Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin accuses Dublin City Council of ‘discrimination’

The Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin has accused Dublin City Council of “discrimination” for proposing planning curbs that would prevent the use of redundant church lands for housing.

The archdiocese also said the council’s move ran counter to a Government request to the church to make surplus property available to help tackle the housing crisis.

“It seems ironic that this would appear to be made more difficult by the proposed zoning status of significant numbers of properties in Dublin,” the archdiocese said in a statement.

The statement on Friday came a day after The Irish Times reported on a planning submission in which it urged the council to assign dozens of church sites for zoning that would allow homes be built on them.

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The submission objected to a proposal to tighten the zoning rules governing such sites to preclude any housing or office developments in all but “highly exceptional” circumstances. “Unfair restrictions could give rise to the appearance and reality of discrimination, however unintended,” the statement said.

The submission was made as part of a public consultation by Dublin City Council on its 2022-28 draft development plan that will set building parameters for the rest of the decade.

The council had no comment on the church submission or the claim that the zoning change was discriminatory. “The team are busy assessing the 3,200-plus submissions and preparing the [chief executive’s] report on these submissions which will respond to the issues raised,” the council said.

“The [chief executive’s] report will be considered by the city council at a special meeting currently scheduled for July 5th.”

The archdiocese said not much time had passed since the Minister for Housing asked the Irish episcopal conference “to cooperate” in addressing the housing crisis by making surplus land and buildings available for housing development.

“In response, the bishops’ conference indicated their desire that redundant parish properties should, as in the past, whenever appropriate, be made available for housing and especially social housing,” the statement said.

“It seems ironic that this would appear to be made more difficult by the proposed zoning status of significant numbers of properties in Dublin.”

The properties listed in a 130-page submission from the archdiocese include 33 churches in areas such as Artane, Ballymun, Beaumont, Cabra, Griffith Avenue, Drimnagh, Navan Road, North William Street, Raheny, Walkinstown, Terenure, Harrington Street, Church Street and James’ Street.