|
McGrath calls for action on Tunnel |
|
Sunday, 28 September 2008 20:42 |
Independent TD for Dublin North Central, Finian McGrath, has called for the immediate closure of the Dublin Port Tunnel and the replacement of the clearly defective Scada system in it.
Deputy McGrath said: “Since the first boreholes were drilled in 1996 causing damage to adjacent houses in Marino, this tunnel project has caused nothing but a litany of disasters and systematic failures at enormous expense to the taxpayers, both in the construction phase and the running of the tunnel since it opened. In the past year on three occasions, RTE’s Primetime programme has highlighted serious problems with the tunnel’s Scada system and the safety and operation procedures. The NRA and the company who operate the tunnel have chosen to either ignore or deny these critical flaws and deficiencies.”
“The tunnel is a major catastrophe waiting to happen. Any fire or collision involving trucks carrying fuels or chemicals could result in an explosion, which in the confined space of the tunnel would have calamitous consequences both for drivers in there at the time, and also those people living above. Over 300 houses have been damaged since drilling first began. Residents continue to report exacerbated and new damage caused by continued subsidence and fault lines created beneath their homes. They live in constant fear that the tunnel could cause a complete collapse of their houses”
McGrath also believes that there should be an investigation into whoever is responsible for the selection, design and installation of the defective Scada system in the tunnel and that they should be made bear the cost of it’s replacement at no expense to the taxpayer. He is also raising it with the Minister for Transport.
|
Leave a comment