Hi there Sam,
I'm one of the fortunate people who joined a queue on a Thursday afternoon in January, in the rain, to put a deposit on a house built by people I knew very little about. I have to say though, over the last 6 months, and after numerous conversations with everyone from the girls in the site offices to the Site Foreman himself, if their pleasant manner and professionalism is anything to go by, then I need not worry about the quality of the build.
I have been on-site several times so far and have watched their progress with anticipation. So far so good. I have friends living in Glen Easton, Leixlip, which HDC also built and they quailty of those houses is second-to-none. I also have friends living in the first phase of Glen Abhainn and they've had no complaints since they moved in over ten months ago.
I hope this helps you in some way....
Regards,
Carl.