Dublin City Council approve Lisbon-style food hall in vacant St Andrew's Church
Dublin City Council (DCC) has approved Fáilte Ireland plans for a Lisbon-style food hall and cultural space in St Andrew's Church on Suffolk St in ...
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RTÉ News
3 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Dublin will require 1,725 new hotel bed spaces a year up to 2030
Dublin city will require 1,725 new hotel bed spaces a year between now and 2030 to meet projected demand. That is according to a Hotel Concentration Report lodged with Dublin City Council for a new 40 bedroom hotel planned by US billionaire John Malone's MHL's Hotel Collection on Dublin's Drury Street and William Street South, Dublin 2. In the planning application, Drury Leisure Investments Ltd - part of the MHL Hotel Collection that also includes the five star Intercontinental Dublin - has lodged plans for the new hotel adjacent to its four star Brooks Hotel. The planning application also seeks permission for an additional five bedrooms at the Brooks Hotel to bring the total number of rooms at that hotel to 103 bedrooms. In the hotel concentration report by McGill Planning lodged with the application, it states that the catchment area has the potential to grow its room numbers by 56% from 7,919 to 12,375. That includes planning applications for new hotel schemes already granted. However, the report states that as many of these applications have been consented for three or four years and uncommenced to date, it is very unlikely that this level of consents is achievable. The McGill report states that the demand estimates indicate that Dublin City "will need to cater for significantly more bedspaces to meet the need for visitor accommodation and ensure Dublin is positioned to take advantage of its tourism potential". The report states that 8,627 additional hotel bedspaces will be required by 2030 - or an average of 1,725 a year. The report states that based on slowing levels of room completions expected in the market, it is crucial that the Dublin City Council "can ensure a consistent and active pipeline of new rooms entering the market each year to cope with increasing demand, and ensure one of the key growth sectors of the Dublin City economy is effectively supported". The report states that the new 40 bedroom hotel and the additional five bedrooms at the Brooks Hotel "would not result in an over-concentration of hotels in the local area". The McGill report states that given the location of the subject site in the centre of the city, the idea of concentration needs to be weighed against the reality that hotel development within these locations offer the most sustainable, accessible, cultural parts of the city and are capable of providing the best visitor experience for tourists. The report states that an increase in the capacity of 4- star accommodation is considered necessary as an analysis has indicated a deficit of 4-star accommodation within the 1km catchment. Aidan Crowe of Banta Restaurants has lodged a letter in support of the application. Mr Crowe operates the Pink Restaurant which is located at the site under planning consideration and says: "The scheme will revitalise the under-utilised site and provide much-needed additional hotel accommodation, contributing positively to the local economy within the south city centre."
The Irish Sun
10 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
‘Son of Concorde' jet that could fly from London to NYC in 3.5 hours steps closer to reality as major ban is lifted
CONCORDE-STYLE flights capable of blasting passengers from London to New York City in 3.5 hours have edged closer to reality after a major ban was lifted. "Son of Concorde" maker 4 Boom managed its first supersonic flight in January Credit: Boom Supersonic 4 Company is now making supersonic airplanes for everyday passengers Credit: Boom Supersonic 4 Tight restrictions on supersonic flights have been in place due to the loud sonic boom created by the shock waves from a flying object travelling faster than the speed of sound. "America once led the world in supersonic aviation, but decades of stifling regulations grounded progress," the White House said. "This Order removes regulatory barriers so that U.S. companies can dominate supersonic flight once again." To hit supersonic speeds, an airplane needs to travel at 768 miles per hour. Read more about flying But Boom Technology has been working on a jet that has no audible sonic boom. The firm managed to make its XB-1 test jet fly faster than the speed of sound for the first time in January this year. Writing on X, the company welcomed the latest move, saying: "Thank you, President Trump, for unlocking the future of faster and quieter travel. "This presidential action comes after a bipartisan group of key Congressional leaders introduced the Supersonic Aviation Modernization Act on May 14, 2025. Most read in Tech "The legislation calls on the FAA to revise the regulation prohibiting supersonic flight over land." After finishing tests with XB-1 in January, Boom is now focused on building a plane suitable for passengers called Overture. Boom 'son of Concorde' flies supersonic for first time Some 130 aircraft pre-orders have already been made by the likes of American Airlines, United Airlines, and Japan Airlines. The executive order does come with a set of rules that the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been directed to impose. An interim "noise-based certification standard" must be established that considers "community acceptability, economic reasonableness, and technological feasibility". Why did the Concorde fail? CONCORDE was the supersonic passenger jet considered the ultimate luxury in air travel. Air France and British Airways announced they would be The plane had its first commercial flight on January 21, 1976, so was retired after 27 years of service and 50,000 flights. Several reasons led to the decision to retire Concorde. Air France and British Airways cited low passenger numbers and high maintenance costs. By the early noughties, the planes were outdated and expensive to run, despite being incredibly advanced when they were first introduced almost three decades previously. The 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001 majorly impacted passenger numbers, as people opted not to fly. Passenger numbers also fell after an The disaster The plane ran over a small It was also the only aircraft in the British Airways fleet that required a flight engineer. Image credit: Alamy Trump was presented with a miniature model of Overture earlier this year from Boom Technology's CEO. He suggested that Boom should manufacture Air Force One - the President's personal plane - and made a dig at China President "Air Fore Once should be supersonic. Xi [President of China] can keep his 747-8," he wrote. 4 Trump posed with a miniature model of Boom Technology's Overture jet Credit: x/bscholl Supersonic and Hypersonic Jets There are several types of hypersonic and supersonic jets. A breakdown of what's been happening in the industry and what's expected in the coming years. Talon-A Built by Stratolaunch Reported speeds of Mach 5 The first test flight conducted in 2024 Built by Nasa and Lockheed Martin Predicted max speeds of Mach 1.4 The first test flight in 2024 - but subject to delays Built by Venus Aerospace and Velontra Predicted max speeds of Mach 6 First test flight in 2025 Built by Hermeus Predicted max speeds of Mach 2.5 First test flight in 2026 Built by Hermeus Predicted max speeds of Mach 5 First test flight by 2030 Built by China's hypersonic plane programme Predicted max speeds of Mach 6 First test flight in 2025 Built by Hypersonix Launch Systems Predicted max speeds of Mach 7 First test flight in 2025
Irish Examiner
11 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Dublin dominates as top winter break location as seasonal spending rises substantially
More than half of all Irish city trips in the winter months were to Dublin, new figures from Fáilte Ireland show, with the capital accounting for 52% of city breaks between November and February. Publishing its Consumer Winter Report 2025 this week, Fáilte Ireland found that increased popularity of Dublin saw marginally less demand for breaks across some other Irish cities. Galway comprised 20% of winter trips, down from 23% in the same time last year, while Kilkenny made up 9% of winter breaks, down from 11%. Waterford remained unchanged, with 12% of city breaks taking place in the south-east city. Meanwhile, 17% of the city trips last winter were to Cork, up from 15% in the same season last year, with Limerick comprising 10%, up marginally compared to the same period 12 months ago. While there has been little change in the share of travel, the number of domestic trips across the country has risen significantly in the past three years, Fáilte Ireland found, helped by St Brigid's Day which became a bank holiday in 2023. The tourism agency also found that year-on-year card spending throughout the winter months and into March saw substantial increases, outpacing inflation during the same period. The spending figures indicate that consumers have enjoyed increased disposable income, likely contributing positively to Ireland's tourism sector throughout the winter months. Latest CSO data indicates that holiday spend for 2024 is up 12% annually, Fáilte Ireland said, with it likely that this continued into early 2025, as indicated by the Central Bank of Ireland. However, the agency said it is important to note that the increase in spending is not necessarily evenly distributed, with affordability pressures such as housing costs and inflation limiting the spending of younger and lower-income groups. While the proportion of people taking domestic breaks has remained relatively unchanged, the number of trips have increased, with this suggesting an increase in the frequency of taking trips amongst those already taking breaks. With spending up and household financial situation improving, Fáilte Ireland said it augers well for the sector this summer. However, it said sentiment is still somewhat tentative, with value for money remaining a key consideration for consumers. "The cost-of-living situation demands for more financially palatable holiday experiences in Ireland," Fáilte Ireland said. "Identifying what will make holidays less of a financial burden for key segments is key to ensuring travel plans are kept."
