Good morning, Dublin! ☁️ It's a wet one today, grab the brolly, there's no getting around it. But there's plenty to keep you going. We've got soaring heating bills, 2,100 homes stuck in planning limbo up on the Northside, a massive gig night in town, and St. Patrick's Day is practically knocking on the door. Let's get into it.

Today in Dublin: 🌨️ Rain and snow with a high of 12°C. There is an 85% chance of precipitation (mostly snow) during the day.

Tonight: ❄️ Light snow as temperatures drop to a low of 2°C.

Wind: Gusty conditions from the southwest at 19 mph.

Right, let's be real with each other. If you've gone to order home heating oil in the last two weeks, you've probably had a small heart attack at the price. The war in the Middle East — specifically the US and Israeli strikes on Iran — has sent energy costs through the roof here, 6,000km away from where any of it is happening.

Northside TD Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North) put it bluntly — elderly people on pensions and young families are already living week to week. They don't have a spare €400 sitting around. He's calling on the Government to issue a targeted €400 energy credit.

Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald called what's happening a "brazen rip-off happening in plain sight" and says the Government writing a letter to the Competition watchdog is not good enough.

⚡ The bottom line: If your tank is running low, it might be worth topping up before prices climb further. And if you're on oil, check if you qualify for the Fuel Allowance - See Below.

Northside · Malahide Road / Belcamp

Big news for the Northside. Fingal County Council has put the brakes on Glenveagh's plans for over 2,100 new homes across two north Dublin sites — 1,350 homes at Belcamp off the Malahide Road, and 815 in Balbriggan. They want loads more information before they'll move forward, and the reply deadline has been pushed out to August. Residents near Balbriggan especially have been vocal — 44 separate objections lodged, mostly about roads and infrastructure. No bus plan = no green light, basically.

Southside · Stillorgan / Mount Merrion

The local post office saga continues. Fine Gael TD Maeve O'Connell is sounding the alarm about Southside post office closures, with Mount Merrion recently losing one of its two remaining post offices. Now Stillorgan is left with just one. Adding insult to injury — the village introduced paid parking before Christmas, which locals say has made a trip to the post office even pricier. One resident put it well: "it's increased the cost of your first stamp by 25%."

Dublin-Wide · Homeless Crisis

New figures show 12,198 people are homeless in Dublin — part of a national figure that has hit 17,000. Opposition TDs are putting the blame on no-fault evictions returning after the 2023 ban was lifted. Social Democrats' Rory Hearne called the situation "dystopian." With that backdrop, it puts the Glenveagh delays (above) into sharp relief — every month of planning holds things up for real people waiting for homes.

Southside · City-Wide

Here's one that sounds like a joke but isn't — the Government is spending €3 million this year just collecting and disposing of laughing gas canisters. That's up €1 million on last year. Dublin Mid-West TD Mark Ward has been raising this for years. If you've spotted silver canisters on footpaths in your area lately, they're not going away cheaply.

Northside · Dublin City

A lovely one to end on — ExamRevision, a Dublin City-based company, has won the Peter Sheridan Dublin City Enterprise Award 2026, picking up a €5,000 prize and earning a spot at the National Enterprise Awards. Congrats to them! Meanwhile, Dublin City Council has just launched its Crowdfund Dublin City 2026 programme — if your community group has a project idea, now's your chance.

Timing could not be better given the energy price madness. Today, Thursday March 12th, is the first payment day for 12,300 Dublin families who are newly eligible for the weekly Fuel Allowance — and it's backdated to January 1st. That means a back-payment of €380 lands today for many. Check with your local Social Welfare office if you're on the Working Family Payment and haven't applied yet.

The national parade returns on Tuesday, March 17th, following its usual route from Parnell Square through the city. Start planning your spot now, it gets packed fast along O'Connell Street and Dame Street. More details on the full programme coming over the weekend.

📢 Spotted something on your street? Planning sign going up? New café opening? Something your neighbours need to know?

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Help us keep Dublin informed — one neighbourhood at a time.

Stay dry out there today, it's going to be a proper wet one. The weekend's looking brighter and we're counting down to Paddy's Day, so hang in there. If that €380 Fuel Allowance back-payment lands in your account today, maybe treat yourself to a decent dinner tonight. You've earned it. 😄

See you tomorrow morning, bright and early. 🍀

— The Dublin Scoop Team