More than 1,300 applications received for 56 cost-rental homes in Dublin

Successful applicants will pay €1,547 per month for two-bed units allocated in first phase of Oscar Traynor Woods housing development More than 1,360 applications were received for 56 cost-rental units at the Oscar Traynor Woods development in Coolock, Dublin, which officially opened to its first residents on Wednesday.The mixed-tenure development, which consists of affordable purchase, cost-rental and social homes, will ultimately deliver 850 homes across various stages in a partnership between Dublin City Council, developer Glenveagh and approved housing body Clúid.The first cost-rental and social homes in the Coyne Woods area of the scheme officially opened on Wednesday. The area comprises 64 homes, including 24 social, 24 cost-rental and 16 affordable purchase homes.For the 56 cost-rental homes currently being allocated in phase one of the overall development, Clúid confirmed it received 1,367 applications, the majority of which (1,075) were for the 20 two-bedroom units available. Successful applicants will pay €1,547 per month in rent.READ MORERenters forking out €2,000 per month are paying the price for water charges debacleHitting target of 41,000 homes to be built this year will be ‘challenging’, Minister for Housing admitsHoliday homeowners underestimate at their peril the anger among those locked out of the housing marketWater utility warns on reforms needed for housing targets: ‘The scale of the task is immense’A further 292 applications were made for the 36 three-bedroom cost-rental units, which will be rented to tenants for €1,784 per month.Of the 56 cost-rental units, 14 have been allocated to date through a lottery system, and it is expected the remaining 42 will be allocated over the coming weeks and months.Minister for Housing James Browne speaks to the media at the completion of some of the houses in the Oscar Woods development on Wednesday. Photo: Sam Boal/Collins Dublin City Council said the first purchasers of the 16 affordable purchase homes delivered, which drew 260 applications, are expected to move in within the coming weeks.It added that applications for the next phase of 57 affordable purchase homes at the site, which are due to be delivered “later in 2026”, are currently being accepted.The affordable homes will be offered at an average discount of 24 per cent on open market value, with the State taking an equity stake in the home.Like the 16 delivered in the first phase, the affordable homes open to applications will range in price from €254,000 for a one-bedroom “maisonette” to €475,000 for a three-bedroom house, depending on household incomes.Asked if he considered €475,000 to be affordable, Lord Mayor of Dublin Ray McAdam said the “key thing here is about making sure that we have homes that are affordable”.“We need to make sure we’re delivering more homes like this across the city,” the Fine Gael councillor said, adding that there are “at least 40 sites” across Dublin city that will deliver in excess of 4,500 homes over the coming years.One of the completed homes in the development. Photograph: Sam Boal/Collins “We just need to deliver, and it’s the only way we’re going to get out of the housing situation we’re in.”When asked about the cost of the affordable housing units, Minister for Housing James Browne said there are “many supports” and affordability measures for people to “be able to buy properties right across the country”.Early last year, it emerged that “defects” had been identified in some of the early phases of housing under construction at the development, resulting in some work being paused for a period.Glenveagh chief executive Stephen Garvey said the “technical points of discussion” previously identified have been addressed and “fully resolved”.He said Glenveagh expects to complete the overall development “ahead of schedule in 2027”.