2.2.4 Employment and Enterprise Strategy

Almost 350,000 people work in the Dublin City Council area, with more than 750,000 in the Greater Dublin Area. More than 800 hectares are zoned for employment purposes (Z6 and Z7) throughout the city. The city centre zoned area (Z5) is the key employment location and is well served by public transport, whilst the concentration of employment in the Dublin 2 area has now been complemented by Docklands and emerging locations such as Smithfield/ Grangegorman, Heuston and the Digital Hub.

The SDRAs with their development potential provide a great opportunity for employment creation as well as housing provision, so that people have the possibility of walking or cycling to work. The North Lotts and Grand Canal Dock SDZ planning scheme provides for major job creation potential with 345,000 sq.m of commercial space in addition to 2,600 new residential units. Planned investment for St James’s Hospital will allow the campus and its surrounding area to become a significant employment hub.

The ultimate purpose of the development plan is social, providing for people’s needs in all aspects of their lives and across their life cycle in areas such as housing, employment, recreation, social and commercial services, in a sustainable manner. This is reflected in the three principles of the core strategy and in every chapter of the development plan. The social purpose of the development plan is complemented by the Local Economic and Community Plan.