would have been very rash.

"The fact that this ill-considered plan could be taken off the table means that there may be a welcome opportunity to draw up a better, more environmentally friendly MetroLink plan for South Dublin and this time, in proper consultation with the public."

"This plan does not capture any new passengers that are not already served by Red or Green line LUAS services and neither does it relieve the commuter difficulties faced on a daily basis by tens of thousands of South Dubliners," added Dublin South West TD and Dublin Spokesperson, John Lahart.

"Vast swathes of the southside are without a single rail link at present. The fact that the MetroLink southside plan entirely ignores densely populated areas such as Rathfarnham, Templeogue and Firhouse makes it difficult to see how this could have even been flogged as a Metro for the south in the first place.

"Spending on public transport infrastructure ought to be democratically distributed- doubling down on an existing rail link never made when huge deficits continue to remain. I have previously called for both LUAS lines to be merged and connected to the city centre and now is the time for that to be properly examined.

"For the obvious reasons I would be pleased if this plan is scrapped so that I could strongly advocate for a MetroLink/LUAS plan that actually benefits the majority of commuters in South County Dublin," Deputy Lahart concluded.

(JG/MH)