{"id":536753,"date":"2026-06-15T19:50:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T19:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/536753\/"},"modified":"2026-06-15T19:50:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T19:50:15","slug":"fund-dart-south-west-now-and-unlock-potential-for-65300-new-homes-says-cairn-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/536753\/","title":{"rendered":"Fund Dart+ South West now and unlock potential for 65,300 new homes, says Cairn \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The head of one of Ireland\u2019s largest homebuilders has called on the Government to \u201cimmediately\u201d fund the Dart<\/a>+ South West electrification project, saying too many transport projects key to housing delivery are \u201cstuck on the rank\u201d.<\/p>\n

Cairn Homes<\/a> chief executive Michael Stanley<\/a> called for politicians to prioritise key transport projects, saying the delivery of such infrastructure is \u201cintrinsically linked\u201d to meeting Ireland\u2019s \u201cambitious\u201d housing targets. <\/p>\n

In prepared submissions to the Oireachtas housing committee, Stanley said analysis by Cairn found delivery of the Dart+ South West could open the door to delivering 65,300 new homes around planned and existing rail stations.<\/p>\n

The \u20ac1 billion project involves extending Dart services from Heuston in Dublin city centre to Hazelhatch and Celbridge in Co Kildare. Train capacity along the existing line would jump from 12 to 23 per hour each way, while passenger capacity at peak times would quadruple to 20,000 per hour each direction. <\/p>\n

Permission was granted for Dart+ South West in late 2024, and works were originally expected to begin in 2025. However, a National Development Plan review published last November gave a construction date of \u201c2030+\u201d.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Dart+ South West: How long more must we wait for it and how much has it cost so far?Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Stanley said delays to \u201cenabling infrastructure\u201d create a \u201cconsiderable barrier\u201d to housing progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cCairn is consistent in our belief that Ireland\u2019s housing challenge can only be met from scaled apartment delivery in our towns and cities, and particularly on transit-oriented developments,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

A range of public transport options is often required when planning new scaled apartments, while major public transport systems are only viable if population density is sufficient to support them, he said.<\/p>\n

Stanley applauded \u201csignificant progress\u201d being made at all stages of the housing delivery pipeline. Recent improvements in housing policy, increased funding and more supportive public sentiment have resulted in a rise in delivery, he added.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u2018No profit and crap governance\u2019 \u2013 is Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX actually worth $1.75 trillion?<\/p>\n

In a submissions to the committee, Glenveagh Homes said fundamental challenges will \u201csignificantly constrain\u201d housing construction if left unresolved. There continues to be \u201csignificant\u201d variation in planning requirements, interpretations and timelines across local authorities. \u201cThis uncertainty increases costs, undermines viability and ultimately prevents the delivery of homes,\u201d the firm said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSubstantive progress\u201d has been made via Government policy measures and funding commitments, but the \u201cgreatest risk facing housing delivery\u201d is the gap that could emerge between policy intent and implementation on the ground, it said.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Construction inflation almost wipes out Government\u2019s VAT cut boost for apartment buildersOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Construction Industry Federation of Ireland\u2019s director of housing and planning, Conor O\u2019Connell, said Ireland\u2019s housing shortfall is down to an \u201cecosystem of barriers across planning, cost, infrastructure and policy\u201d. <\/p>\n

He commended \u201cmany positive policy interventions\u201d in recent years that he said \u201csignificantly contributed\u201d to increased housing supply last year and the \u201cpositive momentum\u201d in 2026.<\/p>\n

He told the committee that the process of amending local authority development plans, which set out objectives for sites within a council area, is \u201coften too slow and inconsistent to respond to urgent housing need\u201d. <\/p>\n

This means land that is suitable for residential units is not always efficiently zoned as such, creating short- and medium-term delivery risks, he said. <\/p>\n

Local authorities have been directed by the Minister for Housing to zone more sites for housing, but O\u2019Connell said many councils have not made expansive enough changes or accounted for some locations that could provide timely delivery of housing.<\/p>\n

The construction industry representatives are due to appear before the Oireachtas housing committee on Tuesday to discuss ways to unlock barriers to housing delivery. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The head of one of Ireland\u2019s largest homebuilders has called on the Government to \u201cimmediately\u201d fund the Dart+…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":536754,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[73],"tags":[79,16080,13413,18,10408,8752,19,17,67729],"class_list":["post-536753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-cairn-homes","tag-dart","tag-eire","tag-glenveagh-living","tag-housing-crisis","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-michael-stanley"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116755866284734740","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=536753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/536754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=536753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=536753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=536753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}