Seanad debates
Thursday, 26 October 2023
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Housing Provision
9:30 am
Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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I am seeking an update on the regeneration of flats on the west side of Dominick Street, one of the oldest streets in the capital. It runs from Parnell Street up to Dorset Street and has been home to the Dominick Street flats for many decades. In 2008, Dublin City Council first spoke about the regeneration of the flats. It took the council far too long but, thankfully, in the last 12 months we have seen 72 new, world-class homes being built. They have world-class design standards and quality. This is a very welcome development and I congratulate Dublin City Council, the architects, the builders and everybody else involved in the project.
As I said, the regeneration of Dominick Street was first talked about in 2008. We are now in 2023. Since the new homes were opened on the east side of Dominick Street, the old flats which were vacated on the west side of the street became a destination for antisocial behaviour. I commend the gardai in the north inner city and Dublin City Council for engaging with me, residents and business owners and taking direct action to tackle and eliminate this behaviour. The flats have been boarded up and secured. While I would hesitate to say that all antisocial behaviour has been eliminated, it certainly has been greatly reduced and that is very welcome.
The flats, which have the potential to provide more than 90 homes, are now boarded up and stand as a monument to inactivity and glacial progress. I hope the Minister of State has a positive update for the House and, more important, the city. I hope Dublin City Council is taking direct action to use the incredibly valuable assets it holds in ownership for the people on Dominick Street and its plans to renovate those boarded-up flats is on track and will be delivering homes very soon in the centre of our capital city.
Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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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.
Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate the Minister of State's reply. The positive news is that Dublin City Council and the Department recognise the potential for 75 new homes of the highest standard and highest quality right in the heart of our city. I find it hard to accept that the timeline will result in a contractor not arriving on site before the first quarter of 2026. I appreciate the lofty ambitions in the digital twin study and the idea of creating a flagship project for climate resilience; these objectives are very admirable. However, I wonder at the time being spent developing bespoke and lofty proposals like this as there is a real urgency. I do not understand what has taken the feasibility study so long or why this work was not being done in parallel with the construction of new properties on the east side of the street. As the Minister of State, the misuse or under-use of built homes is vandalism and a complete dereliction of duty. I ask him to write to Dublin City Council to ask if it can accelerate the project.
Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I share the Senator's disappointment to some extent. I will undertake to ask my colleague in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to write to Dublin City Council. Realistically, it is appropriate for him to write than me. I will act as a conduit because I share the Senator's ambition for this part of the city. The capital is my home too and I know how dedicated she has been to the project for a long time. We all know that a large number of these flat complexes will, effectively, be rebuilt. The biggest priority is using them for housing for people who need homes. I will undertake to speak to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, and have that correspondence sent to Dublin City Council.