The council wasn’t hiring a municipal walker, but she took the job anyway
Once a month since September 2022, artist Lian Bell has done a full circuit of the North and South Circular Roads, observing these 14km through the seasons.
For years the council has been saying they will be made into apartments for people who are homeless. But that still hasn’t happened.
The complex used to serve as emergency accommodation for 29 homeless families.
There should be a comprehensive, public database of who owns the properties in the city, says Francis Doherty of Peter McVerry Trust. “It’s in the public interest, the common good.”
There are 51 apartments in the complex, which lies south of Dundrum. In January 2017, 34 were occupied, but now only 23 are.
With help from Dubliners and the Space Engagers app, the Peter McVerry Trust hopes to identify and bring back into use 45 vacant homes by 2020.
The vision of CORE Ballymun is for a modern streetscape with affordable housing and retail, the profits from which would go back into the community. But it needs council support to become real.
Many council-owned apartments are sitting empty in ageing complexes scheduled to be torn down and rebuilt in the coming years. Some argue that people could live in them in the meantime.
At Monday’s monthly meeting, councillors questioned Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy on current policies – before moving on to their usual business.
The council owns 11 hectares in Belmayne, perhaps enough for 1,000 new homes. One councillor wonders why the council isn’t working faster to develop it.
Imagine you’ve invested in land in Dublin. How might government policies affect whether you hoard it or not? Play our game to see. Illustrations by Aidan Harte.
“People are sitting on assets and they don’t need the rent,” says Francis Doherty, communications officer at the Peter McVerry Trust.