People Before Profit councillor Madeleine Johansson has raised concerns about a new social housing Public Private Partnership project. The project which includes a site in Clonburris SDZ was brought to councillors at the February council meeting for agreement to proceed through Dublin City Council. The bundle includes sites in Dublin City Council, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, Kildare County Council, Wicklow and South Dublin. The site selected by council management is located beside existing traveller accommodation at Lynch’s Lane with the capacity for 110-120 homes.
The Public Private Partnership will see a private operator constructing and maintaining the homes for 25 years while being paid a monthly fee by the state.
People Before Profit Councillor for Palmerstown-Fonthill Madeleine Johansson said: “I voted against this PPP proposal for a number of reasons. Firstly, we don’t know what the cost to the state will be for the 25 years of the project and whether or not this will be value for money for the taxpayer. Secondly, there has been a very negative experience of PPP’s in places such as St Michael’s Estate in Inchicore where regeneration has still not been completed after more than 15 years. For these reasons I believe that the council should develop this site directly for social housing rather than entering into a PPP with a private company.
“In addition, I have concerns about the existing Traveller accommodation beside this site and the need for more Traveller Specific Accommodation in the county. This site could have been used for the provision of additional accommodation and I believe there should have been consultation with the existing Traveller families and local representatives before any decision was made.”
