New O’Devaney Gardens proposal offers quality housing and employment in a greatly improved regeneration scheme

Speaking at the Press launch in the Mansion House on the new proposals for redeveloping O’Devaney Gardens negotiated by the parties to the Dublin Agreement, Cllr Joe Costello said:

“The new proposals are a vast improvement on the previous ones.  80% of the 824 units will now be affordable and social and just 20% will be private housing.  These new percentages reflect much more accurately the housing needs of the local community.  Moreover, the affordable housing will be considerably less expensive than was first proposed and the price of units will not change over the period of construction.

“Shared designs of streets and pepper-potting of all units together with extensive community facilities  will contribute enormously to creating an integrated social mix for O’Devaney Gardens.

“DCC have agreed to my request for a special scheme of housing in O’Devaney Gardens for elderly people who surrender their homes and make a financial contribution. Thus, more families who are homeless or in urgent need of housing can be housed.  Moreover, I have persuaded DCC to bring forward a special housing scheme to facilitate local people getting social housing in the new development.

“Social employment and apprenticeships clauses will be included to ensure that employment and training strategies similar to those operating in the Grangegorman Development will be in operation during the extended four year construction period giving employment to local people who are on the live register and offering a career for the future.

“A substantial range of community facilities will be provided for the new residents with an additional €3.5 million now available to develop a community/cultural campus at the northern section towards the Infirmary Road lands.

“There have been false dawns for O’Devaney Gardens since the old flats were demolished. I am happy that there will now be no further delay and that the main construction work can begin in 2020.  Already the first 56 social units are nearing completion and will be allocated to families in 2020.

“The influx of 20,000 students into Grangegorman and approximately two thousand residents into O’Devaney Gardens in the next few years will have an enormous impact on our little village of Stoneybatter – the coolest place in Ireland at the moment!

“It is essential that we start planning for the future and for an integrated community that  can accommodate all the new people and all the new pressures.”