A Social Democrats councillor has said that the Luas Finglas project a 4km extension of the Luas Green Line will be catastrophic for a Dublin youth centre, but a Green Party councillor said having a Luas stop at the door should be seen as a massive opportunity, and the real issue was the delay of the project. Cllr Mary Callaghan (Social Democrats) said the planned Finglas Village Luas stop was potentially catastrophic to the Finglas Youth Resource Centre and complained about the loss of car parking and open space linked to the centre, the potential for anti-social behaviour and noise. The comments, which were first reported by dublinlive.ie and made last weeks North West Area Committee meeting, were supported by Cllr Conor Reddy (People Before Profit) and Cllr Gavin Pepper (independent). Responding to the reporting of the comments, Cllr Feljin Jose (Green Party) said: Having a Luas stop outside isnt a catastrophe; its a massive opportunity. Public representatives should focus on the fact that the government has shelved this shovel-ready project until 2029. Thats the real catastrophe.IMAGES: Before photo (left) and after photomontage (right) showing part of the car parking in the area replaced by the Luas line and stop. MAIN IMAGE ABOVE: An artists impression of the Luas crossing route crossing the road to the tram stop and youth centre.At the committee meeting last week, Cllr Callaghan said: It is the biggest youth centre in the area, with over 400 young adults, its just next door [from the meeting in the adjacent Dublin City Council office in Finglas], and this is potentially catastrophic to the service, and nobody is speaking to them. Theyve been asking for consultation, and I think its really disappointing. Its terrible.She said: So basically their entrance is going to be on the Luas, just outside the Luas stop. The potential for anti-social behaviour, where theres up to 400, in some cases, very vulnerable young people, the car parking is taken away, theyre losing their outdoor space, theres going to be destruction during the build, theres going to be a lot of noise, a lot of noise, both during the build and afterwards, and there has been no consultation.The idea that there has been no consultation is untrue at this point, there have been multiple rounds of public consultation, and the project team has met the youth centre management on-site, although in the last year they have been focused on a legal cause taken by a local business. Speaking to a representative of the project team at the meeting, Cllr Callaghan said: And what really strikes me is that, you know, youve been taken to court and, and various different things have been agreed with some of the businesses in the area, when they are not speaking to the most important youth centre. I want to know why that is, she said.Cllr Callaghan said: I think everybody needs to support us on this, that we cannot destroy a youth centre and just, you know, its just not acceptable.David Weldon, head of light railway for the Dublin area at Transport Infrastructure Ireland, who was presenting to the committee meeting, said: We have had engagement, I mean, we met locally on site a couple of times with the resource centre, we meet again with them immediately after this meeting, I can assure you that we will ramp up engagement again.He pointed out that there had also been non-statutory public consultations and statutory consultation as part of the Railway Order process.IMAGE: An artists impression of the Fingal Village Luas stop with the building that houses the youth centre in the background.One of which certainly we did explore with resource centres is boundary treatments, and with the vulnerability of people that are there, we recognise the importance of managing all those elements, he said. Obviously, it doesnt stop there, as we will continue, we re-engage, and that re-engagement is going to start ramping up now as we move from planning into delivery, so I can assure you that well meet again on the ground, said Weldon.He added that they are looking at the possibility of repurposing council lands and changing boundaries around a bit to give space back to the resource centre.Cllr Callaghan said that she had spoken to the youth centre at the meeting and they confirmed that they havent had any contact or any meetings for a year. Weldon said that the project team has been tied up with the court case and related mediation, but added that the centre is a key stakeholder.