For apartment dwellers, avoiding Covid-19 can be a tough challenge. There’s the door to open when you walk in the building, the lift button that doesn’t always respond to elbow touch, and the staircases and communal surfaces that could have been mauled by anyone.

Irish developers are taking notice. Touch-free technology, antimicrobial surfaces and built-in office spaces are among the changes being made to new and existing residential buildings, as part of their response to Covid-19.

Rick Larkin, a developer at Twinlite and head of the company’s Vesta platform, says that automatic doors have become an important feature of his company’s latest development in south Dublin.

At the high-end Enderley development in Dalkey, houses sold for up to €2.5m

Twinlite has started construction on a 101-apartment build-to-rent development on Castle Park Road in Dalkey. Other schemes include the