This month’s cover is a pastiche of the “Doors of Dublin” poster and postcard, substituting its polished Georgian doors with doors to vacant buildings and makeshift homes.
When we asked readers what they wanted candidates running for Dublin City Council to talk about, dereliction and vacancy were among the top-10 most-mentioned issues.
An advert for the site, vacant for years, says a feasibility study displays “the potential for a student accommodation scheme comprising 285 bed spaces”.
The Supply Hub is not the only business in Doyle’s Corner that has had to leave its premises in the last few months. There’s a whole strip now that’s empty, or emptying out: 364 to 374 North Circular Road.
As of December 2017, the owner of this building was Martina Investments Limited, a company registered in Guernsey, and owned by two companies in the Bahamas.
The site has been sold to an unknown buyer, the brothers have been moved out, and the school is due to close in June. What then? local residents and councillors worry. Will it sit vacant for years?
If they’re going to make an impact, they should be focused on the issue full-time – and not just be existing staff members now endowed with an extra title, says Francis Doherty, of Peter McVerry Trust.
There should be a comprehensive, public database of who owns the properties in the city, says Francis Doherty of Peter McVerry Trust. “It’s in the public interest, the common good.”
