Sir, – There is a growing sense among residents across south Dublin that we are watching something precious slip away, our natural and coastal environment, replaced by dense, poorly integrated developments that risk repeating the very planning failures we were supposed to have learned from.
Nowhere is this more evident than in Cherrywood and the surrounding foothills of the Dublin Mountains. What was once open landscape, a buffer between the city and the coast, is rapidly becoming a high-density suburb of mid to high-rise blocks. While the need for housing is undeniable, the form and location of that housing matter just as much as the quantity.
Cherrywood is often presented as a model “new town”, yet like other large-scale suburban developments in Dublin, it sits between major transport corridors such as the M50 and N11, areas already under immense pressure from traffic congestion.
Despite the presence of the Luas, the lived reality for many residents is continued reliance on cars, something we have already seen play out in areas like Clongriffin and the wider Malahide Portmarnock corridor, where rapid expansion has outpaced infrastructure and community development.
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We were promised “sustainable communities” and the much discussed 15-minute city, places where people can live, work and access services within walking or cycling distance.
Yet even official planning guidance acknowledges that this concept requires strong local services, transport integration and investment in existing urban centres, not the continued push of large-scale development on the city’s edge. Building ever outward undermines these goals.
Kilternan already stands as a cautionary example closer to home. What was once a distinct village character is increasingly being eroded by dense, car dependent developments that have outpaced local infrastructure, amenities and transport capacity.
It risks becoming yet another example of how planning decisions, when not properly aligned with long-term community needs, can fundamentally alter the character of an area.
At the same time, we continue to see underutilised and derelict buildings across Dublin city centre, particularly in areas such as the IFSC and inner city commercial districts.
Policy discussions have repeatedly highlighted the opportunity to convert vacant offices into residential use, yet many are instead repurposed for hotels or left idle.
This is a fundamental contradiction, we expand into greenfield and coastal areas while neglecting the regeneration potential of the city core.
If we are serious about sustainability, we should be building up in appropriate central locations, not out into our remaining natural landscapes. Height, when carefully planned in areas like the Docklands or IFSC, can support public transport, reduce commuting distances, and revitalise urban life.
By contrast, sprawling edge developments risk becoming car dependent, soulless estates lacking identity, community cohesion and long-term livability.
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown-County Council must be held accountable for the long-term vision, or lack thereof, in how these developments are approved. Short-term housing targets cannot come at the cost of irreversible environmental and social damage.
Dublin has been here before. We know what happens when planning runs ahead of infrastructure, when quantity overrides quality and when natural assets are treated as expendable.
The question is simple, have we learned anything? – Yours, etc,
SANDRA CULLEN,
Crumlin,
Dublin 12.
Sir, – I read with interest Pat Farrell’s letter (March 21st), which was heavily critical of Lorcan Sirr’s article (Irish Times, March 19th) regarding the lack of progress in the delivery of housing.
The main accusation in Farrell’s letter seemed to be that the assertion by Sirr that delivery of housing is effectively a “roll of the dice”, is not supported by credible or up-to-date data. Furthermore, Farrell asserts that “it is a system delivering, albeit imperfectly”.
A system that is “delivering” approximately 35,000 dwelling units a year when the actual demand is a minimum of 50,000 a year (if not higher) might also be said to be “failing”.
The most recent homeless figures reached 17,000 (which does not include people sleeping on couches and other temporary measures). Emigration of Irish people abroad in 2024 was 70,000 (an increase of 14 per cent on 2023). Home ownership among the 25-39 age bracket has fallen from 22 per cent in 2011 to about 7 per cent. Average rents are now €2,000 month (it was €765 a month in 2011).
Something is fundamentally wrong with the delivering of housing in Ireland. I would respectfully suggest that property developers and their spokespeople would be better off concentrating their minds on solving the housing crisis rather than taking potshots at those highlighting the issues. – Yours, etc,
ROB MacGIOLLARNÁTH,
Contae Chiarraí.
