Residents 'left in the dark' over €20m, 18,500-home plan

Plans for a 18,500-home development at Dunsink have seen backlash on the Finglas border, with residents and local politicians warning that the high-density project will overwhelm already overstretched schools, GPs, and roads

News Stephen Holland Local Democracy Reporter 13:31, 16 Jul 2026 Updated 13:32, 16 Jul 2026 View 4 Images Tolka Valley Park in Finglas is one area residents are concerned will be imapcted by the Dunsink development (Image: Stephen Holland)

Fingal’s 18,500-home Dunsink development promises a modern new suburb in Dublin , but Finglas residents say they have not been properly consulted and fear the project will overwhelm their overstretched community facilities.

Plans to develop the largest remaining greenfield landbank inside Dublin’s M50 as the Dunsink City Quarter have seen significant pushback from those in Finglas. Although the public consultation period has been open since June 19 and ends July 31, locals within the Dublin City Council boundaries feel they have been left out of the process.

Last month, Fingal County Council unveiled plans for the Dunsink City Quarter, a major development on a 435-hectare greenfield site “aimed at creating a residential-led, mixed-use community with homes, infrastructure, and amenities”. Having secured funding in excess of €20 million through the government’s Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund (HIIF), works include improvements on Scribblestown Lane and Dunsinea Lane.

View 4 Images Proposed map for the Dunsink City Quarter (Image: Fingal County Council)

People Before Profit Councillor Conor Reddy said the sheer scale of the project means residents must prepare for an incoming development “that will be larger than Finglas itself”. In a time where “we desperately need affordable and social housing” this has the potential to transform northwest Dublin, but Cllr Reddy stressed “the problem begins with information”.

"It's a Fingal development, it's a Fingal site, and they have the prerogative to make plans for their own lands, but the site is right beside Finglas and all of the impacts of development, particularly large-scale development, will be felt in the Finglas area. And there's not been any consultation or information given to people in that area,” he said.

The proposed Dunsink City Quarter is centred around eight development areas including three residential neighbourhoods: Dunsink East, Dunsink Central, and Dunsink West. A cultural quarter centred on Dunsink Observatory as well as a new regional park and recreational hub on the former landfill are also included.

An estimated 18,500 homes are also set to be delivered in three phases: Phase 1 will see the construction of an initial 2,500 homes, Phase 2 a further 8,000, and a final phase of 8,000 - with exact timelines still to be confirmed.

Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Tony Murphy welcomed the plan as a “major milestone” and a “transformational, people-first development that will provide not just high-quality homes, but a vibrant new community”. “This ambitious plan will deliver a climate-resilient, well-connected urban quarter, designed around the principles of compact living, sustainable transport and rich natural heritage. Dunsink represents a unique opportunity to create a place where people can truly live, work and thrive, while contributing to the long-term social and economic future of our county”.

But, having pushed for further information on the development for several months, Cllr Reddy said DCC councillors, staff, and TDs were finally given a briefing last week and it was clear “Dublin City Council have been kept completely in the dark about a lot of what's planned”. Citing projects like the Ratoath Road Active Travel Scheme , he revealed that DCC’s active travel and roads maintenance departments “had no idea about what Fingal had planned for the site”.

Cllr Reddy said there are fears significant sums of money will be spent upgrading active travel routes on the Dublin City Council side of the boundary, only for the work to be undone when Fingal begins work on the very same lanes. As historic lanes that harken back to the rural history of Finglas, residents living directly on the site state nobody has explained these plans to them.

“There are huge concerns for road safety coming off that, and also for biodiversity, “ Cllr Reddy said. He said the environmental stakes are significant as proposed road-widening could impact local wildlife populations.

Sinn Féin TD Dessie Ellis said there are major environmental and safety concerns that he wants to see appropriately addressed, particularly around Dunsink Dump, Ireland's former largest landfill which some studies have linked to adverse health effects on those in the area. "You could not put people on that dump. Grass doesn't grow. It's not even sufficient for all the horses," he said, claiming it still hasn't been capped properly.

For residents like Niamh Lambert, whose family has lived on Scribblestown Lane for generations, the threat is deeply personal. She believes Fingal County Council planners have drafted their maps without understanding the physical reality on the ground.

View 4 Images Scribblestown resident Niamh Lambert pictured Tolka Valley Park, Finglas (Image: Stephen Holland)

She warned that routing heavy traffic down their narrow country lanes would require swallowing up vital green spaces. "To make that into a two-way traffic road with bike lanes and paths, you would have to extend into this biodiversity park behind us,” she told Dublin Live onsite at Tolka Valley Park. “They will also have to take the small bit of green space that is in Scribblestown estate, for their kids to go out and play on."

“The Ratoath Road is so busy at the best of times, and on an average day there are about 20,000 cars that travel on this road. Once that development is in, that is going to triple in size.

“We are also having a residents' meeting next Tuesday, and it will be posted on our Finglas Talks Facebook page.”

Deputy Ellis also pointed out the jurisdictional issue with Fingal’s road-widening plans, as it encroaches on DCC Land "Three quarters of that lane is owned by Dublin City Council... To put the plan together and not consult with anyone is a disaster. They've just communicated with the councillors in the Fingal area, but never bothered talking to anyone in Dublin City Council."

Those with long-standing connections to the area, like Niamh’s 84-year-old father Morgan Lambert, remember when the Scribblestown Lane was a small, vibrant farming community tied to the old cattle markets. He fears the new high-density plan will erase the last traces of the area's rural history. "There were 18 houses between here and the end of the lane. They're all gone, we're the only one left," Mr Lambert said, stating those who understand the history of the area should have more input.

“If the council wants to keep us in the dark, that's not on. There's a row with them if they're going to do that,” he said. “Knowledge is knowledge. It could be the greatest project under the sun, we don't know, but it has to be teased out.”

View 4 Images Finglas resident Morgan Lambert pictured with a photograph of Scribblestown Lane cicra 1950 (Image: Stephen Holland)

The scale of the proposed housing is also a point of concern in the area. What Fingal’s masterplan calls “compact living,” Ms Lambert fears high-density apartment blocks and a repeat of one of Dublin’s most infamous planning failures . “Ballymun had three thousand units in it. We are having 18,500,” she said, questioning how an incoming population the size of a major Irish town will cope while the long-awaited Luas Green Line extension through Finglas is still on the drawing board.

"We do not have enough resources in Finglas anyway," Ms Lambert said, citing developments like nearby Charlestown and Meakstown where residents waited up to two decades for promised basic infrastructure to materialise. "We struggle to get appointments with our doctors. The schools have waiting lists.”

"We welcome housing. We want to welcome people into our community," Ms Lambert said. "But to be able to welcome those people properly, we have to have proper consultation."

According to Cllr Reddy, this failure to deliver community spaces alongside housing is built directly into the state's current development model. “The Land Development Agency (LDA) is responsible for affordable and cost-rental housing, that's all they deliver," he explained, stating private developers have no mandate around community hubs, sports infrastructure or school provision.

“If you had a state construction company whose mandate was to develop sustainable communities and genuinely affordable housing in tandem, you could address that issue. You could do both at once"

Other concerns relate to St Josephs Horse and Pony Club on Dunsink Lane and local Traveller families living on sites affected by the proposed plan, who Cllr Reddy said have had no meaningful engagement from council planners.

One in-person public information session hosted in Blanchardstown Library on Monday, July 13, offered people a chance to voice their concerns and view the Draft Dunsink Urban Area Plan. However, Ms Lambert said this was not widely advertised and the majority of the people in the Finglas area were not aware of this. She is now hosting her own meeting next Tuesday to inform locals about the impact the Dunsink City Quarter will have on their area prior to closing date for submissions and objections on July 31.

When contacted for comment a spokesperson from Fingal County Council stated:

" The draft Urban Area Plan for ‘Dunsink City Quarter’ outlines a vision to transform the lands at Dunsink into a vibrant, residential-led mixed-use neighbourhood. The Plan area has the potential to deliver an estimated 18,500 homes in conjunction with essential community facilities, employment opportunities, schools, new regional scale parks and a recreational hub and the provision of new transport links such as enhanced connections to the Ashtown and Navan Road Parkway train stations, the implementation of a local bus service to Blanchardstown and the extension of bus routes to serve Dunsink and the future Luas Green Line extension to Tyrellstown.

"Overall, the draft Plan seeks to ensure that schools, community facilities, employment opportunities, shops and services are planned and delivered alongside new residential development to create sustainable and well-serviced communities. The draft Plan includes phasing provisions and requirements in respect of mixed use development to support the delivery of community services and facilities in tandem with the growth of population in the area.

"The Plan is accompanied by an Environmental Report which considers the environmental effects of implementing the draft Plan. Any subsequent developments will require planning approval where the detailed design and environmental impacts including in terms of biodiversity are fully considered.

"The draft Plan is on public display until 31st July. Copies of the draft Plan are available online, in all libraries in Fingal, in the Fingal County Council offices in Swords and Blanchardstown, the Finglas library and the Dublin City Council Area Office in Finglas. A public information event was also held in Blanchardstown on Monday 13th July. A large number of submissions have been received by Fingal County Council to date.

"The Ratoath Road Active Travel Scheme is proposed by Dublin City Council. This scheme is currently at the Preliminary Design phase. In the future the active travel scheme on Ratoath Road/Cappagh Road could connect with the proposed network of pedestrian and cycle links which are set out in the draft Plan."

This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme

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