Ballymun and Finglas neglected as North West gets just 2% of city investment
Chronic underinvestment in Ballymun and Finglas must be addressed - says a North West area councillor.
An emergency motion tabled by People Before Profit Councillor Conor Reddy called out “the long-running neglect of Ballymun and Finglas” as the North West receives just 2% of Dublin ’s non-housing capital spend for 2026 to 2028. This amounts to €475 per person and is the lowest allocation of any area in the city.
Cllr Reddy said “the North West is once again being left at the back of the queue” and these figures come on top of the fact that the area has the slowest social housing delivery pipeline in Dublin. The motion notes that parts of Ballymun and Finglas experience some of the highest levels of social deprivation in the city, with Cllr Reddy stating the areas are “carrying the weight of decades of delay, underinvestment and broken promises."
From the Ballymun Regeneration to the Finglas Luas , Metrolink, and the Finglas Roundabouts scheme, he pointed out major deficits in public realm, community infrastructure and sporting facilities, and to a broader pattern where the North West loses out across multiple areas.
"The North West is being left behind, and people here know it. You see it in housing. You see it in non-housing capital investment - 2% of the overall Capital project budget for 2026-28 in the North West area, compared to 28% in the South East area," Cllr Reddy said.
"It’s no surprise that areas like the South East, including places like Sandymount, Ballsbridge, Ranelagh, Rathmines and Rathgar, do better when it comes to investment and grant success. They’re areas with well-connected people, high levels of social capital, and far greater capacity to make the system work for them.
"The job of the council is not to reproduce that inequality. It is supposed to correct for it. If Dublin City Council is serious about social inclusion and reducing inequality, it has to put its money where its mouth is!
"The Chief Executive has acknowledged that the North West is relatively underinvested. That should now be the starting point for action. We need a full explanation of how this happened, what will be done to stop the gap widening, and what projects will now be prioritised to start putting that right.
"Dublin North West can no longer be left behind. The balance has to be addressed. Our communities deserve proper investment, proper infrastructure and a fair share of the city’s resources."
Cllr Reddy’s motion was passed and called for a meeting with Chief Executive Richard Shakespeare. The aim of this meeting is to clearly set out how the current disparity in capital allocation arose, what steps will be taken to prevent it widening further, and what measures can be taken to prioritise the North West area in the future.
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