Developer Barry Monaghan has got the go-ahead for a 260-unit housing scheme near Carlow town, 50 miles to the south west of Dublin.
The Dublin Road scheme will comprise mainly three bedroom semi-detached and terraced houses, a 56-bedroom hotel/guesthouse and a mixed-use neighbourhood centre.
Local house price inflation has not risen as dramatically as it has in Dublin and four-bedroom detached houses currently sell for around €270,000 (£189,000) – about a third of the Dublin equivalent.
Local agents are hoping the arrival of civil servants from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment under the government’s decentralisation progamme will boost the area’s housing market.
References: EGi News 06/04/05
