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HOUSING MINISTER DARRAGH O’Brien has said €600,000 is not an affordable home amid concerns over the potential price tags for units at a new suburb in Dublin 4.
O’Brien’s comments come after The Journal reported on concerns last month about how ‘affordable’ housing at Poolbeg in Dublin would be delivered, with one council official saying the affordable homes could end up costing as much as €600,000 per unit.
The 37-acre Poolbeg site in Ringsend, Dublin 4, is one of the last large-scale pieces of development land left in Dublin city with up to 3,800 homes planned for what has been described as a ‘new suburb’ for the city.
A deal was reached in June between Ronan Group Real Estate, Oaktree Capital Management, Lioncor Developments and the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) on the development of homes on part of these lands after the consortium was selected in 2019 to redevelop the site.
Planning permission to build the first 600 units at the site was lodged last weekend.
Under planning laws, 10% of the new homes must be sold to Dublin City Council for social housing. However, in May 2017, in order to secure councillors’ approval for the redevelopment plans, then-Minister for Housing Simon Coveney agreed that an additional 650 affordable homes would be built at Poolbeg.
However, an agreement has not been reached with the consortium on how to deliver affordable homes at the site – and how much these units will cost to buy.
Dublin City Council’s head of housing Brendan Kenny said last month that the local authority will enter negotiations with the developers to discuss how the social and affordable units will be delivered.
“The overall deal hasn’t been worked out but no development can commence until there’s an agreement on that 15% [affordable housing]” he said.
“It’s hugely important to deliver housing in the Dublin area at the moment, particularly affordable and social and we’ve every confidence they will be delivered,” said Kenny.
He said however that house prices in the Dublin 4 area creates a tension around what exactly affordable looks like and said the units could cost at least €600,000.
Answering a question from The Journal at a press event today, O’Brien said he not could comment specifically on Poolbeg but said €600,000 per unit is not affordable.
“I haven’t seen the plans yet, I can’t comment on any specific planning application…but I want affordable homes, €600,000 is not affordable and I think anyone would understand that €600,000 is not affordable,” he said.
“I’m not commenting specifically on Poolbeg I want to say that to be very clear because I can’t…but what I’m saying in real terms what I’ve been focusing on is ensuring that we can deliver affordable homes for working people, that it’s affordable to them, and that’s why we’re moving forward with our shared-equity scheme, direct-build local authority homes through our local authorities,” said O’Brien.
“Every application we get forward with regard to the affordable fund that we’ve established we look at on its merits but if someone was to ask me in the normal course of events for a normal working individual, or indeed a couple, or a working family is €600,000 affordable, it’s not.”
O’Brien declined to say if he would need to intervene as Minister should the developers attach this price tag to these units, a move several sources have indicated will be necessary as the development moves ahead.
O’Brien’s own Affordable Housing Bill which was approved by Cabinet in May caps the cost of an ‘affordable home’ in Ireland at a maximum of €450,000, in Dublin City and Dún Laoghaire.
It’s understood that the Poolbeg consortium could propose a deal to the Council and the Department of Housing over the delivery of the affordable units at Poolbeg in the coming weeks.
Sources have indicated that one possibility being explored is using a cost-rental model for the 650 ‘affordable’ units instead of putting them on the open market.
O’Brien, meanwhile, said that the Government’s Housing for All plan – a core tenet of which is affordable housing – should be ready by the end of August after it was delayed last week.
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Finally……..this will be fantastic when it’s completed.
This should cost around €500m by the time it’s completed.
Fantastic my a***
Find a construction project from the past few years to back that up? I think you’ll find it difficult.
More money for the big Dutch construction firm…
I think Michael is referring to both the Port Tunnel and the M50… I hope you’re wrong…
Lmao
We could do this every year we halved the foreign aid budget.
My husbag-self employed– gets quite a bit of work from BAM and also my brother is in full time employment with them… I know of quite a good few people that are irish and employed by them- it saves my family and my brothers family from having to move abroad for work…
Has the New Ross bypass been given the go-ahead or is it still in planning?
How much are we paying in compo per week to operators of M3 and M7 tollways?
100 k per week,
Multiply that by 25 years
Correct me if I’m wrong. But didn’t the work on Newlands Cross commence months ago? Why is this being announced today. Is there an election looming by any chance?
Yeah… This was last year… I thought that email notification looked a but odd…
Will it be tolled though is the most important question?
As far as I know this can’t be tolled as there is no other alternative route. For example you can drive from Maynooth to Kinnegad and avoid the toll by going through Enfield, but the N7 toll would have no alternative route.
Can you imagine the anger if people suddenly had to pay on a journey which was always free?
All PPP projects are tolled (that is the concession for the NRA not putting up the full cost of the road). If the tolls don’t pay for the road and interest, then the state will pay BAM directly. These models have failed terribly for the sake of short term infrastructure gains – the m50 made ntl a (semi corrupt) fortune and we ended up paying extensively over the costs to ‘relieve’ them while retaining tolling. The other PPPs (apart from the M1) are all loss making and the state would have been better off building the things directly out motor tax returns and letting people use them.
Good question on the tolling – usually a “concession” allows tolling. I can’t imagine that Newlands Cross being tolled?!?
No they won’t.
It won’t be tolled according to Conor Faughnan of AA.
Brian we weren’t gonna get water tax either but here we are on the verge. If it suits “them” it’ll be tolled no matter what they say now.
The guy from the NRA was on the radio today. They won’t be tolled, they’re on a deferred payment deal of some sort.
Long overdue. The N7 problem will be hugely relieved with the upgrade to Newland’s Cross.
Well I see Ireland has not changed still fuc&&ing moaning
Moans about Ireland moaning…
Hopefully it will be built correctly unlike the N7 between Newlands X and Naas which turns into a swimming pool every time there is a shower of rain!
Sent many a golf ball onto that junction while playing golf at Newlands..
So that was you. Now, where did I put that repair bill……..?
123 fake street Dublin.
Watched an ambulance with it’s sirens flashing wait 4 minutes trying to cross this Newlands Cross junction from the Belgard Road to the Fonthill Road. Hopefully it wasn’t responding to something too serious.
Ridiculously long sequence on the lights at Newlands Cross.
Good news! Both projects should have been done years ago.
yes ,once again bad planning and brown envelopes were 2 blame again
Would you give me tonight’s lotto numbers please!
What a difference that will make! It’s badly needed.
Ok, this is a bit more like it. Lets hope some more projects like this can get started soon
Thank god they are not putting tolls on these roads. They are badly needed inprovements.
A bit of progress on the jobs front can only be looked on as a positive. More of the same please.
The flyover is great news but I think the country needs some form of rail network to connect Hueston and the airport
Think what could be done with €282m if it was put into developing proper broadband services for rural communities rather than a big roundabout. What percentage of people are going to use this junction to get into the city to sit at a keyboard?
Yeah, why not put €282 million into developing broadband in rural Ireland, where it could possibly create a few jobs? Or else put it into a built up city that requires better facilities for its thousands of commuters … Hmmmm what a toughy!
We cut put the 282 million into relocating once off country housing into a more sustainable form so that services could actually be provided in an efficient manner. Or windmills, lots of windmills.
To put the Newlands Cross Scheme into perspective, it will benefit 100,000 people every day for nearly the same price as the Western Rail Corridor which is used by 100,000 people annually. This is capital investment that is worth every cent and has high benefits for many
That’s far too sensible. Remember that the western rail corridor is worth about 100k votes, even if none of the voters ever use it. Won’t be long before the bumpkin politicians complain about Dublin getting all the money when this news gets outs.
rural broadband would be less than 282million to rollout due 2 better technology nowadays!
Have they just given away another toll for 35 years? Have they learned nothing?
Where are you getting 35 years?
Meant 25. bam taking responsibility for 35km stretch of road arklow/gorey bypass. This sounds like a 25 year toll to me. I wonder if its a similar contract to the ones that cost the state so much. Short sighted by government if so.
Yep, for some reason people think BAM will build a road in good faith for the good of the country – they get a loan to build the road and make it back by either tolls or additional taxes over 35 years. This is more ‘long finger’ development that let a minister open a shiny road, but the commuters and tourist will be rueing it for years.
Another big European firm looked after with Irish borrowed money.
Jesus Christ can this government not see what’s happening.
Wool over eyes come to mind.
Just because it’s a PPP does not mean it will be tolled.
Ah lenoard we don’t have big enough companys here to take on the jobs.I worked for them in limerick there a good crowd to work for they pay well and hire huge numbers of men from the areas the jobs are in.all these jobs go out for tender so Irish company’s can apply for it
What that means is that BAM will be responsible for maintaining that stretch rather than Wicklow and Wexford County Councils. It doesn’t mean a toll, unless the Government decides to toll it as a revenue generating exercise (separate from the PPP)
About bleeding time,
Has anybody calculated how much of a fuel &CO2 saving will happen from building the Newlands Cross upgrade? Think about no longer having to sit in traffic for 20 or so minutes with the engine ticking over, it has got to be a lot. Bet the NRA did not or could not calculate this.
Misleading headline – the created jobs are not permanent
waste of money. should invest in public transport instead instead of failing fossil fuel infrastructure
They have learnt nothing
@one-off
‘Permanent’? Who said they would be permanent ?
The idea of a permanent job is thankfully disappearing fast even in the public services.
Employment is mobile.
in focusing on the article – public transport could offer no alternative for a flyover at Newlands X. It is a no-brainer decision and should have happened when the Red Cow debacle was resolved
It is temporary work, but any work is good news. BAM are a very big company, and will outsource a lot of this work – the majority of the €232 million will not even touch irish bank accounts, never mind the coffers.
Not too sure of the red thumbs for the suggestion, all public transport is in general ‘ppp’ as it always generates income, and i would rather be sitting on a 30 minute decent commuter train than 2 hours in traffic.
Its not a no brainer – spending money on roads is daft and takes away from other transport modes where we should concentrate resources. Current government policy is to radically reduce car trips http://www.smartertravel.ie/ not to make it more convenient for people to drive
Motorways are essential to economic activity.. these are relatively small upgrades to an incomplete network, imagine the cost of upgrading the Dublin Wexford rail line which currently takes the better part of 3 hours to travel, and don’t forget our trains are diesel electric so no point on being on an environmental high horse. Roads and reduced travel times help enhance economic activity and reduce costs of goods/services.
Traffic light free junction? Looks like a load of traffic lights in that image.
Peter
No traffic lights for traffic going straight through the junction and staying on the N7.
Traffic heading to / from Tallaght & Clondalkin, (turning on/off the N7) there will be traffic lights.
So basically 80-90% of the traffic using the junction will be not be stopped for traffic lights.
Pity you have only shown one picture !! Wold of loved to have seen all the junctions from different angles ..
Have a look here: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1599158 Plenty of illustrations.
Thanks Brian.
Thanks for the link, Brian. I live just beside Newlands, this will be a bit of disruption while being built but will be great when finished. Apparently it’s the busiest junction in the country. I can well believe it having to sit there waiting for my turn to go at least twice a day.
How long before someone other than me mentions Metro North….The northside shoppers train
They should borrow the money from E.I.B to build metro north and Dart underground. It will create over 20,000 jobs.
How many times will the newlands cross project be announced by this government? I see they recently announced tbe joining of the 2 luas lines for the umpteenth time!
The way I read it people around Gorey /Arklow will be paying a toll on it for 25 years.
Also the people of Ireland will be forking out money to BAM when the (probably unrealistic ) usage per year isn’t met.
That’s only the way it seems to me
your probably right as that is what currently happens on other toll roads.
There will be no tolls on this road so locals need not worry
How do you know?
I read the contract online, also reported as such on rte.ie
Bout time they sorted out newlands cross. Pity they didn’t do it 20 years ago. Will pay for itself in 3 years – increased productivity, etc
N25 not M25. The waterford bypass isn’t a motorway.
i’m indifferent. one thing I know it will cost significantly more than stated ,probably will cause mayhem when it opened and a miniscule amount of jobs will be created.
Typical uninformed moaning comment without any basis in fact. Practically every road project since 2005 has come in under budget and ahead of schedule because of the contract type signed.
I’ll tell you what, let’s close down all those road and go back to carts and horses. Perhaps you’d prefer that.
It’ll probably cast a billion, the 282 million is probably the consultant fees
For all the families who have lost a loved one on the lethal stretch of road between rat new and arklow it is surely to be welcomed. Far to many people seriously hurt or killed over the years. Delighted at this announcement.
Will the new road between Arklow and Ashford bypasses be a Moterway? Talk of N11 rather than M11 is not very promising
It’ll be motorway when it opens. It’s being built to same road spec, and will be designated as a motorway before it opens. The NRA will seek the redesignation under the Roads Act 2007, as it has done for other schemes.
They said on the news/radio that they won’t be putting tolls on the roads . What about gort to Galway motorway anyone know when that will be done so close to being finished but yet so far away .
According to DTTAS website construction will start by the end if this year, European Bank have agreed in principle to funding for same
So many positive people on here
More tolls?
Read the other comments? NO tolls
have your say