2026-05-19

139. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the regeneration of Oliver Bond House following his meeting with the regeneration forum. [37767/26]

I understand the Minister had a very frank and potentially positive meeting with the Oliver Bond regeneration forum, so I am hoping he can update the House on the progress that was made and also listen to some of the concerns some of us continue to have with the approach being taken by the Department, not just with respect to the Oliver Bond complex but also concerning the other inner-city flat complex regeneration projects across Dublin.

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very important matter, namely, the urban regeneration of Oliver Bond House. I did meet in the last couple of hours with the residents of Oliver Bond House and the Oliver Bond regeneration forum. The meeting was very much an opportunity for a meaningful discussion with the residents, to listen to them and to see where we can go from here in a very productive manner. It emphasises the Government’s commitment to carry out the regeneration and to fund it. The funding, in excess of €20 million, is still there, of course. Obviously, people are frustrated. They want to hear that the funding is still there, but, more importantly, they want to see progress and action to carry out the regeneration work there, because people are living in a completely unacceptable situation. The conditions in Oliver Bond House are, in terms of the residents’ health and the environment, totally unacceptable, as I said, in respect of how people are living there. It is for those reasons that the regeneration of the estate remains a priority. We have been working with Dublin City Council. The importance of the meeting today was to get an opportunity to listen to the residents. The piece being discussed at the moment concerns blocks L, M and N within the complex, but there are other aspects there that we can start to do in parallel and actually accelerate the overall regeneration project. I reaffirm the €2.5 million that is there for public realm works. I have asked Dublin City Council to clarify how much of that has been drawn down. I think it is very little at this stage. I have asked it to clarify how much of the works have been carried out, because that funding is there. There is also €1.37 million for a community centre.

I thank the Minister. This may be one of those rare occasions where we might have more in common than we have to disagree about. I do think the letter sent by the Minister’s officials to Dublin City Council in April was a mistake. The Department’s position had shifted significantly from the stage 1 approval in 2023 or 2024. The amalgamation of blocks L, M and N from 74 units to 46 units had already been approved in principle two years ago. In fact, the revised scheme from Dublin City Council includes a significant improvement with the addition of a community centre. Likewise, I refer to the explanation given by the Minister’s officials to us in the housing committee last week that it was possible to build 13 units inside the existing development but that the Bridgefoot Street development could not be considered, in which case it would be possible to get 43 units as part of the overall scheme. That is a mistake.

I thank the Deputy.

I am hoping to hear that there is some flexibility to return to the good elements of the Dublin City Council scheme so we can get the resolution that the residents of the Oliver Bond complex, in particular, desperately need.

There is a pathway to resolving this issue. We do need an appropriate mix. The position is not to say that there can be no amalgamation or even a reasonable amalgamation. The Bridgefoot Street development part is essential for the residents of Oliver Bond House as well, and that is a part that can be quite accelerated. There is an element where too much of this is happening sequentially. I am very struck by the fact that the actual process here started five years ago now. Whatever decision was made and whoever made it, and I do not want to go into the history of why we are here, it should not have taken five years to get to this point. We also addressed other issues. There are some important ongoing works that I would call far more than maintenance. Water is dripping through roofs and there is mould. That work should not be put on hold either while the regeneration is happening. There is probably a sense that some works that need to be happening are not happening in the interim either to ensure that people can, at least, address some of those issues. These are ongoing maintenance problems, although far more than maintenance.

The hardening attitude of the Department to the issue of amalgamations is a problem. The issue here, in the first instance, should be to ensure that these homes are brought up to modern standards and, exactly as the Minister said, for good estate management, that there is an appropriate mix in each block, as well as across the development. I disagree with the Minister slightly in that I think Dublin City Council had actually put forward not just the proposals for the three blocks in question and Bridgefoot Street, but had also set out to the Department its intentions for the remainder of the complex. There needs to be a clear understanding that the priority has to be to bring these homes up to standard. Where it is possible to get additional units on site or near the site, we absolutely should do that, but it should not be a condition. I would hate to see that we will have the same problems every time a new proposal goes in for each of the subsequent phases or other developments. The sooner that issue is clarified, the better.

I thank the Deputy.

Again, I am not hearing anything from the Minister that I disagree with. The quicker all of us can move on right across the inner-city flat complexes, the better.

Absolutely. These people are living in appalling conditions. We can accelerate the entire process here. It is about having the right mix and people being able to stay in their own local communities. The Bridgefoot Street development is an essential part of that, and, as the Deputy rightly said, there are another ten blocks for regeneration. Three blocks are part of a demolition proposal, with replacement as well. It is about how all of that happens. Every time there has been a proposal in this regard, it has simply taken too long. We have agreed to stay engaged with the Oliver Bond regeneration forum, accelerate this process and engage with Dublin City Council too. The forum is ably chaired by Frank Clarke. It is the residents’ voices, though, that are so important here, and they deserve to have decent, habitable homes that they can live in with dignity. I am determined to see that happen and I am keeping a very close ongoing involvement with this from here.