Johnny Ronan’s Tara Street tower approval divides opinion

Business and conservation groups have weighed in on the decision by An Bord Pleanála to approve a 22-storey tower in Dublin city centre that will be developed by Johnny Ronan.

An Taisce called the decision to approve the skyscraper scheme on Tara Street a “catastrophic error”, while the city’s Chamber of Commerce, which last year provided a letter of support for the project, said it “has the potential to act as a catalyst” for the inner city area for which it is planned.

Damage

Mr Ronan’s Tanat company last week received approval for the scheme from the board at the second time of asking. The proposed tower, the tallest in the State, will be 30m higher than Liberty Hall, which it will face across the river Liffey.

“The decision of An Bord Pleanála to permit a 22-storey high-rise tower at Tara Street, opposite the Custom House, is a catastrophic error which undoes decades of planning control in Dublin and will irrevocably damage the city’s irreplaceable character,” claimed An Taisce.