Housing association buys up two Dublin estates

Two newly built Dublin housing estates, which were intended for sale on the open market, have been bought in their entirety by social housing body Túath Housing.

A total of 117 families on Dublin City Council's housing waiting list will be accommodated in the estates in Finglas and Beaumont, which were purchased using loans from the Housing Finance Agency and the Department of the Environment.

Túath has bought all 68 houses and apartments at the An Riasc estate in Finglas and all 49 at the Thornwood estate in Beaumont.

However, eight private buyers had already paid booking deposits of several thousand euro to buy houses in An Riasc.

No consultation

Local Fianna Fáil councillor Paul McAuliffe said the deal between the developers

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and Túath had been concluded without the knowledge of the prospective buyers or without consultation with city councillors.

“There is something wrong with our planning system that a planning application can be made for a mixed housing development and with the stroke of a pen, it can be converted into something else.”

Mr McAuliffe said while he welcomed the fact homes would be going to people on the housing waiting list, it was a mistake to have large housing estates with no mixed tenure.

“The principle of social mix or mixed tenure has been a hard earned lesson to learn over the past 50 years and we simply can’t let government or local authorities make that mistake again.”

He said some of the families who had planned to buy houses in the estate had bought furniture for their new homes.

A spokesman for Túath said the prospective buyers had been given the option to go ahead with their purchase, but all eight had decided not to proceed and they had their deposits returned, in addition to any legal costs that had been incurred.

‘Good faith’

“The association has acted in good faith in its planned purchase of these homes and in accordance with its remit to provide homes for those who cannot afford to provide housing for themselves through the open market,” Túath chief executive Sean O’Connor said.

Túath would work in collaboration with the council and the local community and others to ensure sustainable communities were created, he said.

“We believe that quality housing management is critical to effective place-making and to sustaining safe and secure estates. We will be working hard to ensure An Riasc becomes a safe, secure and popular place where people and families choose to live and settle down.”

No deposits had been taken in relation to Thornwood, built by Granbrind Ltd. The developers could not be contacted for comment yesterday.