How digital twins could solve Ireland’s housing emergency and end paper planning

Ireland is preparing radical moves to accelerate housing delivery. But what if the real breakthrough doesn’t come from policy — but from technology?

In this episode of Transform Gov, Maeve Kneafsey meets Gavin Duffy, Founder & CEO of RealSim, the Irish company building ultra-accurate 3D digital twins of real towns, cities, and infrastructure.
Gavin explains how immersive planning tools can speed up decisions, reduce objections, and help councils and agencies build better homes and infrastructure, faster.

From Jersey to Fingal and Balbriggan, this is a masterclass in practical digital transformation for public planning and housing delivery.

Digital twin Ireland, housing emergency Ireland, planning reform Ireland, public-sector innovation, RealSim, Gavin Duffy, Maeve Kneafsey, Transform Gov, Fingal County Council, Balbriggan regeneration, Jersey planning model, e-planning Ireland, 3D planning tools, Irish housing delivery, local authority innovation.

00:00 – Why Ireland’s housing emergency needs new tools
04:30 – What RealSim actually does in plain English
08:10 – Lessons from Jersey’s planning transformation
14:00 – Why Irish planning is still PDF-first
18:40 – Balbriggan case study
25:00 – How digital twins reduce objections
30:40 – What councils need to adopt digital twins
35:30 – The future: national digital twin for Ireland
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