DUBLIN — Dublin City Council has lodged a planning application for ten new social homes in south Finglas and the scheme exists because local residents asked for it.
The council submitted the application today for a development at Berryfield Drive and Valeview Gardens in Dublin 11, on a 0.3-hectare site identified by its Finglas Area Office in direct response to requests from the local community. Public consultation opens from 30 July 2026 and runs for four weeks.
The development is small by the scale of Ireland’s housing ambitions. But its design philosophy every resident gets their own front door, every home faces the street, every public space gets improved reflects something the bigger schemes often miss.
What Is Being Built
Ten own-door homes arranged in a two-storey U-shaped layout. Six two-bedroom houses in two terraces, bookended by four one-bedroom apartments.
The upper-floor apartments will have private terraces positioned above their entrances. The ground-floor apartments face south, overlooking the existing public open space at Valeview Gardens.
Berryfield Drive will be reconfigured into two shorter cul-de-sacs Berryfield Drive East and Berryfield Drive West to improve traffic flow and pedestrian safety. A new vehicular entrance will be created from Cardiffsbridge Road. The inbound bus stop will be relocated approximately 15 metres northward to accommodate the changes.
The scheme also includes Sustainable Drainage Systems, new tree planting and upgrades to the 352 square metre public green at Valeview Gardens turning a patch of underused open space into an active part of the neighbourhood.
Why the Design Matters
The council has been deliberate about how these homes connect to the street. Active frontages, natural surveillance of public spaces and own-door access for every unit are built into the design from the ground up — not added as an afterthought.
Lord Mayor Daryl Barron said the scheme delivers on what he described as the foundational pillars of healthy civic society. “This project is not just about providing much needed family homes it is also about improving the public realm in the Berryfield Drive and Valeview Gardens estates to help foster a vibrant community of existing and new residents,” he said.
“I am particularly pleased to see that the design gives every resident their own front door, to encourage an active and safe public realm which should strengthen the Berryfield and Valeview Gardens communities by giving residents more control over their streets and open spaces,” he added.
Housing SPC Chairperson Cllr Deirdre Heney said the development reflects the council’s commitment to improving existing estates alongside delivering new homes. She noted its proximity to the proposed extension of the Green Luas line to St Helena’s in Finglas — a connectivity advantage that will improve access for residents to the wider city.
Assistant Chief Executive of the Housing Department Mick Mulhern said the public consultation marks an important milestone for what he described as a “difficult site.” “The benefits of well-thought-out housing design extend far beyond the families being housed to the wider community,” he said.
Ten Homes in Context
Ten homes will not move the needle on Ireland’s housing crisis. The country needs between 44,000 and 50,000 new homes every year and built 36,000 in 2025. Dublin City Council has already warned it is approximately 8,000 homes short of its own 2030 delivery target.
But infill schemes like this one built on underused council-owned land in established communities, designed with the neighbourhood rather than against it — represent a model that can be replicated at scale across the city.
Dublin has more than 160,000 vacant properties on the CSO‘s books. It has no shortage of sites. What it has consistently lacked is the speed, funding and political will to move them from consultation to construction.
Details of the proposed development are available for public inspection from 30 July at the Public Counter, Dublin City Council Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8, and online at engage.dublincity.ie.
Editing by M10News Housing Desk | © 2026 M10News. All rights reserved. Unauthorised reproduction is prohibited.
M10News has been reporting on Dublin City Council sitting on 16,000 potential homes in empty buildings, on Labour’s call for faster social housing delivery as targets remain distant and on Ireland’s rental market hitting record low supply in 2026.
