The political furore sparked by the Government's announcement of an expanded Dublin light rail system is expected to spill over in the Dail today as the Opposition clamour for a debate on the matter.
Minutes after the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, had unveiled the plans following a marathon Cabinet meeting, non-Government parties denounced it as a shameful surrender to powerful vested interests.
The £400 million-plus project, with its 2.5 kilometres underground stretch in the city centre, was condemned as a mish-mash of the personal whims of individual Cabinet members - a clear reference to the Progressive Democrats, who favour an underground section.
According to Fine Gael's spokesman on public enterprise, Mr Ivan Yates, the Government had jettisoned a good plan for a pipe-dream with an illusory timeframe that was totally uncosted. What would have been completed by 2002 was now pushed back, potentially, to 2020. It was, he added, "one of the most ill-considered and poorly thought out decisions since this Government came to office" and one that ignored all the advise and reports available.
The party's transport spokeswoman, Ms Olivia Mitchell, said the Government had no geology study, no timeframe and no money to implement its plan. It was unclear why the Cabinet had come to this conclusion.
All the reports and agencies, such as Dublin Corporation, had favoured an on-street plan but this advice was dropped by the Cabinet, she added.
Strongly criticising the decision to put Luas underground, Labour's public enterprise spokesman, Mr Emmet Stagg, accused the Government of political cowardice. It was "a half-baked proposal, cobbled together".
"The Government is already engaged in a misleading spin exercise on this project. There is neither a costing or a timetable to extend the line to the north side of the city and the airport. The £400 million figure seems to have been plucked from nowhere."
According to the Atkins report, the cost of the short tunnel in addition to the proposed phase one lines, was almost £400 million on its own. He asked when would the Minister present her cost "plus" element of the package.
According to Democratic Left's spokesman, Mr Eamon Gilmore, the decision effectively marked the abandonment of LUAS.
"The combination of the additional delays involved in putting sections underground, the considerable extra construction costs and the jeopardising of crucial EU funding, means that not only will Dublin's appalling traffic crisis continue into the foreseeable future but that large sections of city will remain without an acceptable level of public transport," Mr Gilmore said.
Accusing the Cabinet of dithering, he said the city, meanwhile, had virtually ground to a halt. The Government had caved in to vested interests.
Mr Trevor Sargent TD of the Green Party, said the decision was "an affront to democracy" given that Dublin Corporation favoured an on-street option. He warned it would do little to tackle the cause of Dublin's traffic problems.
The plan was short-sighted and flew in the face of an independent consultant's report.