A new document reveals developers working towards turning Hendron’s at Broadstone into a co-living complex intend to use Thermal Imaging Cameras on site.

Developers planning to turn Hendron’s at Broadstone into a co-living space are planning on using Thermal Imaging Camera to monitor residents for COVID-19.

The news was first noted in The Dublin Inquirer and the cameras would observe temperatures of inhabitants and according to a planning document those displaying raised temperatures would have to isolate.

The management plan says, “The external door CCTV system and access controlled door systems to the residents areas within the building will use Thermal Imaging Cameras to monitor body temperature linked to the access control system. Anyone displaying a raised temperature will be advised to isolate for a period.”

Other additional security measures listed in the document states that residents will, “be required to ‘tap’ in and out of the building” using their “mobile phone or smart watch”.

Before Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien’s ban on co-living complexes in December was introduced developers rushed to get their applications in for such developments before it became law. A recent example of this was the last-minute attempt to turn Phibsborough Shopping Centre into a co-living complex.

The move raises questions about data protection and what this could mean for future properties in the capital.

View the management plan for the co-living complex here.