A group of IFSC-based companies has lobbied Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, Tánaiste Mary Harney and three other Ministers in its campaign against plans to build an extension to the Luas on the main thoroughfare through the financial centre.
The companies, represented by the IFSC Steering Committee, fear that their communications networks will be damaged during construction work on the Tallaght line extension to the Point Depot from Connolly Station, exposing them to significant financial losses.
Some senior political sources believe the inevitable outcome of the committee's dispute with the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA), which runs Luas, will be a postponement of the project, which was first mooted in 2003.
An extension of the Dundrum line to Cherrywood is now considered likely by some observers to be the next Luas development.
While the ultimate decision rests with Minister for Transport Martin Cullen, a spokesman for his Department said it had an "open mind" on the issue.
The RPA has rejected the committee's claims about the risk to their business.
A spokesman said it offered in June to pay the cost of building failsafe back-up systems, where appropriate, and to use new equipment to detect the presence of underground cabling before digging begins.
But the committee remains unhappy that its members could be liable for multimillion-euro losses in the event of a breakdown in their systems during construction work.
There is no list available of the IFSC committee members, although the body is said to include most of the biggest companies in the centre.
The committee is chaired by Brendan Timbs of IIU, the vehicle that manages the interests of financier Dermot Desmond, who wrote to the Government last March to say that "an overwhelming majority" of IFSC companies opposes the Mayor Street route.
In letters sent to Mr Ahern, Ms Harney and the Ministers for Finance, Transport and Environment, he proposed an alternative route to the Point along North Wall Quay.
This option has already been rejected by the RPA, whose spokesman said such a route would disrupt the flow of traffic behind the Custom House on Beresford Place.
The spokesman also said that use of the North Quays route would reduce the catchment of the service.
However, the IFSC committee letter said: "There are well-founded concerns that the competitiveness and reputation of the IFSC could be seriously affected if Luas works interrupted business communications or services.
"While we have grave reservations about the physical inconvenience of turning Mayor Street in to a building site for two to three years so soon after the completion of the recent building programme, the risk to business continuity remains the key issue."
The letter said the North Quays route was technically feasible and said the risk to business continuity would be "significantly mitigated" if that alignment was selected.
"An alignment along the quays would facilitate access to the south quays where significant residential and office accommodation is coming on stream.
"The North Wall Quay line poses fewer engineering challenges and could therefore be built more quickly, and perhaps as cheaply, as the proposed Mayor Street route," the letter added.
