The Seven Other Routes Irish Rail Assessed

Eight options were assessed — Irish Rail selected the only one that destroys residential gardens

The OSR assessed eight options using a Multi-Criteria Assessment (MCA). Options 1, 2 and 3 are "Do-Management" options — they use existing roads without new construction. Options 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are "Do-Something" options — they involve new road construction. The overall MCA scores are summarised below.

Option 7 is the only option of the eight assessed that permanently acquires residential garden curtilage. It is also the only option to score Highly Negative (1 — worst possible) on Noise & Vibration. The case for each of the seven non-selected options is reviewed in the sections below.

Option 1 — Do-Management via Carrigane Road and Ballyrichard More Road

Option 1 uses existing roads from the N25 at Carrigtwohill via Ballyrichard More Road and Carrigane Road, with a connection to the depot via an offline section. It would involve the reconstruction of one bridge over the rail line (OBY7).

Option 2 — Do-Management via Northern Relief Road and Castle Rock Avenue

Option 2 uses existing roads from the Northern Relief Road at Midleton via the L3617 local road and Castle Rock Avenue, connecting to an offline section at Carrigane Road. It does not require bridge reconstruction.

Option 3 — Do-Management via Northern Relief Road and Upper Mill Road

Option 3 is approximately 7.11km in length. It uses existing roads from the Northern Relief Road at Midleton via the Upper Mill Road (R626) and Broomfield West to access the depot via Ballyrichard More Road. It is the longest of the three Do-Management options.

Option 4 — Do-Something via Ballyadam (L7642 junction) — avoids all residential properties and delivers public road benefit

Option 4 is approximately 2.83km in length. It provides access from the L7642 junction at Ballyadam to the N25, and includes an offline section of new road through agricultural land to the depot. It would require the reconstruction of the existing overbridge (OBY7) over the rail line to allow HGVs and low-loaders to pass. Its overall MCA score is 4.1 (Neutral), compared to Option 7's 4.7 (Slightly Positive) — a difference of 0.6 points.

The bridge objection does not justify selecting Option 7

Irish Rail's principal reason for scoring Option 4 lower is the requirement to reconstruct OBY7 bridge to carry HGV and low-loader traffic. However, if Option 7 is selected and depot traffic uses the N25 Water-Rock junction during peak hours — which it predictably will — drivers will divert via Ballyadam, using the same bridge. Irish Rail cannot use bridge reconstruction as a reason to reject Option 4 while selecting an option that will, in practice, create the same requirement.

Option 4 could deliver a public road benefit that Option 7 cannot

The N25 Carrigtwohill to Midleton Upgrade Scheme has not been allocated funding and has no confirmed delivery timeline. In the event of an eastbound incident on the N25, there is currently no viable alternative route. Option 4's alignment — particularly if the Ballyadam Bridge upgrade is incorporated as part of the works — would provide exactly this: an alternative corridor for the public, emergency services, and commuters. Option 7 delivers a private staff access road. The difference in public benefit is significant.

Option 5 — Do-Something via IDA industrial site — causes significantly less residential harm and should be reconsidered

Option 5 is a route that approaches the depot from the N25 through the IDA site and then via a new bridge over the railway. Its overall MCA score is 4.1 (Neutral), compared to Option 7's 4.7 (Slightly Positive) — a difference of 0.6 points. The OSR and Presentation record the following directly comparable scores:

The Safety criterion in the Presentation explicitly records Option 5 as positive because it "avoids residential areas." This language does not appear in the equivalent entry for Option 7. The project engineer stated at the Public Consultation that approximately 200 cars a day are proposed to travel to the depot via this route. We do not understand why a Safety score of Highly Positive can be applied to Option 7.

The biodiversity objection to Option 5 is addressable

Irish Rail's principal ecological objection to Option 5 is the presence of a badger sett, which results in a Highly Negative biodiversity score (1). However, under Irish law (Wildlife Acts, as amended), a licence for disturbance of a badger sett can be applied for from the NPWS under specified conditions. This is a procedural requirement, not an absolute legal barrier, and is routinely navigated for infrastructure projects. Critically, Option 7 also scores 1 (Highly Negative) on biodiversity — the same score — so biodiversity cannot be used as a reason to prefer Option 7 over Option 5.

The cost objection to Option 5 has not been quantified in absolute terms

Option 5 is scored as Highly Negative (1) on CAPEX at approximately 1,723% of the baseline option (Option 2). Option 7 is scored as Negative (2) at approximately 1,219% of baseline. The absolute cost difference between these percentages has not been published. Given the multi-billion euro scale of the CACR programme, the relative cost premium for a route that avoids nine households, avoids residential land take, and avoids constructing a road within 30m of people's homes must be assessed and published before a final decision is made.

Option 6 — Do-Something via new N25 grade-separated junction

Option 6 is approximately 1.58km in length. It proposes a new grade-separated junction directly on the N25 with two new roundabouts and two bridges — one over the N25 and one over the railway line. It is the shortest of the Do-Something options and approaches the depot directly from the N25 without using existing residential roads.

Option 8 — Do-Something via Castle Rock Avenue (L3618) — identical MCA score to Option 7, no residential land taken

Option 8 is approximately 2.67km in length. It uses the Water-Rock development road and Castle Rock Avenue (L3618) to reach the depot via an offline section of approximately 1.37km. It accesses the N25 via an existing road overbridge (CC.N25-014.00) — no new bridge construction is required. Its overall MCA score is 4.7 (Slightly Positive) — identical to Option 7. It does not acquire residential garden curtilage.

Option 8 is the most important comparator to Option 7. They share the same overall score. The only reasons given in the OSR for preferring Option 7 over Option 8 are that Option 7 requires no bridge construction and has slightly lower earthworks. These are engineering convenience factors. They are being used to justify a choice that imposes maximum residential harm — noise impacts on nine households, permanent land take from residential front gardens, and 24-hour HGV traffic through a residential area.

Irish Rail's stated reason for preferring Option 7 on Local Environment is undermined by the OSR's own description of Option 8

The OSR states that Option 7 "narrowly edges out Option 8 on Land Use Impacts and Local Environment Impacts" and cites two reasons: that Option 7 requires no bridge construction and that the scale of works is smaller. However, the OSR's own description of Option 8 (Section 4.2) confirms that Option 8 uses an existing road overbridge (CC.N25-014.00) to access the N25 — it does not require a new bridge to be built. The bridge construction advantage attributed to Option 7 over Option 8 in the MCA justification does not appear to be supported by the OSR's own option description. This is a material inconsistency that Irish Rail has not explained, and it goes directly to the narrow margin used to select Option 7 over an alternative that harms no residents.

The OSR states that Option 7 "narrowly edges out Option 8 on Land Use Impacts and Local Environment Impacts." The land use advantage is that Option 7 avoids a new bridge. The local environment advantage cited is that Option 7 has lower earthworks and lower impact on 110kV overhead lines. These are engineering and cost factors. They are not residential harm factors. Under any reasonable weighting that gives appropriate weight to noise impacts on nine households and permanent residential land take, Option 8 would score at least equally to Option 7 — and arguably better.