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PLANS TO DEMOLISH a number of buildings in Dublin’s north city centre to make space for a new nine-storey hotel have been approved by the local council.
Fitzwilliam Real Estate Properties, a firm owned by solicitor-turned-developer Noel Smyth, applied to construct the complex on a site that faces onto both Liffey Street Upper and Middle Abbey Street.
The application for planning permission included the demolition of structures on the site and construction of a nine-storey hotel.
Smyth’s firm outlined that the new tourism accommodation block would include 365 bedrooms, a lobby area and lounge with a public bar.
According to documents submitted to the council, the hotel would trade as the Motel One and represent the German brand’s first move into the Irish market.
Motel One, a budget boutique hotel chain owned by Dieter Müller, was set up in 2000. It now has over 18,000 rooms in 65 hotels across eight mainland European countries and the UK.
[image alt="motel one 2" src="http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2018/07/motel-one-2-296x182.png" width="296" height="182" title="" class="alignnone" /end]
A number of objections were filed against Smyth’s proposed hotel block before it was given the all-clear by the council.
Heritage group An Taisce said the new development would be “an obtrusive and ungainly new element in the view from the Ha’penny Bridge” and requested the submitted plans be revised.
Noel Smyth
Galway-born Smyth, who is leading the hotel development plan, was previously one of Ireland’s richest men and before the recession had property assets worth over €250 million.
However, state bad bank Nama seized control of a number of his assets during the recession, including 400 of his paintings and his Ailesbury Road home in Dublin 4. Smyth exited Nama in 2013.
Fitzwilliam Finance Partners, an investment company led by Smyth, bought €140 million worth of Arnotts’ loans in 2013 in a move that was reported to be backed by British retailer Selfridges.
Smyth previously revealed plans to build a ‘creative quarter’ on the northside of the River Liffey in the area around Arnotts. Smyth said his rejuvenation plan for Dublin’s north inner city involved opening a number of cafés and restaurants along Liffey Street.
Large hotel projects
The green light for the nine-storey hotel follows a matter of weeks after a similar large-scale project was approved for the old site of Ned’s pub in Dublin city centre.
Tetrarch Capital, the owner of the Citywest Hotel, got permission to build an eight-storey budget 595-unit hotel from An Bord Pleanála after a complaint lodged about scale of the development was overruled by the planning board.
The projects come amid an acute shortage of tourist accommodation in Dublin, with figures compiled by hospitality analytics firm STR Global showing that the Irish capital had an occupancy rate of more than 86% in April.
Written by Killian Woods and posted on Fora.ie
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There must have been some amount of people falling off unattended swing sets…
@Chris Long: lucky they have colleagues to offer them legal advice
@alan: I’d love to know what paid out 910,000?
@ObsidianShine: an example of this level of pay out could be a cyclist who was knocked down with serious injuries and needs ongoing care for the rest of their lives. Life changing stuff & no money makes up for that. So while you have all the swing type claims, there are also tragic stories of these types of claims.
@Al Madzer: That’s what I was thinking, a possible brain injury or something. You couldn’t deny someone in that position a high pay out as they will definitely need it to pay for care etc.
Shocking culture that’s been created. Not saying some aren’t valid but so many taking the pi^s. Some people have no shame claiming money someone else worked for. That mentality is worse than the money itself. If we thought more like a community and a team we’d have less problems in this country. When everyone’s out for themselves we all lose.
@Aoife Dooley: there is no claims culture, there is an insurance cartel making hundreds of millions of euro profit every year though
@Thomas Maher: oooh Thomas the culture is so wrong!!!!
@Thomas Maher: except when they make a loss. https://www.irishtimes.com/business/financial-services/irish-motor-insurance-returned-to-profit-in-2017-after-757m-of-losses-1.3827574
Look at FBDs share price, stinker of an investment.
There’s no competition from abroad. UK leisure insurers are actually leaving (see today’s news)
How many millions/billions has the insurance industry earned last year from Irish consumers ?
@John Quinn: alot I’m sure
@John Quinn: FBD alone made 64 million profit from their insurance last year.
The big French German and British firms could have made a lot more, for some reason they wont tell us.
Meanwhile the mainstrem media who get a lot of advertising revenue and the politicians who get tickets to the big games are mounting a campaign to increase the insurance companies profits with the notable execption of Charlie Flanagan.
@John Quinn:
That’s the six million dollar question.
@John Quinn: how many billions did it as a whole sector loose in previous years? No profits in the sector as a whole anything like the billions earned by the likes of Apple google Medtronic, Dunnes, Penney’s etc as single companies.
I injured my hip earlier this year in a horse riding accident . Had to have an MRI – first question I was asked on presenting for this MRI was if I would be suing someone . The clue is “ accident.” These happen and until people stop seeing them as potential lottery windfalls , this culture will continue .
@Bríd Uí Mhaoluala: they would ask that question. Visit A&E with a medical card for free. No medical card €100.00. Road accident? €275.00 before t hey even start looking at you.
@Bríd Uí Mhaoluala: you’ll be sorry when your 50/60 and need a new hip ?!
When a young lad gets 40k for being stuck in a lift for 40mins you know it’s bananas
I was in prison in 2011 and contracted TB. I was moved around and punished for saying same in Cloverhill pris and refused medication (HSE ordered) inc ones for my depression. For 1 report Prof Harry Kennedy (For the state) stated “while in prison I was pretending to have TB” which obviously reflected on my sentence. At the same time a full page article appeared in a tabloid paper stating that even in prison I was up to no good pretending to have TB. In May this year while working in Portugal I came back to Ireland and received a quiet settlement from the state for getting TB while in prison and it was all kept hush hush. Obviously I’m extremely embarrassed and shameful being in prison but I’ve long moved on.
But It’s your money being used to cover things up like this. Have all documents..
@Radio Frankie: What the actual F***?
@Radio Frankie: surprised to hear that as there is a very common TB test that gives rapid results but was yours a Personal Injuries payout or were you suing the State for negligence or do they amount to the same thing?
@Sean: Same thing Sean, I was pulled out from the prison by the HSE as per “contact tracing” every test was positive over a 1 week period but the State refused to accept it and denied me medication and even put it on prison notes (received under FOI) NOT to be given the medication as he does not have TB. As I said I have hundreds of documents thanks to my good solicitor at the time and all done hush hush in the Foya of the four courts (prison officers also) It was all kept quiet. The Malaysian guy in C1 (prison landing) was in a bad way and everyone knew it but the pris kept denying same and allowed people like me on the floor of his cell and him clearly very ill. Have to point out, it was NOT the prison officers faults. It was Management
@Sean: Suing the state for Negligence..
Judges are insane is this country
No point in playing the lotto anymore, this is the real gravy train
@Barra O Brien: the govt gets yours so you might as well get yours too lol
How many millions/billions has the insurance industry earned last year from Irish consumers ?
@John Quinn: Well they claim they made profits of 227 million but how much went on tax write offs like sponsoring Sport and into their Hotels.
@John Quinn: look at FBD’s share price. It’s almost half the level it was a few years ago. Had big losses for a few years due to competition and big payouts.
Interesting then when the Insurance Companies were asked this question by Pierce Doherty at the Public Accounts Committee “ How many people have you reported to the Gardai for making false claims “ they reluctantly replied ,19.
@Aine O Connor: how many of those 19 were convicted? What’s the point?
How many millions/billions has the insurance industry earned last year from Irish consumers ?
@John Quinn: Google their share price. Underperformed the market by a long way.
It’s all grist to the mill for the legal profession.
People are missing the point in all of this. We have a claim culture that has developed . There are industries that have profited from this from medical , law and the insurance industry feeding off people’s fear of being sued. Coupled with a lack of any sort of consequence for bringing a bogus claim it has flourished. The real kick in the teeth is saved for the business or organisation crippled with the excess on claims firstly , the rise in premium the next year and the time it takes to defend against these bogus claims.
Judges and solicitors need to be made criminally liable for prosecution for facilitating insurance recidivists
The book of quantum is a total disaster, who ever put the valuations in the book
The travellers are living like kings from doggy claims. They even travel over from England to do there evil deeds. It’s high time cab goes after travellers. They want the same rights as the rest of us when it suits them but when it comes to paying there share of tax. Forgot about it. The insurance company’s should demand a mandatory prison sentence from the government when someone is found to be cheating or ripping off the system. I’ll tell you all this much people. You would be very surprised indeed to see the amount of corruption in Ireland. I was on holiday in Norway a few months ago and 4 people I was talking to at different times all said to me when they found out I was Irish was the whole country corrupt or just the government.I told them that Dublin was finished as a place to visit
I wonder will the gardai shooting themselves in the foot ramp up claims next year
@Dave Hammond:
No! Making steel toe capped safety boots mandatory for the beat should put a stop to it!
Are judges on insurance companies payroll ?
@Roibeard Ó Riain: No. They are on the State payroll. They do not judge on personal opinion, they judge on legislation available to them as set out by our laws.
Pulbic policy in this country becomes more understandable when you realise how many politicians have a vested interest in the legal profession that makes a living from claims and transactions.
One problem is the scale of the awards. 40k for a boy to be stuck in a lift is utterly ridiculous. Or people suing for their own misfortune, and blaming everyone but themselves. Such as in a hotel swing accident.
We really need the legal profession to get real.
What were the combined profits of the insurance companies, put some perspective on the story please.
It is a lot and there are many ridiculous large awards for small accidents – but it’s still only €60 per head of population & you get the impression that we pay in vastly more than that
A person or thing that swings
A ball bowled so as to swerve in the air (cricket)
A badly centred gramophonerecord
A lively and up-to-date person(informal)
A person engaging freely in sexual activity, usu in groups(informal)
Either of the middle pair in a team of six horses
A Hindu devotee who swingsfrom hooks in his flesh
an irish politician looking for holiday money
have your say