Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald TD has challenged Taoiseach Micheál Martin in the Dáil over escalating MetroLink costs, cautioning the project could turn into "another National Children’s Hospital" unless the government publishes the true price and sets out a definitive plan for Dublin's historic Carlton site.

She told Micheál Martin that the public has learned more than €354m has already been spent before construction begins, with the total bill expected to rise well beyond earlier estimates.

McDonald raised the issue after confirmation that the State has paid more than €80m to acquire the former Carlton site on O’Connell Street, noting that Transport Infrastructure Ireland has now taken ownership of the property.

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She said: "People are entitled to know where this ends. We have already seen the National Children’s Hospital become synonymous with spiralling costs and repeated overruns. The government must ensure MetroLink does not follow the same disastrous path.

"The Carlton site occupies one of the most historically significant locations in our capital, at the heart of the 1916 historic Revolutionary Quarter.

"It is welcome that Transport Infrastructure Ireland has acquired the Carlton site. The State should now acquire the remainder including Moore Street/Moore Lane/Henry Place sites.

"This must become the catalyst for the long-promised regeneration of Dublin's north inner city. It must protect the integrity of the Moore Street battlefield, create a vibrant cultural and historical quarter and deliver the genuinely affordable homes that local communities have been waiting for over many years.

"Dubliners deserve regeneration, homes and heritage protection – not another blank cheque for a project whose costs continue to spiral."