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Dublin Live
3 days ago
- Business
- Dublin Live
Dublin faces €70bn infrastructure investment bill by 2040 with housing top of the list
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Dublin needs €70 billion invested in infrastructure by 2040 to address key needs in housing, transport, energy, water, and climate risk. This is according to KPMG's Dublin 2040 report, which surveyed hundreds of businesses to assess the city's appeal as a place to live, work, and conduct business. The report highlights infrastructure, particularly affordable housing, as the top area for improvement in Dublin, with 24% of respondents citing it as a priority. A significant 60% of businesses identified housing as the biggest challenge, while other areas such as urban appeal, education, and training were also rated as priority areas for improvement. One of the report's key recommendations is to treat housing and real estate investment partners similarly to long-term Foreign Direct Investment. In response to the report, Fine Gael TD James Geoghegan is urging the immediate publication of the Dublin City Taskforce implementation report. The Dublin Bay South TD said: "This report reinforces what people across Dublin already know-our city is under growing pressure and we need serious, sustained investment in infrastructure to meet that challenge. "The Dublin City Taskforce completed its work. What's missing now is delivery. "I'm calling on the Taoiseach to publish the implementation report without delay. The time for action is now. "It is also essential the ambition laid out in the taskforce is matched with investment and I am calling for specific funding to be ringfenced for the delivery of the report's recommendations. Despite challenges such as staffing and rising costs, two-thirds of businesses surveyed believe Dublin remains a good place to operate. "However, the message is clear: the city's future competitiveness depends on the choices made today. Dublin is the engine of our national economy. "We cannot afford to fall behind. The Taoiseach must show leadership and move from plans to progress." On the report, managing partner at KPMG in Ireland Ryan McCarthy said: "Dublin is beyond an inflection point in a number of critical areas and today's choices will determine tomorrow's success as a capital city. Thus, the pace of decision making needs to reflect the urgency of evolving human needs, climate change, population growth, economic shifts and technological advancements. "We need to act now. The findings of our Dublin 2040 report highlight significant areas for improvement and opportunities that we believe are critical for fostering a vibrant and sustainable business environment." Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Health
- Irish Times
Former Baggot Street hospital building to be sold on the open market
The former Baggot Street hospital building in Dublin is to be sold by the HSE on the open market as no State agency wanted to take it over. However, part of the complex, off Haddington Road, has been earmarked as the site of a new primary care centre for the south Dublin inner city. The facility, which was known officially as the Royal City of Dublin Hospital, was built in 1832 but closed in 1987. Parts of the premises, at the Haddington Road junction with Baggot Street, were used as a drug treatment and community facility until 2019. The building on Baggot Street is a protected structure. Campaigners in the area have over the years put forward various proposals for the use of the building and the site, from it being used to accommodate asylum seekers to a location for a Viking museum. READ MORE In a reply to local Fine Gael TD James Geoghegan on Monday on foot of a parliamentary question, the HSE said it planned to split the former hospital site into two sections. It said one portion of the site, off Haddington Road, adjacent to the former Baggot Street Hospital building, had been identified as a suitable location for the development of a primary care centre to serve the south Dublin inner city area. The HSE said the remainder of the site was registered as surplus to requirements on the Office of Public Works Inter State Property Register and had been available for acquisition by other State entities. 'As there has been no uptake on same, tender documentation is currently being prepared to appoint an agent for the disposal of this property on the open market,' the HSE said. Mr Geoghegan, a Dublin Bay South TD and former lord mayor, told The Irish Times on Monday it was 'a scandal that such a historic building has been left to rot behind locked gates while the HSE dragged its feet for years'. He said: 'As the Baggotonia Festival celebrates the area's creative soul, we can only hope this long overdue process finally delivers the investment needed to bring the building back to life.' The HSE said Dublin City Council had issued notice of its intention earlier this month to grant planning permission for the development of the primary care unit on one part of the site. This is subject to a four-week period for submission of any objections before the final grant of planning permission being issued. 'This intention to grant planning permission is subject to specific conditions which are currently being reviewed by the HSE,' it said. The HSE told the Department of Health last year that the former hospital building was now surplus to its needs and 'it is not in the main, considered suitable for the delivery of public healthcare services into the future'.
Irish Examiner
05-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Government criticised for not doing more to roll out AI across civil service
The Government has been criticised by one of its own TDs for not doing more to roll out artificial intelligence tools across the civil service. A series of Government departments are examining pilot projects using AI tools, but some are opting against the use of new generative technologies within the civil service. There are already pilot schemes under way in the Department of Housing and Department of Culture. According to the latter, the National Archives of Ireland is examining the use of robotic automation to transcribe large data sets, including the Census from 1926. The archives are consulting with both Deloitte and software firm UiPath. The department is also supporting Údarás na Gaeltachta with an Irish AI initiative, with a tool in development that aims to understand the language and respond in 'respond in clean, canonical Irish'. The ArdIntleacht na Gaeilge project will draw on the State's existing pool of Irish language content, which includes archive audio and video recordings. 'The end result is expected to be a platform and tool that will support State agencies in offering high-quality services in Irish to the public,' the department has said. Meanwhile, at the Department of Housing, a project in partnership with EY and Microsoft was recently completed. This used the Microsoft CoPilot AI to assess if AI would help 'enhance the flexibility and capability' of the data reporting services under Housing for All. 'The outputs are still in evaluation internally and is not operational at present. If it is further developed and becomes operational at a later stage, then it could potentially be used to inform housing policy,' the department said. Fine Gael TD James Geoghegan received the responses from both Government departments, after submitting a series of questions about how the civil service uses AI tools. Some departments, including the Department of Defence, are not exploring the use of AI tools at all, but say it remains under review. Others, like the Department of Transport, are conducting tests under 'strict controls'. Many are conducting research on the possible use of AI, including the Department of Public Expenditure, which is looking at the use of artificial intelligence to summarise research. Mr Geoghegan said he was underwhelmed with the response from Government departments at their current use of AI tools to improve workflows. 'I think it's a wasted opportunity,' Mr Geoghegan said, adding the public service should be leading on use of AI technology given the large number of leading US multinationals based in Ireland. 'It shouldn't be the case that the public service is left behind. There needs to be cross-departmental engagement here.' Mr Geoghegan said the Department of Public Expenditure, which now has responsibility for digitalisation, should work with other Government departments to progress AI projects. In particular, Mr Geoghegan cited the possible use of AI within local authorities, particularly around planning, saying it could lead to more efficiencies around decision-making.
