Respond | Housing Association

The Miniter for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne TD today, officially marked the next phase of construction for a new social and cost rental housing development of 725 homes at Rathborne, Ashtown, Dublin.

Rathborne will deliver 725 high quality homes across six blocks, including 399 Cost Rental homes and 326 social homes. Alongside the homes, the mixed tenure development will include a childcare facility, tenant amenity space and an on-site management suite, ensuring infrastructure and supports are in place to support the community to thrive from the outset.

The Minister was joined by Respond’s CEO, Aoife Watters and Cllr Colm O’Rourke of Dublin City Council to mark this occasion.

Phase one will deliver 192 social homes and 178 cost rental homes and is currently on track for delivery later this year, making an important milestone in creating a well-serviced neighbourhood for future tenants. Phase two will deliver 134 social homes and 221 cost rental homes and is expected to be delivered in mid-2027.

The mixed tenure development will consist of:

30 studio apartments.
325 one-bedroom apartments.
355 two-bedroom apartments.
15 three-bedroom apartments.

Cost Rental is an affordable housing tenure, available to those who have a household income of less than €66,000 (net) in Dublin and €59,000 (net) in the rest of the country per annum, with rents set at least 25% below market rate in the area.

The social homes will be assigned to tenants from the Dublin City Council housing waiting list upon completion, while the Cost Rental homes will be allocated by lottery system.

These homes are being delivered in partnership with Dublin City Council, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Housing Finance Agency and The Housing Agency, with construction led by Walls Construction Limited and Castlethorn.

Upon completion, tenants will experience support from Respond’s Tenant Experience Team, helping to build a strong sense of community from the outset creating communities that can grow and thrive over time.

Speaking at the roof topping ceremony, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne TD said

“This Government is absolutely focused on the construction of new social and affordable housing to ensure everyone has a range of housing options available to them, whether they want to buy a house, rent one, or are in need of social housing.

“That’s why we are investing a record amount in new housing provision, including over €150m in this development alone.

“Attending events like today highlights to me the real progress being achieved in collaboration with local authorities and the AHB sector in addressing the challenges we face in the housing sector.

“I look forward to returning once the development is complete and meeting with some of its first residents.”

Niamh Randall, Spokesperson for Respond said

“Rathborne represents Respond’s largest development to date and stands as one of the most ambitious projects within our national home-building programme. We are committed to delivering high-quality social and Cost Rental homes at scale in urban centres such as Dublin – places where people want to live, work and build their futures.

Partnership lies at the core of Respond’s approach, and the success of those collaborations is clearly reflected in what we see here today in Dublin. Respond, alongside other Approved Housing Bodies, is a trusted delivery partner making a meaningful contribution to addressing the housing crisis. With our experience, capacity, and strong partnerships, we are well positioned to help expand the national housing supply and support the Government in achieving its housing targets.”

These homes were funded with Government support using the Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) to deliver social homes, Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL) to help make the Cost Rental homes affordable and long-term loans from the Housing Finance Agency, these homes are A2 rated, fitted with heat pumps and built using pre-cast concrete construction.

Respond currently provides homes for over 20,000 people in more than 9,000 homes across Ireland. This includes 2,862 homes and 5,787 tenants in Dublin, the organisation has approximately 3,500 homes under construction delivering of social and cost rental homes nationwide.