17th November 2022

Focus Housing Association, the approved housing body (AHB) arm of homeless and housing charity Focus Ireland, today welcomed the granting of planning permission for the delivery of 95 public homes in Cabra in north Dublin.

The homes, which will be delivered on Dominican Sisters lands off Ratoath Road generously gifted to Focus Housing Association, will comprise 14 1-bedroom, 67 2-bedroom, 13 3-bedroom and 1 4-bedroom dwellings across five three-storey blocks.

The development will also include two community rooms for future tenant use and considerable public open space of over 7,300m², including a public plaza, public green area and children’s play space.

Speaking on the development, Focus Ireland CEO Pat Dennigan said:

“Focus Housing Association is delighted to see planning permission granted for the development of this public housing development in Cabra which will provide homes for families and individuals, many of whom have been stuck on Dublin City Council’s social waiting list for many years. This development is exactly the type of scheme we need to meet our new build social housing delivery targets year on year, and playing a direct part in this delivery is a cornerstone of Focus Ireland’s 5-year Strategy where we aim to grow our housing stock by a further 1,150 homes by 2025.”

Welcoming the development, Mary Lou McDonald, Dublin Central TD for Sinn Féin said:

“I am delighted to see that this much needed Focus Ireland social housing development is progressing in Cabra. There is a significant local need for good quality, well managed social housing for a wide range of household sizes and these much needed homes will go some way to meeting that need.”

She added:

“Focus Ireland has a strong reputation supporting single people and families through homelessness and into long term and secure tenancies and as a local TD for this area I look forward to working with Focus Ireland on this project and welcoming their tenants into what is a strong and vibrant community.”

Offering her perspective, Mary Fitzpatrick, Fianna Fáil Senator and Member of the Oireachtas Housing Committee, said:

“I welcome the granting of planning permission to Focus Housing Association to build 95 social homes in Cabra. These will be the first state funded public homes for individuals and families to be built in Cabra in more than ten years. Housing For All is the biggest housing programme in the history of the state and has changed Government housing policy so that sites like this can be developed to deliver family homes. I hope the construction can commence as soon as possible and look forward to individuals and families who have waited far too long being provided with forever homes on this site.”

Concluding, Jan Mingle, Director of Property & Development at Focus Ireland, said:

“We are acutely aware of the pressures facing families and individuals as homelessness increases. Many more thousands are what we call the hidden homeless – people living with friends or relatives or young people stuck at home with parents who can’t afford to move out. The answer and solution to this crisis is ramping up delivery of social and affordable housing. Working with local authorities across the country, drawing on support from the Housing Finance Agency and the Department of Housing, Focus Housing Association is committed to increasing our own delivery of housing and through schemes such as Cabra, that is exactly what we’re doing.”

Notes to Editors:

Details of Focus Housing Association’s approved plans can be viewed here on Dublin City Council’s planning portal.

Architect impressions of proposals also attached.

To speak to a Focus Ireland representative, please contact Communications Officer, Darragh Moriarty at 087 412 4242 or email him at darragh.moriarty@focusireland.ie.

To speak to either political representative quoted above, please contact their offices directly.