Sinn Féin Councillor for Ringsend and the South East Inner City, Daniel Céitinn, has welcomed cross-party support for a motion calling on Dublin City Council management to reject a proposed deal for the Poolbeg West SDZ in Ringsend, also known as the Irish Glass Bottle site, which risks much-needed affordable housing to rent and buy. 

The deal fails to provide for 15% of the units to be for additional public housing, above the mandatory 10% Part V contribution, despite this being a condition in the legally binding master plan for the site.  

The deal provides for just 25 affordable homes in phase 1, or just 4% of the units. The Council also called on the Government to transfer the NAMA interest in the site to DCC to enable the Council to deliver affordable housing on the site.

Councillor Céitinn said:

“Dublin City Councillors see that this is a bad deal. It falls far short of the expectations of the elected members of the local community, and far short of the agreed master plan, which stipulated that 15% of the units would be for affordable housing for rent and purchase.

“For seven years, the Irish Glass Bottle Housing Action Group and the local community campaigned to ensure that at least 15% of these homes would be affordable for working people.

“This was supported by all Dublin City Councillors, and it was included in the legally binding SDZ masterplan which was approved by An Bord Pleanala in 2019.

“That support has been reiterated this evening with the City Council members calling on the executive management to reject this proposal. If we accepted this deal, there is no guarantee that the 500 affordable homes on the site will actually be delivered.

“If the Minister for Housing is serious about delivering affordable housing for ordinary working families in Dublin, he needs to take the concerns of this Council seriously.

“The Council and Government must secure 15% of the units for affordable housing. To assist this, the Government should transfer NAMA’s 20% interest in the development to the City Council to enable the Council to deliver genuinely affordable homes for working people.”

Text of motion:

That Dublin City Council shall reject the proposed agreement for the development of the Poolbeg West Strategic Development Zone which fails to secure 15% of the phase 1 development units for affordable housing, and further calls on the Chief Executive Officer of Dublin City Council to request that the Government and the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) transfer the relevant interest held by NAMA to Dublin City Council.