One of the country's leading businessmen, Eamon Waters, chief executive of Panda Waste, looks set to press ahead with the building of a new seven-storey, 124-bedroom hotel in Dublin City Centre after his planning application was approved by Dublin City Council.

The location of the new four-star development is on Ship Street, close to Dublin Castle in the capital's city centre, reports The Sunday Times, which adds that Waters paid around €4 million for the 0.2-acre site.

The new hotel will be situated beside the Radisson Blu on Golden Lane, which was last month handed the planning go-ahead to add an additional 103 rooms, bringing the total number of rooms to 255. The Sunday Times also reports that Radisson Blu owner, Padraic Rhatigan, has submitted plans for apartments, a convention centre and a public square on his site.