When council officials floated the plan back in January, the price tag was €12m. When a council committee heard more about it last week, the cost had risen to €22.8m.
At meetings earlier this week, Dublin city councillors also approved a local area plan for Cherry Orchard, and discussed about how to tackle illegal parking on Montpelier Hill.
Any vision for this corner of the Docklands should respect the history of the 18th-century dry docks, says Reg McCabe of the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland.
The council is bringing in hundreds of new Bigbelly bins, which offer real-time monitoring, and require fewer pick-ups. But some worry they’ll also bring hidden costs, financial and otherwise.
There are 25 gadgets on poles in that part of the city, as the council works out how 5G might be rolled out further, says Jamie Cudden, of Smart Dublin.
Hibernia REIT asked the council for a land swap or joint venture. A spokesperson said Tuesday that the company thought there was room for a more attractive development with more social homes.
Some Dublin city councillors say more should be done about illegal parking, whether on gig days at 3Arena or match days at Croke Park – or just everyday across the city.
