Opportunity for all: how vision, values and regeneration drive national recognition for South Dublin County Council

South Dublin County Council’s achievement in being named Local Authority of the Year 2025 at the Chambers Ireland Excellence in Local Government Awards marks a proud moment for an ambitious and progressive local authority. It is recognition not only of the work done in partnership with elected members and local communities, but of exceptional project delivery and deep organisational change rooted in the council’s purpose of creating greater opportunity for all.

At this year’s awards, the Council secured wins in the Sustainable Environment and Biodiversity, and Communications categories, and achieved an exceptional nine short listings across the 16 award classes.  These accolades demonstrate a local authority operating with confidence, commitment and care to ensure South Dublin is a place that meets the needs and ambitions of everyone there.

Success built on shared values

Strong local government leadership emerges when a council embodies its values in daily practice. South Dublin’s story is one of listening, regenerating and innovating, and of delivering practical and lasting change for communities that need it most.

The Council’s Corporate Plan articulates a clear ambition: to be future-focused, inclusive and supportive, determined, and accountable and transparent, while delivering sustainable solutions through a skilled and innovative workforce. These values underpin every project recognised in the Chambers Ireland awards.

In a place of sharp contrasts, thriving new urban districts alongside areas that have faced cycles of socio-economic disadvantage, the council’s regeneration efforts are more than capital programmes – they are instruments for personal connection and social cohesion.

The transformative €12m regeneration of West Tallaght Parks exemplifies this approach. The project reimagined fragmented green spaces across Killinarden Park, Jobstown Park, and Whitestown Stream as interconnected, active community hubs that now actively support recreation, health, biodiversity, and social connection across almost 40 hectares through playgrounds, skate and bike tracks, outdoor gyms, plazas, and lit active travel routes, embedding the parks into everyday life.  This initiative, shortlisted for the Supporting Sustainable Communities category, shows the Council at its most collaborative, integrating design excellence, community ownership, and long-term sustainability. Since completion, usage has surged across all age groups, and anti-social behaviour and illegal dumping has declined significantly.

Equally impactful is work in the Innovation Quarter in Tallaght, including the flagship Innovation Square cost rental development, which provides 133 affordable homes and anchors sustainable town centre regeneration.  The model demonstrates how urban regeneration, new housing typologies, and climate-conscious infrastructure can mutually support and reinforce resilient, thriving neighbourhoods.

These projects reflect a council that listens, adapts, and delivers with determination, bringing a purpose of creating greater opportunity for all, particularly those communities historically underserved.

Sustainable Environment and Biodiversity – Winner

The Council’s win in the Sustainable Environment and Biodiversity category reflects leadership in embedding climate action and ecological sensitivity across planning, parks, active travel and large-scale regeneration. Programmes such as Balancing Green and Growth demonstrate how development and biodiversity enhancement can work hand in hand.  A pioneering approach integrates biodiversity and sustainability into local planning, incorporating it into daily operations from influencing every planning application to guiding the management of parks, open spaces and drainage networks. It is also implemented through projects delivered by local community groups. Innovative elements include Ireland’s first use of a green space factor to access green infrastructure in developments, a county-wide pollinator action plan covering over 200 hectares of meadows, and community-led planting of Miyawaki woodlands. By embedding sustainability into all aspects of planning and land management, the strategy offers a replicable model for how local authorities can foster biodiversity while meeting development needs.

Communications – Winner

South Dublin also succeeded with a win in the Communications category, which recognises the power of combining community engagement and evidence-based communication. The “International Protection: Fact of Fiction” campaign tackled misinformation about asylum seekers. Developed with South Dublin County Partnership, South Dublin Volunteer Centre, and the Community Integration Forum, this initiative addressed rising anti-immigrant sentiment with a three-pronged approach: a fact-checking leaflet delivered to over 55,000 homes, a compelling online video series featuring voices from the international protection community, and a Mayor’s Charter, encouraging local groups to champion dignity and inclusion.

The campaign debunked seven specific myths about migration using verified national and EU data, fostering greater public awareness and dialogue. It received significant media coverage, including national radio and print, and has inspired similar initiatives in other Irish councils. By confronting misinformation head-on and promoting empathy, the Council positioned itself as a national leader in inclusive, community-driven communication.

Local Authority of the Year – Winner

The defining award, Local Authority of the Year 2025, honours the Council’s system-wide excellence, strategic leadership, and exceptional breadth of initiatives spanning housing, regeneration, inclusion, environment, economic development, and community wellbeing. The award highlights a commitment to high standards and positive engagement with local people, communities and businesses. Connecting locally is so important for any local council, and South Dublin County Council has done that in so many proactive ways this year, driving the council to ensure their commitment to deliver more and do things better for everyone in South Dublin. The award is a great endorsement of what is being done in partnership with the councillors and local communities who work with and for the council every day.

South Dublin County Council was shortlisted in nine categories, with each project demonstrating innovation, inclusion, and commitment to meaningful local impact and the breadth and depth of the council’s work.

1. Ballyroan: A Dementia-Inclusive, Age Friendly Community – Age Friendly Initiative

A compassionate, creative model supporting older adults through dementia-aware training, a monthly Dementia Café, the Pendulum creative memory project, and enterprise mentoring for older entrepreneurs. It is a template for dignified ageing in place and a deeply human expression of the council’s values.

2. International Protection: Fact or Fiction – Communications

A civic education initiative designed to reduce misinformation, promote understanding, and build inclusive community dialogue on international protection, supporting cohesion in an increasingly diverse county.

3. Reaching for Gender Equality in Local Government – Diversity and Inclusion

Through the SDCC Women’s Caucus, the Women of South Dublin exhibition, and the Your Voice, Your Vote campaign, SDCC became Ireland’s first ever majority-female council (52.5%), a landmark achievement built on sustained, strategic engagement.

4. Junior Safety Forum – Health and Wellbeing

Empowering young people to shape safety initiatives in their communities, the junior safety forum fosters leadership, civic responsibility, and a sense of agency among South Dublin’s youth.

5. Ely Arch: Heritage Conservation Through Public Realm Design – Heritage and Built Environment

A sensitive and community-centred conservation project that integrates heritage protection with accessible, high-quality public realm design, keeping cultural landmarks at the heart of everyday life.

6. Clonburris Delivery Model – Strategic Innovation for Sustainable Growth – Local Authority Innovation

A transformative approach to master-planning and delivery that accelerates housing, infrastructure, and community facilities in one of Ireland’s most strategic new urban developments. It exemplifies a future-focused, determined approach to integrated growth.

7. Work IQ – Innovation Centre for Technology and Enterprise Growth – Promoting Economic Development

Located in the Innovation Quarter, Work IQ is a state-of-the-art hub supporting start-ups, SMEs, and digital enterprises. It strengthens the county’s economic resilience and reinforces Tallaght’s position as a growing centre of innovation and employment.

8. Connecting Communities Through the Regeneration of West Tallaght Parks – Supporting Sustainable Communities

One of the Council’s most transformative projects, connecting 40 hectares of parks into safe, active and vibrant spaces shaped directly by residents. With anti-social behaviour significantly reduced and footfall increased by more than 50%, the parks now operate as daily community anchors.

9. Balancing Green and Growth: Delivering Sustainable Development and Protecting Biodiversity – Sustainable Environment and Biodiversity

This shortlisted project complements the council’s category win by demonstrating that robust development can sit alongside ecological restoration, climate resilience, and biodiversity enhancement.

Conclusion

While awards are welcome, the true impact of the work done by SDCC is particularly felt in communities where investment has been long overdue. West Tallaght, for example, has historically experienced layered disadvantage, yet through collaborative regeneration, the area now enjoys safe play spaces, lighting, active travel routes, youth amenities, community programming, and restored pride.

Similarly, the Innovation Quarter is reshaping Tallaght into a connected, sustainable urban centre with diverse housing, enterprise hubs, cultural assets, and public spaces. Projects such as Innovation Square cost rental, delivered with low-carbon district heating and modern construction methods, accelerate access to affordable homes while supporting long-term economic stability.

These initiatives show the Council at its strongest: determined to change outcomes, unafraid to innovate, and committed to listening, not only consulting residents, but actively co-designing with them.

The Council’s achievements, highlighted in the Chambers Ireland Excellence in Local Government Awards, are a reflection of the organisation it has become.  Opportunity for all is not a slogan but the foundation of its work, where values guide behaviour: thinking differently, listening with care, delivering with confidence, challenging norms, and being upfront, transparent and accountable.

Together, staff, elected members, partners and community groups have built a culture of delivery, innovation, and inclusion. The results are visible countywide: greener spaces, better homes, stronger voices, safer communities, new opportunities for enterprise, and local services designed with, not just for, the people who use them.

Recognition as Local Authority of the Year 2025 is a testament to strategic leadership, ambition matched with action, and an authentic commitment to improving the everyday lives of residents. South Dublin County Council was also named Council of the Year at the recent LAMA All Ireland Community and Council Awards, further recognising the great work that is happening in South Dublin.

Most importantly, the council has demonstrated how to create greater opportunity for all, not abstractly, but tangibly, across services, places and partnerships, showing what local government can achieve when guided by values and driven by purpose. With award‑winning projects, sector‑leading regeneration, and shortlisted initiatives spanning social inclusion, biodiversity, heritage, safety, and economic growth, this is local government at its best: inclusive, future‑focused, determined, accountable, and rooted in community. And it is why South Dublin County Council stands proudly as Ireland’s Local Authority of the Year.