Below is a catch-up on the stories that caught my attention earlier in the week, together with some of the industry stories from across the broadsheets today.   For the second week in a row, the Sunday Independent carries the most comprehensive planning, construction, and housing news and commentary.

As always, you might let me know if I have missed out on any relevant property news by emailing  carol@caroltallon.com.

(Apologies in advance for any typos, it’s difficult to get good help on a Sunday!)

 

Sunday Read(s)

 

  • What is the Irish position in Brexit developments? A Brexit Irish SWOT analysis

https://www.thepositiveeconomist.com/irish-position-in-brexit-developments-brexit-irish-swot-analysis-susan-hayesculleton/

 

  • Remembering Herbert Simms, the man who rebuilt Dublin

Dublin’s first housing architect, who took up the post in 1932, did ‘heroic’ work

https://www-irishtimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/remembering-herbert-simms-the-man-who-rebuilt-dublin-1.3447370?mode=amp

 

 

 

Trending Property Story

 

DIT’s new campus: ‘This is all about connections and making it work’

Grangegorman set to host Ireland’s first technological university

https://www-irishtimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.irishtimes.com/news/education/dit-s-new-campus-this-is-all-about-connections-and-making-it-work-1.3444344?mode=amp

 

 

Other property news

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • The lead story in The Sunday Times today focuses on the €2.7 million paid to the Gresham hotel in Dublin to house homeless people over the past two-and-a-half years.  The total amount paid to Irish hotels to accommodate homeless people in 2017 was €46.93 million, which is a jump of more than 20% on the previous year.

 

  • O’Flynn Construction  is planning to lodge a fast-track application to An Bord Pleanála to build 220 homes in Midleton, County Cork according to Brian Carey in The Sunday Times today.

 

  • Also, he writes that UK sales at Ballymore (Sean Mulryan) “surged to £692 million“ with successful completions at Embassy Gardens, Providence Tower and London City Island.

 

  • To be fair to the Sunday Independent, they are not going to let us lose the run of ourselves again. After several weeks of positive property price news, there is a sobering opinion piece by Colm McCarthy  on page 8 ‘Yes, we’ve recovered but they could blow it again: The economy is in good shape-exactly the right time to fix that roof while the sun is shining’.   He writes that “the third budget from this Government affords what is presumably the final chance to turn sentiment into practice. The next government is unlikely to thank its predecessor if it inherits an uncompleted budgetary repair job“.

 

  • In the Sunday Independent today, all the lead business stories are construction and property related. Samantha McCaughren  reports that an advisory firm has warned that “additional pay rises for Kingspan chief executive Gene Murtagh should only be given in exceptional circumstances“.

 

  • Gavin McLoughlin writes about how Cairn and O’Flynn are set to boost Cork housing with fast-track approvals for 750 homes across to schemes. This is including the 220 units (230 according to the Independent) by O’Flynn referenced above.

 

  • Ronald Quinlan writes about how Ballymore Properties will partner with CIE on the delivery of a major scheme in the IFSC.  This is story I have mentioned here a few times and it is an important one to watch given the sheer size of the site (almost 10 acres) and scale of development planned.

 

  • Fearghal O’Connor’s  business interview this week is with Gordon O’Regan,  chief executive officer at L&M Keating.  The County Clare-based building company is currently involved in a joint-venture project at Dublin Port.  Recently completed projects include: the Living Bridge at University of Limerick, Grangegorman Primary Care Centre and works at Doolin Pier.

 

  • Hugh O’Connell, writing in  The Sunday Business Post today, reports that “Amazon has warned the government that its proposals to fast-track planning applications for data centres may not go far enough“. This is a controversial topic that appears here on a regular basis, particularly in the aftermath of the Apple debacle in Athenry.

 

  • Jack Horgan-Jones writes about the Sammon Group examinership on page 5  of The Sunday Business Post today.  The troubled group is apparently in negotiations with property developer PJ McGrath over a potential debt and equity rescue package.

 

  • Roisin Burke has an in-depth feature on ‘The battle for Bullock Harbour’ in the SBP.  This is a controversial proposed development that I have mentioned and written about several times here. The crux of the matter is that Bartra (Richard Barrett) seeks to build three large houses complete with roof terraces and two apartments with balconies on a half acre site at one end of the harbour. There are also plans for a new public square, cafe  and commercial units. There have been many objections including ones from high-profile residents (Christy Moore and Tommy Tiernan). It will be interesting to see how ABP rule on this one.

 

 

Industry happenings

 

 

 

 

  • Shane MacSweeney, Partner and Head of Government and Infrastructure at EY talks to Owen McQuade about the ambitions of Project Ireland 2040, its potential to shape a future Ireland and the challenges of implementation: http://www.eolasmagazine.ie/creating-our-own-destiny/

 

 

 

Proptech

 

  • There is a nice mention for Moovingo and other new online estate agencies (including yourbricks.ie, onlineestateagent.ie, buymyplace.ie, propertycloud.ie, estateagentonline.ie, moove.ie) in the Sunday Independent today. It appears that home owners thinking of selling their properties are now ready to look at alternatives to traditional estate agents.  This is entirely unsurprising given global and particularly UK trends in recent years. In fact, the Irish industry has been quite slow to adapt; however, we know that property buyers are ready for this transition. Today’s report shows that sellers are ready too –  the only people lagging behind appear to be the traditional estate agencies themselves…

 

 

 

 

 

  • Transitioning to BIM in 2018 | BIMIreland.ie

“CitA Co-founding Director Dr Alan Hore tells us about the 2018 Digital Transition Series and the year ahead for CitA as they help the Irish Construction Industry transition to BIM and Digital Construction.” http://www.bimireland.ie/2018/04/06/transitioning-to-bim-in-2018/

 

 

  • To keep up-to-date on all things tech and innovation for the planning, construction and property industries, head over to https://prop-tech.ie, the national resource website for innovators, investors and mentors or email news@proptech.ie .

Property Insiders Guide

 

As many of you might know, my annual property book The Irish Property Buyers’ Handbook (since 2011) has undergone a rebrand for 2018 and will now appear as part of The Property Insider series, published by Oak Tree Press, the first three titles are now published and available here.

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