Dublin to reach new heights

Dublin Chamber has welcomed the news that height restrictions on new buildings are to be lifted in the capital.

Reacting to comments made by Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy, the business organisation said that constructing taller buildings will help ease Dublin's growing housing crisis and allow for the potential of key development sites in the city to be realised.

Dublin Chamber CEO Mary Rose Burke said: "A planning system which allows for the appropriate construction of higher and denser buildings is vital if Dublin is to be able to cope with the 280,000 additional people forecast to be living in Dublin by 2031.

"Allowing for taller buildings doesn't mean that Dublin will become a city dominated by skyscrapers or that the unique architectural character of Dublin will be lost. Rather, it will allow for projects that will meet the needs of the future, add to the city's built heritage and boost the local economy. The possibility of going higher also helps build the business case for investment in new and improved transport infrastructure, such as MetroLink, new Luas lines, the BusConnects project and world-class cycling infrastructure.”

Dublin Chamber said that building higher and increasing densities is essential if the city is to be equipped for the demands of 21st century living.

However, it cautioned that relaxing height restrictions will be pointless unless the planning authorities have the conviction required to green light ambitious high-rise projects.

Dublin Chamber said its research had found that constructing even one extra storey on a one hectare site would provide around 20 additional residential units.