Planning permission has been lodged for the development of more than 200 co-living homes in south Dublin.
The potential building in Dún Laoghaire, planned by Bartra Capital Property, will be the largest such development in the country.
The co-living plan provides such facilities as: en-suite bedrooms with shared, communal living areas and is quite similar to student accommodation but is aimed at the young, employed sector.
Fianna Fáil’s Dublin candidate for the European Parliament Barry Andrews has criticised the proposal, referring to the apartments as "battery cage living".
He said: “Today’s reports of an application to build more than 200 ‘co-living units’ in the city should be a cause of alarm for anyone with an interest in our housing emergency and the long-term future of our city.
“The proposal to house people in 178 square feet boxes, with foldaway beds and kitchenettes, charging them from 1300 Euro per month for the privilege, is grotesque and should be stopped at all costs.
“Representatives of the developer described the proposed format as ‘experience-led living’ and talked about a ‘real focus on social interaction’ on the basis that residents in such developments have no private space and must instead use shared common rooms if they want to escape their bedrooms.
“A better description of this approach would be ‘battery cage living’ and in my view it should have no role whatsoever in our response to the Housing Emergency in our city.
“People deserve and have the right to aspire to the dignity of a home. This new model being proposed removes all dignity and has the potential to trap people in a hugely expensive rental trap. It cannot be allowed to proceed.”
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