The Build

Gather round the fire for a very different kind of Christmas story. In this special episode, we hand the microphone over to a weary Santa Claus to narrate the true, exhausted saga of the "Ironborn" site in Dublin. It isn't a story about toys or elves. It's a farce about: Three Judicial Reviews. Five planning applications in nine years. Millions of Euro spent. And absolutely zer...

What if Ireland's cities were planned with the same vision and coherence as Barcelona, Copenhagen, or Helsinki? Tony Reddy, Director of Reddy Architecture and Urbanism, reveals how our planning system has trapped us in a development model where uncertainty reigns supreme and city-building happens in fragmented, piecemeal fashion. Drawing from over four decades of architectural experience acro...

Housing shouldn't be a one-size-fits-all proposition. Yet in a decision that stands alone in Europe, Ireland banned an entire category of housing with a ministerial pen stroke. Why? Peter Horgan, co-founder of Lucas Capital and Grayling Properties, takes us inside the world of co-living - professionally managed, community-focused accommodations that serve as landing pads for young professiona...

Tom Phillips is a town planner and an art history buff.  We sat down to discuss his somewhat unusual road to becoming a town planner, why so many planning applications get invalidated, what all the acronyms mean, why Children can lobby local councils, podiatry (yes, really!) and why Ireland had, until recently, more than 80 separate planning authorities. Some notes from the episode: TPA report on...

We speak to Brendan Slattery of McCann FitzGerald LLP about the new Planning & Development Act. Brendan is a partner at McCann in the Environmental and Planning law division.  He does an incredible job of breaking down the new law and what its likely effects are. There are a lot of surprises, and not the good kind. I throughly enjoyed the chat with him and would urge anyone who needs advice on...

Kate Rhatigan, with her brother and sister, runs Winterbrook, a home builder based in Dublin. In our chat, Kate describes the contribution small builders like Winterbrook make to the supply of housing, describes what it is like working in a male dominated industry and tells a quite incredible story about why her face was on posters around south Dublin (hint: it was to do with planning). More than...

We talk about our domestic problems a lot, but do we have any worse than other places? This month on The Build I speak with Mathieu Fleury of Leader Lane Developments who tells me all about how difficult it is to get building in Toronto, Canada. Some of their problems will sound very familiar, others are very surprising.  Did you know the Canadian government will give developers 95% LTC financing...

Kate English from Deloitte succinctly explains the overwhelming amount of data that exist on the need for housing, along with some upcoming demographic trends that really matter.  This episode is a must listen if you care about the future of the housing sector.  And of course we talk about Taylor Swift. Some details from the episode: Taylor Swift post link: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/kate-engl...

Chris Wilson, the chief executive of Fairfield Real Estate Finance, takes us on a remarkable journey through his influential career in our latest episode. From his pivotal role at RBS during the financial crisis to navigating the complexities of the NAMA Project Eagle debacle at Jefferies, Chris brings a wealth of experience that is both insightful and eye-opening. You'll gain a deeper unders...

I'm back, and I'm here just to say thanks. Disclosure of conflicts from Season 1: Episode 3 with John Downey, John did a little bit of work for a JV entity we were involved with a number of years ago but we have no current business relationship with his firm.  Episode 4 with Fidelma McManus, no current or past business relationship with her firm.   Episode 5 with John Dobbin, no current...

Join me in search of the elusive and fascinating cuckoo. I am joined by a great group of guests including Sean Keyes from the Currency who discusses the media's influence on policy.  Pat Farrell for IIP defends his supposed winged members and David Tilson from Cantor Fitzgerald explains why Leo doesn't need to fear the Lettuce just yet. And you thought this was a boring housing policy po...

Ken MacDonald's illustrious career has shaped the Irish real estate landscape across five decades. Starting with a humble leaflet campaign back in 1967, Ken's journey has seen him play a pivotal role in the emergence of apartment living. Brace yourself for an anecdotal tour through time as Ken unravels the evolution of Irish property and its tryst with the new wave economy. The conversat...

Paul Mitchell, Director and Co-founder of Mitchell McDermott talks about costs, viability, what is happening in other countries along with MMC and Sprawl. Note: There is now an AI-generated transcript with each new episode.  Please excuse any errors.  I for one am grateful to our new robot overlords and any errors they make in transcription are obviously my fault as a human. 00:00 - Explaining qua...

UCD Economist and former member of An Bord Snip (and An Bord Snip Nua!) Colm McCarthy on the mistakes we have made and continue to make.  Also, why the ECB was incompetent during the bailout and why the Army are still in Rathmines. As always, please send any suggestions for the show to rick@thebuildpodcast.com Some links on topics from today's episode: https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/ju...

Architect John Dobbin talks us through how to go about building a house, from the very beginning and why it can be difficult but rewarding.  Also, bungalow bliss, high density but low rise housing and converting offices. Joint Oireachtas recommendatons on Planning: https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/committee/dail/33/joint_committee_on_housing_local_government_and_heritage/reports/2023/2023-...

On today's episode: the contributions waiver is explained and we talk to Fidelma McManus, partner and head of housing at Beauchamps LLP about conveyancing, AHB's and how the law touches every part of your life.  And obviously we find a way to mention Taylor Swift. Send us Fan Mail

John Downey, a town planner with 20 years experience, talks to us about how the planning system is meant to work, why it is completely broken, and what could possibly be done about it. Please note that there is a small bit of colourful language in this episode, just in case you're listening in the presence of younger ears. You can find more information on John and what he does at https://www....

Brian Hanlon is the CEO of California YIMBY, a non-profit whose mission is to make California an affordable place to live, work, and raise a family. As well as being every NIMBY's worst nightmare, he is a committed environmentalist with a long history of advocacy and is a genuinely lovely person to chat with. I highly recommend the report that California YIMBY released on homelessness that Br...

A discussion with Brian Moran on how difficult it is for even a well funded, global developer like Hines to develop housing in Ireland. —- The CJEU ruled on the planning application discussed in the episode. Please see links below to more information. Judgement: https://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=Ireland&docid=271075&pageIndex=0&doclang=EN&mode=req&dir=&am...

Do we really need another podcast?  Send us Fan Mail