Developer warns planned 18,500-home Dunsink scheme risks delivery failure over apartment density

Fingal County Council's plan for 18,500 homes at Dunsink faces viability hurdles due to high-density apartment requirements, a major developer has warned.

Under local authority plans, up to 18,500 residential units are earmarked for a 1,000-acre site around a former landfill situated between Finglas and Blanchardstown. The location is widely viewed by housing analysts as the largest remaining land bank positioned inside Dublin's M50 ring road.

Michael Prenty, property director at Ballymore Group, cautioned that the planned residential units will not get built without modifications to the development mix. Prenty stated that the current framework designates "way too dense" apartment blocks, creating cost pressures that will render the resulting housing unaffordable for prospective purchasers.

The intervention reflects broader industry debate over the government's planning policy emphasis on high-rise urban apartment schemes. Industry figures argue that escalating development expenditure affects both construction delivery chains and end-purchaser affordability, especially because multi-storey apartment blocks cannot easily be delivered in gradual increments compared to standard low-rise housing developments.