Dublin could be facing a high-rise future, with strong indications that the current restrictions on building heights are to be dropped from a new draft development plan for the city, to be unveiled by the end of this month.
The issue of permitting high-rise buildings is being examined "very closely" by Dublin Corporation's planners, according to the city manager, Mr John Fitzgerald. He was speaking in the course of a wide-ranging interview after his first 18 months in office.
Planners are responding to pressure from the development lobby - which regards the existing policy on building heights as far too rigid - and also to a more general view that residential densities in the city should be increased to make better use of urban land.
Though the city manager would not be drawn on the issue of high-rise buildings, sources said it was likely that the current restrictions would be dropped to permit buildings even higher than Liberty Hall - the city's tallest, at 17 storeys - in selected locations, such as the docklands area.
Mr Fitzgerald denied that such a move would give Dublin a Pittsburgh-style skyline. He said it was generally accepted that the low-rise character of the city centre should be protected, but there was more "scope for creativity" in the docklands and elsewhere.
The master plan adopted by the Docklands Development Authority leaves open the prospect of permitting some high-rise buildings, but says that it will be "guided" by the criteria laid down in the city plan. But now these criteria may be dropped altogether.
The current policy defines a high building as "any building that is significantly higher" than others in its vicinity. It lays down 14 detailed criteria which must be considered, including disruption to the existing streetscape, overshadowing and other planning issues.
It is a reserved function of the 52-member City Council to adopt a development plan for the city, having taken into account what the public has to say about its provisions. In the past, debates about the city plan have dragged on for six years or more.
But the city manager made it clear that he hopes to have the new plan adopted by the end of this year. "I'm absolutely determined that we're not going to go on discussing it forever," he said, adding that the latest plan would get a "short, sharp" treatment.
"Rather than spend six years haranguing each other about a draft development plan that's not going to achieve anything in itself, I would much prefer to devote the resources we have to making things happen, particularly at a local level", Mr Fitzgerald said.
He strongly disputed the general perception that Dublin is "doing well" and that the real need is in the west of Ireland. "Of the 11 areas of social deprivation nationally, nine are in Dublin and seven of these are in the corporation area. That's intolerable," he declared.
Mr Fitzgerald said the corporation is to invest £85 million in these areas over the next five years - not just to "fix the bricks and mortar" of their run-down housing, but to regenerate the communities and bring them back into the city's mainstream.
In this context, he expressed concern about the Government's proposals to impose a cap on commercial rates. He said he could see situations arising where the rates system would be used by agreement to "do things in the city that might not be done otherwise."
The city manager also announced that he intends to decentralise the corporation by establishing up to 10 local offices in different parts of Dublin where people would have access to a variety of services, freeing staff in the Civic Offices to concentrate on city-wide issues.
