A new, exciting and sustainable Dublin City Council social housing scheme will be officially opened at York Street, Dublin 4 on Monday 25th May 2009 at 2.30pm by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Eibhlin Byrne and the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Mr. John Gormley, TD.

This complex consists of sixty-six units and is one of the first Dublin City Council housing schemes to incorporate several new, innovative and most importantly, sustainable energy efficient concepts.  Some of the concepts include:

• Solar panels for the provision of constant hot water for the residents
• Sedum Roofs which have exceptional insulation properties and have excellent rainwater retention properties
• Rainwater is collected in twelve stainless steel water butts for use by the residents in the courtyard area
• Extensive use of sheep’s wool in external walls for insulation purposes
• Encouragement of organic waste recycling by the provision of a food digester on site
• Provision of glazed balconies with sliding glass panels, which trap solar heat, for use as winter gardens in winter- time and as extra living space in the summer.

“I am delighted to welcome this wonderful example of sustainable and energy efficient housing.  This reflects strongly Dublin’s commitment to making our city greener which can only improve the quality of life for people as well as ensuring that Dublin’s sustainability is ensured into the future” said the Lord Mayor.

 
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Notes to the Editor:

This Housing scheme consists of sixty-six social housing units which consists of: 20 – 1 bed, 29 – 2 bed and 17 – 3 bed units.
Dublin City Council worked with its energy advisor, Codema, in redeveloping the York Street site as a model for sustainable living.  The newly-constructed apartments boast excellent Building Energy Ratings, with ratings ranging from A3 to B2.  Codema estimate that the energy-efficient measures of this redevelopment will result in a reduction in fuel costs for residents by up to 70 per cent and a reduction of over 50 per cent in both energy usage and CO₂ emissions.