Potential for 2,000 homes at Defence Forces' Cathal Brugha Barracks 

Cathal Brugha Barracks is the Defence Forces’ only operational army barracks in Dublin. Picture: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

Moving a Dublin military barracks close to the M50 motorway would create the potential for just under 2,000 homes in the city centre and an economic benefit of more than €540m, according to a new report.

Assuming only a cost-benefit analysis of Cathal Brugha Barracks in Rathmines is taken into consideration, the greatest benefit to the State would be the moving of the full Defence Forces garrison to a location outside the city, the report, compiled for the Department of Defence says.

Situated on a 39-acre site, Cathal Brugha Barracks is the Defence Forces’ only operational army barracks in Dublin. The report — compiled by consultancy firm Arup as part of the Department’s evaluation of the suitability of its property portfolio for housing development — states that in its current guise the location in which the barracks is situated is being under-utilised.

Several scenarios were evaluated, and nine separate replacement sites around Dublin were considered. Just two of those were considered by the feasibility study — greenfield sites at Clonshaugh beside Dublin Airport and in Tallaght to the west of the city.

The report states that of those two sites, Clonshaugh would represent the most “economically advantageous” option for a transfer of operations from Cathal Brugha Barracks, but only if the core operations alone of the Rathmines site were to transfer.

Should the entirety of the Defence Forces’ Rathmines operation transfer to the Tallaght site, meanwhile, the State would benefit to the tune of €543m, the report states. If either of those options were taken, it would result in land being freed up in a city centre location with the potential to result in 1,940 housing units, Arup said.

A third site, based at the Central Bank mint site in Sandyford, was not evaluated as it is currently subject to a separate appraisal by the Land Development Agency (LDA), the agency with responsibility for the development of unused land in State ownership.

Alternatively, should the financial cost alone of the various options available be considered as opposed to the total socioeconomic benefits, then it would make most sense to keep the Defence Forces’ core function in place in Rathmines, and to look at the release of “some existing lands for housing development”, it said.

In February 2022 Environment Minister Eamon Ryan suggested the Government was “looking at developing” Cathal Brugha Barracks for affordable housing, stating that the land was “needed” to that end.

In response, Defence Minister Simon Coveney said “no decision has been taken” regarding whether the barracks should move or not.

The LDA is currently conducting its own feasibility study regarding the barracks, which Arup said should be considered in conjunction with its own report.

It is as yet unclear when that report will be published. An LDA spokesman said: "There is a process underway to examine the potential for housing on this site. The LDA is involved in this process."

Cathal Brugha Barracks is not currently on the list of lands to be transferred to the LDA as part of the Government’s Housing For All strategy. The LDA did include the barracks in its first report regarding State land which could potentially be used for housing, published last March, with the caveat that it has no practical timeline for near-term delivery.

It said the site could potentially host a maximum of 1,110 homes at a development cost of up to €345m.