Building at scale: Delivering Ireland’s next generation of communities

Ireland’s housing challenge is entering a new phase. While increasing housing supply remains the national priority, the growth of larger, higher-density developments means success will increasingly be measured not only by the number of homes delivered, but by the quality, sustainability, and long-term success of the communities they create.

For approved housing bodies, this represents a significant evolution. Delivering housing at scale is no longer simply about constructing homes. It requires organisations with the capability to develop complex mixed-tenure schemes, work in partnership with developers and local authorities, and plan for the long-term management of growing communities.

Respond’s recent development programme reflects this evolution.

Today, Respond provides homes for more than 21,000 people in over 10,000 homes across Ireland and has over 1,000 additional homes under construction. Over recent years, the organisation has significantly expanded its construction programme, delivering larger and more complex developments that are helping to meet housing need in Dublin, Cork, and other urban centres.

Building at scale

2026 marks an important milestone, with several landmark developments either completed or reaching significant stages of delivery.

In Tallaght, Respond completed Airton Road, delivering 502 social and cost rental homes in partnership with Ardstone and Walls Construction. The development provides a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments within a mixed-use neighbourhood incorporating retail space, a crèche, co-working facilities, and landscaped public areas. Designed to high environmental standards, every home achieves an A-rated BER and incorporates energy-efficient heating and ventilation systems that improve comfort while reducing energy costs for tenants.

Respond also completed Pipers Square, developed in partnership with Cairn Homes, comprising 590 apartments and recognised as Europe’s largest certified Passivhaus residential development. More than a construction milestone, the development demonstrates how large-scale social and cost rental housing can achieve internationally recognised standards of energy performance while delivering warmer, healthier homes with significantly lower energy demand. For tenants, this means greater comfort and lower energy bills. For the wider housing sector, it provides a practical example of how sustainable construction can be successfully delivered at scale.

Construction also continues at Rathbourne Wharf in Ashtown, Respond’s largest development to date. When complete, the scheme will deliver 725 social and cost rental homes across two phases alongside commercial space, a café, crèche, and public open spaces, creating a new mixed-tenure neighbourhood on the banks of the Royal Canal. Phase one, delivering 370 homes, is expected to be complete later this year.

Meanwhile in Cork, construction has commenced on Creamfields, a 606-home development that will become Respond’s largest scheme in the city. Delivered over four phases, it will provide 225 social homes and 381 cost rental homes alongside landscaped public spaces, commercial units, and a new town square, contributing to the continued regeneration of this part of Cork.

Collectively, these developments illustrate how the scale and ambition of social and cost rental housing delivery in Ireland is changing. Increasingly, approved housing bodies are delivering entire neighbourhoods rather than individual housing schemes.

Rathborne Wharf, Dublin 15.

Beyond construction

As developments become larger and more complex, planning must extend beyond construction. Mixed-tenure developments require long-term thinking about how neighbourhoods will function once residents move in. Shared spaces, community facilities, and professional housing management all play an important role in creating places where people want to live over the long term.

Respond has increasingly integrated these considerations into the earliest stages of development. Community spaces, management facilities, and strong connections to public transport, schools, employment, and local services are planned alongside the homes themselves. This reflects the organisation’s belief that successful housing is measured not only by the quality of the buildings delivered, but by the strength of the communities they support.

That thinking also shapes Respond’s approach once construction is complete. Through early tenant engagement, local housing teams, and long-term investment in community management, the organisation aims to ensure that new developments remain safe, well-managed, and connected communities for generations to come.

Building organisational capacity

Supporting this growth has required significant organisational investment. Alongside expanding its development programme, Respond has strengthened the specialist expertise, operational systems, and organisational capacity needed to deliver and manage increasingly large and complex housing developments across Ireland.

This investment reflects the reality that delivering housing at today’s scale requires more than construction capability alone. It also demands strong governance, experienced multidisciplinary teams, and the capacity to manage communities over the long term.

Looking ahead

Ireland’s housing system will continue to require ambitious delivery if it is to meet current and future demand. However, as larger mixed-tenure developments become more common, the conversation is also evolving. Success will increasingly be judged by more than the number of homes completed. Equal attention must be paid to quality, sustainability, and the long-term success of the communities being created.

Respond’s recent developments demonstrate that delivering housing at scale means creating more than new homes. It means creating well-designed, sustainable neighbourhoods where people have access to high-quality homes, strong management, and the foundations to build secure futures.

T: 01 808 7700
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