The 64-page report, Newry Next, has set out a plan that would address Dublin’s housing needs by making the Co Down town into a cross-Border commuter hub by facilitating the construction of 6,000 new houses over the next decade. The initiative, supported by former senator Martin McAleese, has suggested the Newry and Bambridge areas of Co Down could use the same “economic corridor” model as other cross-Border commuter towns and cities throughout Europe. The wastewater upgrade would act as “enabling infrastructure”, allowing private capital “to fund housing commercial development without ongoing public subsidy for construction”. Mr Taggart told The Irish Times how a house that would cost €400,000 in commuter towns in the Republic would cost €150,000 less in Newry. The benefit for Dublin is that cross-Border commuters would pay Irish income taxes, but would then spend money locally in the Newry and Bambridge areas, he said.

Source: The Irish Times January 10, 2026 13:30 UTC