The Build

Gather round the fire for a very different kind of Christmas story. In this special episode, we hand the microphone over to a weary Santa Claus to narrate the true, exhausted saga of the "Ironborn" site in Dublin.It isn't a story about toys or elves. It's a farce about:Three Judicial Reviews.Five planning applications in nine years.Millions of Euro spent.And absolutely zero homes built.Join St. Nick as he walks you through exactly why the Irish planning system is on the Naughty List this year.(Note: This episode features an AI-generated voice performance. If you enjoyed this, please consider donating to Focus Ireland this Christmas.)Send us a text

What if Ireland's cities were planned with the same vision and coherence as Barcelona, Copenhagen, or Helsinki? Tony Reddy, Director of Reddy Architecture and Urbanism, reveals how our planning system has trapped us in a development model where uncertainty reigns supreme and city-building happens in fragmented, piecemeal fashion.Drawing from over four decades of architectural experience across Dublin, New York, and London, Reddy takes us through the stark differences between European urban planning and Ireland's discretionary system. While Helsinki's planners are designing street infrastructure for neighborhoods that don't yet exist—planning crossroads for 2030—Ireland's planners are drowning in 1,200-page text documents that few people ever read completely. This systemic failure has turned development into a high-stakes gamble where projects typically take 2-3 years just to secure planning permission before construction can even begin.Send us a text

Housing shouldn't be a one-size-fits-all proposition. Yet in a decision that stands alone in Europe, Ireland banned an entire category of housing with a ministerial pen stroke. Why?Peter Horgan, co-founder of Lucas Capital and Grayling Properties, takes us inside the world of co-living - professionally managed, community-focused accommodations that serve as landing pads for young professionals relocating to Dublin. With 70% of residents being newcomers to the city, these developments fulfil a critical need in the housing ecosystem, yet they were banned in an act of self-sabotage that is an all too common move by policy makers.Show notes:Rathmines House - https://rathmineshouse.com/#buildingLiberties House - https://libertieshouse.com/Portaferry choosing article - https://www.irishnews.com/news/northern-ireland/approved-communal-housing-plan-for-co-down-will-be-first-of-its-kind-in-ireland-MMAYV7OSEVE4RDOZQDGRILFLI4/Portaferry website - https://www.portaferrycohousing.org/An article about co-living in Germany - https://cohabitas.com/communal-living-in-germany/?utm_sourceGrayling Properties wrote an article about co-living Send us a text

Tom Phillips is a town planner and an art history buff.  We sat down to discuss his somewhat unusual road to becoming a town planner, why so many planning applications get invalidated, what all the acronyms mean, why Children can lobby local councils, podiatry (yes, really!) and why Ireland had, until recently, more than 80 separate planning authorities.Some notes from the episode:TPA report on LRDs: https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:1e6b9094-8b42-3e71-abc1-47380d71cc93Article about Gavin Newson suspending laws to allow rebuilding https://www.irishtimes.com/world/us/2025/01/12/california-governor-suspends-environmental-laws-to-allow-rebuilding-in-fire-zones/Lichfields https://lichfields.ukStart With Why – Simon Sinek https://www.easons.com/start-with-why-simon-sinek-9780241958223The Incredulity of Saint Thomas https://www.artchive.com/artwork/the-incredulity-of-saint-thomas-michelangelo-merisi-da-caravaggio-1601-02/Disclosure:Though Tom is a great guy and extremely knowledgeable, I hadn't until now had the pleasure of meeting him.  Neither he, nor his firm, has carried out any work for me or for any of my companies in the past.Send us a text

We speak to Brendan Slattery of McCann FitzGerald LLP about the new Planning & Development Act.Brendan is a partner at McCann in the Environmental and Planning law division.  He does an incredible job of breaking down the new law and what its likely effects are. There are a lot of surprises, and not the good kind. I throughly enjoyed the chat with him and would urge anyone who needs advice on the subject to give him a call, as his knowledge on the subject is as in-depth as I've ever come across, and his experience is very broad.Some more details:Kari asked ChatGPT “Can you summarise the major changes that have been made to the Planning and Development Act 2024 in Ireland”, here’s what it came up with https://chatgpt.com/share/674ec2db-fea8-8004-aa23-3eee757036e8Mark Ruffalo knows about planning law https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2024/10/09/mark-ruffalo-lng-green-party-planning-bill-ireland/China and its ultra high voltage power lines https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20241113-will-chinas-ultra-high-voltage-grid-pay-off-for-renewable-powerBook recommendation: Running from Office: Confessions of Ambition and Failure in Politicshttps://www.easons.com/running-from-office-eoghan-murphy-9781804189023?srsltid=AfmBOorQV5NHI3fBcJc4wnS6Qp6NpEQIJ_7hNnUaD-Lmcpke8JQMtUFoDisclosure:While Brendan has not carried out work for me or my companies directly, we have on occasion in the past worked with his firm McCann Fitzgerald, though never the Environmental and Planning law division.Send us a text