The Government fears a series of judicial reviews could severely delay the Luas light rail system in Dublin. The prospect of major deferrals in construction increased yesterday when the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, acknowledged it was "just a nonsense" for anybody to claim the plan could happen by 2002.
In 1993 he received Government, EU, Departmental and City Council approval for the port tunnel route and "five years on we haven't turned a sod because of the public inquiry mechanisms and the democratic objections of small groups of people", Mr Ahern added.
He rejected suggestions that expert geological data and information did not exist regarding Dublin's underground structure. A "huge amount of work" was already done in the preparation of the proposed port tunnel.
Meanwhile, the next general election was "irrelevant in the context of the future of my city", he said.
The political row that followed the announcement by the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, on Tuesday night continued in the Dail yesterday. The Leas Ceann Comhairle, Dr Rory O'Hanlon, expelled the Green MP, Mr John Gormley, from the chamber.
According to Mr Gormley, when he tried to return to make a contribution on the EMU debate, he was told he could not go inside. ail business was unfair, Mr Gormley said he was merely seeking clarification on a point of order and had been "far less voluble" than some of his parliamentary colleagues.
Continuing to harry the Government, the Opposition claimed Ms O'Rourke had, last November, stated categorically she would adopt the recommendations of the W.S. Atkins report.
But following a Fine Gael front bench meeting, the party's public enterprise spokesman, Mr Ivan Yates, said the cost of Luas, put at £400 million "plus" by the Minister, would be closer to £800 million.
According to Mr Alan Shatter of Fine Gael, the Luas decision raised serious constitutional and judicial issues not addressed by the Government. The public inquiry chaired by Judge Sean O'Leary derived its authority from the legislation specially passed by the Oireachtas for the Luas project. The judge's role was to furnish a report and the Minister must then exercise "quasi-judicial functions in making final determinations about the project route".
"The Minister, by her action of recent days, has seriously prejudiced her quasi-judicial role and has acted in a manner that is in violation of her Ministerial role under the relevant legislation," Mr Shatter said.
Following demands that she define "plus" in her estimates of the financial aspects, the Minister said "plus means extra" but gave no further details of costings.
Ms O'Rourke said she was not subjected to any undue pressure or lobbying in an attempt to get her to include an underground section in the scheme.
"I was left very much to make up my own mind. I get letters all the time from residents and some from business, for and against, but it [lobbying] was at a minimum," she said.
The Luas controversy has led to embarrassment within the Labour Party as the leadership distanced itself from the comments of its public enterprise spokesman, Mr Emmet Stagg.
During his trenchant criticism of the revised project, Mr Stagg said it was "inconceivable" that Labour would enter coalition after the next election with any party committed to the latest expanded plan.
Labour sources last night indicated that the matter may be raised at today meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party and that Mr Stagg did not have leadership approval when he made his comments.