A delay in a railway project means Iarnród Éireann won’t need it for a couple more years. “That was the only stumbling block, that it would be required back very shortly.”
Local councillors welcomed the plans, including confirmation that all the homes will be social or affordable, but also flagged the high proportion of studios.
The council says it is necessary to raise money to pay for community facilities for the hundreds of planned homes at St Michael’s Estate on Emmet Road.
While delayed, the project on Emmet Road at St Michael’s Estate is inching forward, and the current plans show 548 cost-rental and social homes – up from 484 last year.
None of the second round of affordable rental homes funded with help from the government’s Cost Rental Equity Loan scheme will be in the city. None of the first were either.
The government’s draft Affordable Housing Bill sets out rules for this type of affordable housing, and it leaves room for private investors and developers.
Shanganagh Castle is set to be one of the biggest public housing projects in Dublin once completed, however, questions about building standards loom over parts of the scheme.
Early – and provisional – estimates from Dublin City Council put average cost rents for St Michael’s Estate at €1,300. But there are ways to bring that down.
Dublin City Council is set to discuss options today for working with private players to build homes on several council-owned plots. Councillors are wary of public-private partnerships and intent on construction of social and affordable housing.
