Sir, – The headline on the proposed O'Devaney Gardens development, on foot of an agreement between Dublin City Council and a private builder, dampened the spirits of all those desperately trying to access a decent, safe place to live ("More than 1,000 homes at Dublin site will not be protected from fund investors", News, May 28th). However, for another cohort of the population, a tiny few, this news signalled the likelihood of yet another windfall on the horizon.
Earlier in the week, following the go-ahead for the controversial arrangement between Fingal County Council and Glenveagh Properties to build housing on public lands, the company’s shares jumped by 2.5 per cent. We can expect the same to happen as a result of any planning approval in the O’Devaney Gardens case too.
These share windfalls will see the pockets of private individuals bulge a little more and of course this additional money will not fall from a nearby money tree; it will be the already hard-pressed home buyer, and members of the public in general, who will have to foot the bill one way or another.
The Government’s housing policy just keeps on giving – provided you are on the right side of the street that is. – Yours, etc,
JIM O’SULLIVAN,
Rathedmond,
Sligo.