Defects with some of the early phases of homes under construction at Oscar Traynor Woods in Dublin aroused concern that the vast State-subsidised development was not in compliance with building regulations, it has emerged.
More than 850 houses and apartments are being built by Glenveagh in Coolock in what is one of the largest residential projects under construction in the State. The council will use 40 per cent of the homes for social housing, another 40 per cent will be reserved for cost-rental, with the remaining 20 per cent to be sold under the affordable purchase scheme.
The first 16 affordable purchase homes, aimed at low- and middle-income workers, went on sale last summer at prices of up to €475,000 for a three-bed semidetached house. A total of 260 prospective house buyers applied for these homes which were due to be completed early this year.
[ Non-compliant construction work discovered at Dublin affordable housing schemeOpens in new window ]
The council on Monday confirmed its building control officers had conducted five site inspections at Oscar Traynor Woods between May and December last year and had identified construction work that was not compliant with building regulations.
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In a response to follow-up queries from councillors, the council’s assistant chief executive with responsibility for housing Mick Mulhern said “defects” were identified with “some of the early phases of housing that’s under way”.
Building control officers were in discussion with Glenveagh to “agree a set of works that are considered necessary to address any of the issues and the defects that were identified”, he said.
It is understood some work on the site has now been paused to allow investigations to proceed, but the council was not yet in a position to say to what degree this would delay the delivery of homes.
“We’re hopeful that it’s minimal,” said Mr Mulhern. “At the moment what we’re trying to do is finalise exactly what works are needed. Once that’s clear — the extent of the works that are needed to correct some of those problems — then we will be able to understand what that delay means.”
The council would not confirm on Tuesday if the defects identified related to the 16 affordable houses, to a larger number of homes, or to issues across the site. However, in its statement on Monday, it said “the works were not progressing in a workmanlike manner in accordance with the requirements of the building regulations”.
The council drew considerable criticism last summer for the high cost of the “affordable” purchase homes at Oscar Traynor Woods. It subsequently widened the eligible income bands for prospective buyers, introducing lower household income limits, with prices starting at €254,358 but still rising to €475,000 for those on higher incomes. The first homes were due to be ready early this year, with the full estate of 853 homes due for completion by 2027.
In response to queries on Tuesday Glenveagh said: “No homes in this development have been completed yet, as construction works are still at an early stage.”
Each home would be “completed to the high standards that are rightly expected of us”, it said.
[ Oscar Traynor Woods ‘affordable’ homes attract 260 applicantsOpens in new window ]
The firm said it had provided detailed responses to the council and was “committed to resolving any issues arising from these requests to the satisfaction of all parties”.
The 17-hectare site off Oscar Traynor Road, just east of the entrance to the Dublin Port Tunnel, was bought by the council in the 1980s, but despite being surrounded by housing estates built in the 1970s and 1980s, remained undeveloped.
In early 2015 the council produced a plan for the redevelopment of vacant council land, including Oscar Traynor Road, in what was its first big housing development programme since the property crash.
Councillors in 2017 approved a 50 per cent private, 30 per cent social and 20 per cent affordable housing mix for Oscar Traynor Road, but later voted to shelve the plan to seek more public housing on the land.
A deal was eventually reached with Glenveagh in 2021 for the construction of 853 State-subsidised homes. An application was lodged with An Bord Pleanála in December 2022 and approved in February 2023. Construction started in December 2023.
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