Glasnevin housing plan leaves uncertainty for businesses

RTÉ News​

19-06-2025

Businesses in an industrial estate on the northside of Dublin say they are facing an uncertain future due to Dublin City Council's plans to redevelop the area for housing.
Under the Ballyboggan Masterplan, the local authority plans to rezone 77 hectares of industrial land - between Glasnevin and Cabra - to develop 6,000 homes.
However, some businesses say they are having trouble finding areas to relocate to and are calling on the council to help them source alternative sites.
Igoe International, a 48-year-old family business that supplies building products as well as manufacturing and exporting roofing products, has operated from Dublin Industrial Estate for 30 years.
Managing Director Vincent Igoe said: "It's probably sitting on about 2,000sq/m and to find similar space and zoned industrial around here is almost impossible so it would pose a difficulty in answering the question - where do we go when all of this stuff is supposedly going to kick off?
"We've been here for 30 years and all our customers are here. We've also invested in making our display areas and showrooms and stuff like that here and we're obviously close to the city so we get footfall and traffic.
"A lot of the businesses around here would be fairly mature. A lot of them are kind of family businesses, and a bit like our own, that could have been passed down to a son or someone on succession. So they're all pretty much in the same boat."
Mr Igoe said that he would like to see Dublin City Council (DCC) help businesses such as his source alternative industrial sites.
"We've had a little look around. There's not much on the market. The spaces are limited and the prices are quite high. So no matter what way you kick the ball you're almost at a disadvantage here.
"There's a lot of space a little bit up the road towards Blanchardstown, or and maybe they could accommodate zoning some land for industrial use around there. That would probably be a sensible solution."
Bob Cameron, of Cameron Cars, said that he may consider retiring and winding up his more than 20-year-old business because moving to an alternative site at the current market rates is not viable.
"I've been operating in this estate nearly 20 years. There's nowhere really we can move to. I need a lot of car park spaces as I have about 100 cars in stock.
"There's no real viable plan for us. Everybody's just holding on and just trying to find what's happening.
"If it is going to happen, we have to be compensated. We have to be paid for the movement and also another unit.
"It's kind of at the point that I nearly have to pack it in because it just won't it won't work. It's not viable."
It is not just businesses who are concerned about the development.
The Ballyboggan Masterplan proposes the development of 6,000 homes in mainly two- to four-storey units.
But a number of submissions made as part of a public consultation said that the number lacks ambition and called on DCC to build more.
However, Senior Lecturer in Housing at Technological University Dublin, Dr Lorcan Sirr, said that he believes the council is taking the right approach.
"I think it's really good actually and I think they have the density levels about right at 100 to 250 units per hectare and their focus is on more family units rather than smaller, high income, high yield investment units.
"They're looking to house families here, which is what we're sort of lacking in Dublin.
"In the last two years alone, 95% of all new housing that has been built in Dublin City Council areas has been apartments and 95% for rent.
"So the focus on something that people can actually get their hands on, and that would be for families, would be really beneficial, and what's needed in the city.
"In theory, high density sounds great, we should squeeze as many units on as possible. What you get though is higher land values, that means the cost of construction is going to be higher. That means whatever comes out the other end is going to be less affordable for people.
"So if you moderate the density, you might get fewer households on it, but at least the housing that comes out will be affordable to build and affordable to live in there for the people who do end up living there. So I think they've got it about right."
However, Dr Sirr says it could take a number of years for the homes to materialise.
"If the State takes more control over it, you will probably see a steadier rate of delivery. It could take ten years to do this, at least. If we go all out relying on the private sector, we could be here in 20 years.
"We see this with other regeneration projects in Dublin that are still on the go many years later, the likes of Adamstown, that should have been developed a long time ago, but because of the circular nature of the property market in which it relied, they are still only being developed to this day."
Plan supports development of new Dublin neighbourhood - DCC
DCC said that the chosen density is in line with sustainable development guidelines and the Dublin City Development Plan.
The council added that, when it comes to the future of businesses, the majority of lands are in private ownership and it will support those who wish to redevelop as well as the retention and consolidation of many existing businesses.
However, it said that regeneration of this type is complex and will take many years to achieve.
"The Baile Bogáin (Ballyboggan) Masterplan supports the development of a new mixed use neighbourhood in Dublin which aligns with the Government's National Planning Framework.
"This will be achieved through the robust spatial framework that is designed to guide future redevelopment opportunities in a coherent and sustainable manner, while ensuring that urban design is imperative to regeneration.
"Fundamental to the regeneration of this area is the retention and consolidation of existing businesses as the area transitions towards more diversified mixed uses," the council said.