Living in a Dublin City Council house marked for destruction for the €9.5 billion Metrolink rail project, a blind woman has pleaded to An Bord Pleanála to spare her home. Aine Wellard, a resident of one of the eight social homes on Townsend Street scheduled for demolition along with the 70 College Gate apartments to make way for the Tara metro station, has lived in her current home for 43 years. She’s surrounded by services she relies on. Following her mother’s passing in 2018, she used inherited funds to cover about €50,000 for home modifications which she’d asked the council to execute for several years.
She had returned to her modernised home after five days of construction and was thrilled with the outcome. Having only spent a single night in her newly renovated home, she was informed by a local council member of the Metrolink plans to level her home.
Ms. Wellard currently enjoys both a front and back garden. She commented that the council has stopped allocating houses to single occupants due to a housing shortage. She asked if the modifications she implemented will feature in her new home.
“Given that my mother’s inheritance funded the modifications and my lack of a steady income, I cannot amass another €40,000 – €50,000 for adjustments to my next home”, she said.
The blind resident called out the TII’s justification for demolishing a home owned by a blind individual to improve light for those who are sighted, noting that the blueprints for the Tara station place an emphasis on space, user-friendliness and brightness.
TII appears to believe that providing alternative housing easily solves the issue of losing one’s home. However, I don’t just perceive my living place as mere accommodation, it’s my home. Therefore, I fervently request An Bord Pleanála to prevent the destruction of my home and those of my fellow residents.”
Several TII spokespersons confirmed their understanding of the impact resulting from the decision to raze homes to make space for the railway line. Paolo Carbone, the person running the project for TII, stated it was a “difficult decision” and “multiple alternative solutions” were taken into account. “TII recognises your concerns regarding the destruction of your home,” he expressed.
“We affirm our dedication to collaborating with the Dublin City Council to arrange appropriate living spaces ahead of starting any building operations.”