Residents of south Dublin estate 'petrified' at plans for teenage care home, objection says

Gordon Deegan

Many residents living in an upmarket south Dublin estate are "petrified" over a proposal to establish a care home for teenagers nearby, according to an objection lodged with planners.

Prof Moira O'Brien is among the local residents objecting to the proposed change to the use and extension of a residential home at 60 Knocknashee, Goatstown, Dublin, to accommodate six to nine teenagers aged 16 to 18 in the care of Tusla.

The medical consultant told Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council that with news of the planned care home “many of the residents in the area are now petrified that they won’t feel safe going in and out of their homes”.

The application by Davy Property Holdings Limited for the change of use and house revamp has provoked widespread local opposition and Prof O'Brien is one of 55 local residents to lodge individual objections.

The Knocknashee Residents Association (KRA) also lodged a group submission following a meeting attended by 65 local people.

Figures from the Residential Price Property Register show that the most recent homes on the market in Knocknashee sold for more than €1 million.

The Davy firm is seeking a change of use from residential dwelling to community dwelling home for people with an intellectual or physical disability or mental illness, and for people providing them with care.

In a planning report lodged with the application, Kevin Hughes of Hughes Planning and Development Consultants (HPDC) told the council each young person will be accommodated in their own bedroom at the home under Section 5 of the Child Care Act 1991.

He said the young people in residence will be cared for by a team of 12 staff.

Knocknashee resident and osteoporosis consultant Prof Moira O’Brien has lived at her Knocknashee home for over 50 years.

Prof O’Brien told the council that those to be accommodated in such a home are vulnerable “but so are the elderly in our community”.

“I am hoping that you will see this objection has the best interest for the most vulnerable in society at heart and that you will not give permission for an unregulated, unsuitable ‘home’,” Prof O’Brien said.

Fine Gael councillor Jim O’Leary told the council in a submission that he supported the concerns raised by the residents of Knocknashee.

Knocknashee Residents Association (KRA) chairman Jurgen White said “the residents/teenagers (9) and rostered staff (12) as well as visitors and agency staff are being shoe-horned into a modified four bedroom home that will not be fit for purpose”.

Mr White said that while the intended use of the dwelling is admirable, the proposal is not viable due to there not being sufficient space to accommodate so many vulnerable children.

The council has sought additional information on the plans but has said that the principle of a care facility is considered to be acceptable.