Land Development Agency
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-15
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Tom Brabazon (FF), Dublin Bay North

I wish to raise the Land Development Agency's phase two plans for Clongriffin. A lot of these issues will also affect the neighbouring area of Belmayne. On the phase two plan that the LDA has consulted with locals on, locals are telling me - and I agree with them - that this is not being handled correctly. There is a huge investment in housing in this area. It is unprecedented. We all agree that we need housing. However, at the same time we must put together the surrounding infrastructure in terms of parking, community facilities, transport, health facilities and proper policing facilities. This is not being done.
One of the big concerns in relation to parking is that the LDA told me that as a result of its consultation with one of the statutory consultees, the National Transport Authority, that the NTA is dictating to the LDA that there would be 0.4 of a car parking space per unit. We have seen this type of policy before, where people are allocated housing on the basis that they do not have a car, but they do have a car and the car parking overspills into neighbouring communities. It pits neighbour against neighbour. It does not bode well for future development or future sustainable community and neighbourly relations.
Regarding the NTA, this is the same NTA that is unable to provide a regular 15 bus service to Clongriffin. I could tell the Minister of State the countless representations I have made in relation to ghostbus services and, while I know it is not his portfolio, it is all highly relevant to the proposed development. This is also the same NTA that cannot build a bus shelter to keep people who want to use public transport on the Hole in The Wall road out of the rain. I passed it this morning and there were about 40 people standing at the bus stop cowering under umbrellas.
There is a huge gap in this programme. There have been ongoing discussions between Dublin City Council and the LDA in respect of provision of community facilities. None has been provided to date by DCC or the LDA. We need to plan for successful communities. There is no agreement between DCC and the LDA in respect of those community facilities. I could stand here all day and talk about those needs but in four minutes, I do not have the time.
Transport is a major issue. Residents are dealing with problems with transport every day of the week, between traffic congestion and no clear plan for any additional capacity alongside this development for buses and additional DARTs. I know we have the DART+ coastal plan, which was recently passed, but that is probably going to take ten years to start delivering. That means we are just doing a box-ticking exercise.
With policing, Coolock Garda station, which is the local station, got three extra gardaí under the latest tranche, despite the fact the population in this area is burgeoning and growing on a daily basis with new residents moving in. Policing resources are stretched beyond capacity and none of the design and safety concerns I raised with the LDA in respect of crime prevention has been taken on board. I asked it if it consulted the crime prevention office and I was told it had but I do not see any evidence of that. Any points that have been made to the LDA it robustly bats off and does not acknowledge.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-15/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-15