Seanad debates

Thursday, 26 October 2023

Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters

Housing Provision

9:30 am

Photo of Neale RichmondNeale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Senator raising this topic. It is an issue in an area that the Senator has been such a passionate advocate for, not just in this House, but previously on Dublin City Council as well. That deserves recognition. Dublin City Council has advised the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage that it is currently preparing a stage 1 capital appraisal application for the refurbishment and regeneration of Dominick Street West. This application will be for the redevelopment of the three existing vacant blocks, with the potential for at least 75 new homes.

The project involves the remediation of 60 upper floor duplexes and the amalgamation of 30 ground floor bedsits which have been unoccupied and boarded up for some time. The Senator has been very polite in her clarification of that. I would be far stronger. I think boarded-up houses are a blight on society because they show where families could be living. It does not matter whether it is on Dominick Street, in Ballyogan in my constituency or in Dundalk in the Chair's constituency, it is something that all of us take very personally.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has not received a funding submission yet but would welcome all proposals on this project. The council has advised the Department that it is intended that what was learned from a recent digital twin study project funded by the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform will help inform the energy approach for this project. The design team will also be seeking to achieve a balanced approach on biodiversity, retrofit and climate actions requirements.

This project is intended to act as a Dublin City Council flagship project for climate resilience. Extensive surveys and site investigations are under way on the vacant flats and these building and site surveys will shape the vision and direction of the project. Current works on the site will include securing the car park to the rear of Dominick Street Lower, which the Senator referred to regarding anti-social behaviour, the erection of permanent hoarding to the front of the flats and a greening project in the vacant car park.

Dublin City Council advises that the feasibility study and order of magnitude costings for a deep retrofit approach have been completed and the stage 1 capital appraisal is almost complete. Consultant procurement and technical surveys are ongoing. The programme timeline is not finalised as the project is at feasibility stage. However, Dublin City Council advises that it expects to have a contractor on site by the first quarter of 2026. The council further advises that this project is part of a long-term strategy for the redevelopment and refurbishment of its older complexes that require prompt attention.

I think all of us would be in agreement that this is an important project. We will ensure the Department is on hand to give Dublin City Council every support, as will every Member of the Oireachtas, to get these vacant flats renovated and repurposed and back into the system. We want to provide the level of accommodation that the people of Dominick Street and people who will live there in the future deserve.

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