Derelict Dublin buildings are set to become housing for key workers.
Lord Mayor of Dublin, Ray McAdam, said that gardaí, teachers, and nurses would be eligible for these cost rental homes under a new council plan to rejuvenate derelict buildings in the city centre.
He added that that the council will have to discuss with the Department of Housing and Local Government about what other types of workers will also be able to live in them and said that he would like to see supermarket staff and some other professions classed as 'key workers' as they too were 'central' to keeping supply chains going during the pandemic.
This comes as Dublin City Council unanimously adopted the plan that aims to rezone land and provide up to 25,000 extra housing units between now and 2032.
The plan would come on top of the council's current plan in which 49,000 homes are currently zoned.
13,800 units of this weeks adopted plan are set to come from industrial estates in Kylemore and Glasnevin.
Accommodation earmarked for key workers under a new rejuvenation pilot which will be focused on North Frederick St and Middle Abbey St and surrounding areas.
The project aims to 'transform derelict, vacant, and underused buildings into new cost-rental homes for key workers and into new commercial, retail, or mixed-use spaces, alongside public realm improvements and street activation measures'.
If this is successful, the council revealed plans to expand into other areas of the city.
Mayor McAdam described the vacant buildings and dereliction as the city’s 'social crime', and revealed his hope for the plan to address it, adding that he wants a 'living city where we have key worker homes above our shops'.
With the houses set to accommodate key workers, many have been questioning who falls under this definition.
Mr McAdam commented: "I would describe key workers, as gardaí, nurses, teachers. Those people who keep this city going on a daily basis.
"And for too many at the moment, those people are priced out of the communities in which they live, and by having the level of vacant or derelict properties or buildings that we have in that city, being able to turn them into cost rental homes or affordable apartments, they’ll be able to live in the communities in which they serve."
In regards to whether there is a risk that key workers might have to give up their accommodation if they decided to change careers, Mr McAdam said the priority should be delivering the units first, and that they 'will be able to work all of that out as we get into it'.
