Six-year wait for 25 homes at derelict Dolphin's Barn site frustrates Councillor
Significant time gaps between announcing housing projects and actually delivering them can undermine constituent’s trust in Dublin City Council.
That's according to Labour Councillor Darragh Moriarty, who made the comments during a discussion of housing matters at yesterday’s South Central Area Committee meeting. Cllr Moriarty commented on a Dolphin’s Barn site which is set for 25 new homes in quarter two of 2028.
However, Cllr Moriarty revealed these plans date back to 2022 and questioned what led to such a small project taking six years to go to tender. The project is set to be delivered by the approved housing body, The Iveagh Trust.
The derelict site is situated at the corner of Dolphin’s Barn St. Cllr Moriarty explained the frustration of announcing projects like this to excited constituents who understandably assume the houses will be delivered soon, only for it to now be “three years later and not a brick laid.” “What are the knots we’ve tied ourselves up in or have feasted upon us that we’re only getting to disposal now?” Cllr Moriarty asked. He agreed that this a part of a much wider issue, but said that the derelict site is particularly problematic and an “eyesore” for those living in Dolphin’s Barn.
Speaking with Dublin Live, Cllr Moriarty revealed that planning issues and viability concerns had delayed the project, as a non-residential use space on the ground floor meant the location was complicated to plan for. But Cllr Moriarty said “this is just 25 homes” and “we need hundreds of thousands of them” to solve the housing crisis.
“There's anticipation in the community, there's people waiting on these to be delivered, people are hoping to put a name down for them. Delays like this are really frustrating,” he said.
With issues around ownership, funding, viability, and rising construction costs, derelict sites like the one at Dolphin’s Barn can spend years within the planning process. Meaning that representatives like Cllr Moriarty end up announcing projects to residents that won’t begin construction for years to come.
“It seems to me that this Dolphin’s Barn site is collateral damage of government restriction, and ultimately what that means for my constituents is we have a derelict site sitting there for longer than it should,” he said. “People lose trust in the process, trust that things are happening and being delivered. It’s deeply frustrating that we have so much vacancy and dereliction around us.
“People walk by it every day as they take their kids out to go to school. They’re walking by and they look at it and think nobody cares about our community when they leave this empty site.” Michael Cleary, chartered planning and development surveyor with Iveagh Trust, spoke to the South Central Area Committee about the extended timeline of the project and said they are “eager to advance construction” and, while there have been planning permission issues in the past, he now believes they’ve “got it over the line.”
“We’ve now concluded a lot of the work with Dublin City Council on the viability issues and are now able to lodge an application for funding within the next week,” he said. Mr Cleary revealed they hoped to get a positive decision for funding in Q1 2026 before going to tender in Q2.
How the ground floor non-residential part of the site will be used has not been confirmed, but Mr Cleary said they would be open to Cllr Moriarty’s suggestion that it be allocated for “community use” provided they can “find someone who can operate it.”
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