Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate – Dáil Éireann (34th Dáil) – Thursday, 30 Apr 2026

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Housing Schemes

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

I welcome our guests in the Gallery. I will say this because I say it every time - and I do not in any way mean this to be disrespectful of the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, as I am grateful she is here - but it is regrettable the senior Minister has not made himself available for this because it is a very serious issue. It might not be a serious issue to him but it is an incredibly serious issue to the people I am representing. The Minister of State will know well that we are in the middle of a housing crisis. In the midst of that crisis the very least we could or should expect from a half-decent government is that it would not make things worse. There is a single measure that is a homelessness prevention measure. The only measure the Government sponsors that stops people in any way from becoming homeless is the tenant in situ scheme. I am sure the local authority housing list is as bad in the Minister of State's area as it is in mine, where people have a 14-year wait for a house or any kind of accommodation. When a person gets a notice to quit, if they are on the local authority housing list and they are evicted - and there has been a 41% jump in the number of people being evicted, kindly sponsored by the Government's latest legislation - the only measure that will keep them in their home is a tenant in situ purchase.

I have two examples from Fingal County Council here, though I could paper the walls of this place with examples. The first, dated 18 February, was sent by the council to a landlord who is selling the property but willing to sell it to the council. The council said:

Unfortunately, given the number of cases progressed and the level of funding available, Fingal County Council is no longer accepting new expressions of interest in this scheme. If applications for the tenant in situ scheme reopen in 2026 it will be advertised.

That is if it reopens. There is no doubt we need it, absolutely none at all. There is another letter dated 28 April. In it the council says it is not in a position to accept new expressions of interest in the tenant in situ scheme because it does not have the funding. If you are renting privately in north County Dublin and you apply to Fingal County Council for the tenant in situ scheme the response you get makes it very clear the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage funds the scheme and it has not funded it for Fingal County Council.

The case dated 18 February is that of a mam, a dad and three children and the one dated 18 April is of a mam, a dad and one child. I am going to spare them the embarrassment of naming them or their areas because quite frankly these people are going through enough, but both families have been told there is not enough funding in the tenant in situ scheme. It is not that their places are not appropriate but that the Government has not given the council enough money to fund the purchase of their homes, so those families will now go to emergency accommodation. I can tell the Minister of State in both cases the mams came to my constituency office and I had to tell them they will likely go to emergency accommodation. As the Minister of State and I both know, they are not renting anywhere privately as there is nowhere to rent. They are heading for emergency accommodation because the Government will not fund this scheme.

Minister of State at the Department of Children, Disability and Equality (Deputy Emer Higgins)

I thank Deputy O'Reilly very much. The Minister, Deputy Browne, passes on his apologies that he could not be here and asked me to take this on his behalf.

Tenancy sustainment, which includes the purchase of private homes where a social housing tenant is in situ, is not a stand-alone programme or scheme. However, it is a priority category of the Department of housing’s social housing second-hand acquisitions programme, which helps prevent social housing-supported households in the private rental sector from becoming homeless, as the Deputy said. Tenancy sustainment, or tenant in situ, is an option for local authorities to support households who are in the most precarious housing situations. Such acquisitions are, and will continue to be, available to local authorities for use as a last resort when other options have been exhausted. They are not the sole, or indeed the primary, option. The default first option should always be securing the sustainment of the tenancy with the landlord, securing alternative accommodation through the tenancy sustainment and place finder services, or allocating a local authority or approved housing body tenancy via a new build home or relet. Where acquisitions are deemed necessary in terms of a tenant in situ, local authorities have delegated sanction to pursue individual priority acquisitions without recourse to the Department of housing, where these acquisitions are in line with the broad parameters and criteria of the second-hand acquisitions programme.

Along with the clear focus of Government on increasing the supply of new build social and affordable homes, a targeted social housing acquisition programme has been and will continue to be an important policy response to priority needs. At the end of February, so about two weeks after the first email Deputy O'Reilly quoted from 18 February, the Minister, Deputy Browne, secured funding to a total of €373 million to fund acquisitions under the Department of housing’s social housing second-hand acquisitions programme. That funding will be available for drawdown by local authorities and approved housing bodies under the 2026 programme priorities. Those priorities include: exits from homelessness, with €150 million allocated; AHB priority delivery to support older persons, persons with disabilities and care leavers, with €50 million allocated; and local authority priority acquisitions, which includes tenancy sustainment or tenant in situ acquisitions, with €157 million allocated. A contingency fund of €16 million will also be retained to be there to top up where local authorities have drawn down and fully exhausted their initial allocation, because we want to continue to enable them to be ambitious and to continue to drive these acquisitions.

Fingal County Council has been given an initial allocation of €30.7 million of this funding. That is a 54% increase on its allocation for last year. This funding is now available to the council. I note the second family in question made contact with the council on 28 April, so I am not sure why it is giving them that response given it now has its initial allocation of €30.7 million of this funding. Ultimately, the delivery of new additional social homes is the only strategic solution when it comes to long-term homelessness, with allocations from new and existing local authority and AHB social homes the primary means through which social housing-qualified households should be accommodated. I appreciate what the Deputy is saying about how the tenant in situ programme is really important for many families and that is why Fingal County Council has been given a 54% uplift in this year's allocation. I hope it will use that to support families in the Deputy's constituency like the ones who contacted her.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

I absolutely respect that the Minister of State is giving me the information she has but that information is not accurate. It does not represent a 54% increase by my figures but we can debate that another day. When people go to Fingal County Council looking for the tenant in situ scheme they are told it does not have the money. That email dated 28 April was actually a response to a query I had sent in. It said the council had responded to the landlord, which we know it had, explaining it is not in a position to accept new expressions of interest in the tenant in situ scheme accordingly. The council is not accepting expressions now. The Minister of State might say it should be or that it has the money, but that is not what the council is telling landlords.

In the middle of all this I have a mam, a dad and their son. The man, as it goes, happens to be undergoing some fairly heavy-duty cancer treatment at the moment. Their notice to quit expires in two months' time. I had to tell that woman that she, her husband and her son will have to go to emergency accommodation. I understand what is in the note the Minister of State read.

The Minister of State and I both know that in the real world there is no available private rented accommodation coming over the hill. The woman asked what the emergency accommodation was like. It is not good. I would not like to live in it and I do not think the Minister of State would like to live in it either. She cried her heart out in my office. I am the only TD in my area who has an office - I have two, in fact - and this may be part of the reason that we see more of these cases than others do. She sobbed her heart out and she said "But there must be a way surely". This woman works hard, her husband works hard, and her son. They are terrified for the future.

Deputy Emer Higgins

I thank Deputy O'Reilly for raising her constituents' experience with us here today. It is really important that everybody remembers that behind the statistics we read out in here are families. They are families exactly like that. It is for this exact reason the Government is allocating funding. According to the Department of housing, last year the Department funded a total of 68 second-hand acquisitions for Fingal County Council. Of those, 61 were for tenancy sustainment, allowing for these private tenancies to continue in preventing homelessness, and others were tenant in situ acquisitions. So far this year Fingal County Council has only seven second-hand acquisitions in the pipeline. That is the information I have from the Department of housing. It has been given €30.7 million to fund acquisition of housing. This is a 54% increase on its allocation last year.

I will certainly bring the Deputy's feedback to the Minister for housing because, ultimately, what I am being told is that there is funding there and Fingal County Council has that funding, but only seven second-hand acquisitions are in its current pipeline. Perhaps that is because there was a pipeline from last year that it is still working its way through. I do not know the detail of that but the people who do are in the local authority, and they are who the Deputy needs to engage with on this. I know and respect that the Deputy has already done that but I think we need to do that further. There is funding there for this. With this funding we want to support families who are at risk of homelessness. The funding has been allocated to the council and the Deputy has given us an example today of the kind of family for whom we need to do that.

Special Educational Needs

Deputy George Lawlor

I wish to raise the issue of the appeals' process in the allocation of special needs assistants, SNAs, in the context of the treatment meted out to St. Aidan's primary school in Enniscorthy in Wexford. St. Aidan's is one of the largest DEIS band 1 vertical primary schools in Ireland. It is exceptional in scale for a primary school, with 861 pupils. It has seven special classes, 36 mainstream classes and 76 teachers and has been awarded 15.75 SNAs. The school currently has 54 pupils attending the seven special classes, all operating at level 3 support. The vast majority of the pupils here have care need plans and require regular access to an SNA. Of these pupils, 38 have a single diagnosis and 17 of the pupils have multiple different diagnoses, including general learning disability, autism spectrum disorder, ASD, speech and language disorder and severe intellectual disorder. Five pupils within the school are type 1 diabetics. There are also children who suffer from social and emotional behavioural difficulties, and children with anaphylaxis, epilepsy and physical disabilities. There are 36 pupils in mainstream classes with a diagnosis of ASD at different levels and as of yet the SNA allocation that covers both the special classes and the mainstream settings remains unchanged at 15.75 SNAs. Therein lies the difficulty.

The school appealed the outcome of the SNA review it requested. It was told that there would be no change to the SNA allocation and that the whole school SNA allocation for 2025-26 would continue at 15.75 SNAs. The letter the school received from a principal officer in the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, stated that this decision can be appealed. The details of the appeals process can be found online. In the letter, the NCSE advised the school to seek a rationale for the outcome prior to the submission of any appeal. Therein lies the problem.

Those in the school tried up and down and back and forward. They went to the local special educational needs organiser, SENO, and they went to the regional manager of the NCSE. They also went to the NCSE itself but nobody could give the school the rationale. They were encouraged to seek the rationale to add to their submission of their appeal. There is a ten-day period to appeal. The school went numerous times to the regional manager, the SENO and the NCSE. The NCSE came back with no clarity, no advice and no direction. No guidance could be provided by the staff there as to how they would access the rationale for the SNA review. In the end the school had to submit its appeal to the NCSE without any access to the rationale that it was encouraged by the very same NCSE to acquire in order to submit the appeal.

This is a major school with massive support requirements. The teaching staff and the SNAs are put to the pin of their collar to provide a decent atmosphere and a decent schooling for the myriad children in the school who have additional needs. It simply is not good enough. I will acknowledge that I contacted the head of the NCSE and he came back to me after a couple of days to say it would be investigating the matter. To put the staff through the wringer on this and not supply the rationale that the school was requested to seek is simply not good enough in the context of the stress that already exists within these schools.

Deputy Emer Higgins

I thank Deputy Lawlor for raising this important issue on behalf of St. Aidan's school community in Enniscorthy, and not just on behalf of the student or the students attending school in special classes, but indeed the entire school community, including teachers, parents, special education teachers and SNAs. I hear the Deputy's frustration. His frustration was mirrored earlier by one of the Deputy's constituency colleagues who also raised this with the Tánaiste today on the floor of the House. In case the Deputy missed that debate, I will just say that the Tánaiste committed to raising this with the Minister for education directly, asking her to arrange that either the Minister herself or the NCSE would make contact with that Deputy. I will certainly add Deputy Lawlor to that list to ensure he gets that same information and that same contact. I am very glad to hear that the Deputy has been in contact directly with the head of the NCSE and that he is working proactively to help to resolve this from a rationale perspective to give the information the school wants and should have gotten much easier than this. I appreciate that the issue here is not just for St. Aidan's and that the issue is with the process. I will absolutely provide that feedback to the Minister for education.

As the Deputy is aware, the National Council for Special Education has responsibility for co-ordinating and advising on the education provision and care support for children and young people with special educational needs in our schools, including the allocation of SNA support to schools. In relation to the appeals process itself, on completion of an SNA review the NCSE communicates the outcome to a school. If the school is not satisfied, it may submit an appeal of the outcome to the NCSE. The school has ten days to do so. Information, including guidance on the appeals process, is available on the NCSE website. The NCSE is currently processing a number of appeals and the outcomes of these will be communicated to schools shortly.

The Department and the NCSE are committed to delivering an education system that is of the highest quality, where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential. I will provide the Deputy's specific feedback on the rationale. I note this is what was advised in the information on the website to show this is how one should submit the appeal.

Deputy George Lawlor

The advice was in the letter.

Deputy Emer Higgins

To be told that this is the correct way to be able to gain the information and then to be frustrated through the process and not get it, I can understand that this is not efficient for either the school or the NCSE. It does not set the school up for success in terms of being able to put forward a coherent and comprehensive appeal. I appreciate what the Deputy is saying in that this information should have been made available in a timely fashion to the school.

Deputy George Lawlor

I thank the Minister of State for the response. Obviously it is not her core area so I understand the difficulty she finds herself in. I am holding the letter from a principal officer which was sent to say that there would be no change. Within the letter the school is advised to seek the rationale. I appreciate that the Minister of State said herself that this issue does not apply just to St. Aidan's school in Enniscorthy.

It is a huge primary school, particularly when one considers all the supports that are required. A letter was sent to the school informing it to seek a rationale for what was required while, at the same time, no one within that organisation, from the bottom to the top, could tell it where to get that rationale. From the conversations I had with the deputy principal and the head of special education teachers in the school when they visited me at my constituency office in Wexford, I know that they tried everything multiple times but no one within the organisation could provide them with the rationale, which seems to be a key component of the appeals process. What does this say about the entire appeals process from the start? Are all schools advised to seek the rationale? The fact that the school could not even be told where to get the rationale and the regional manager said he was seeking guidance indicates to me that there is a bit of chaos within the NCSE when it comes to processing the appeals system. It throws something of a blanket over the appeals process and suggests that it is a matter of just ticking a box to say “Computer says “No””. It does not have any rationale available despite the fact that it tells schools to look for it. The notion that no one within the organisation knows where to go to find it is quite baffling. I am sure the Minister of State will agree with me in that regard.

Deputy Emer Higgins

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and giving us this opportunity to discuss it on the floor of the House. The NCSE allocation and review processes are essential to ensure that SNA support is provided where it is most needed. An appropriate appeal mechanism is an important part of the review process, and this has always been the case. I fully appreciate that schools need to be given whatever information needed in order to put forward a thorough appeal. If schools are not satisfied with the outcome of a SNA review, they can then submit the appeal. As I said, details on how to do that are available online. The NCSE is available to support schools and discuss the deployment of SNA resources allocated to support their students.

With regard to the appeal, it might be helpful to outline some of what is taken into account in terms of the rationale. Special education needs organisers engage with schools, including school leaders, teachers and SNAs, and a national review panel reviews decisions to ensure consistency across the country. Among the factors taken into account are changes in student numbers, changes in individual care needs and students moving from primary to post-primary schools. Sometimes, those factors form part of the rationale. While I do not know the specific details in the case of St. Aidan’s Parish School, the information should have been made available to it in a timely fashion.

School Enrolments

Deputy Joe Neville

I was due to speak on the need for an additional class between the three schools on Green Lane in Leixlip. Those three schools are Scoil Bhríde, Scoil Mhuire and Scoil Eoin Phóil. I attended Scoil Eoin Phóil. There is a requirement for an extra class, but I am delighted to say that this morning we finally received the good news that it has been delivered. Obviously, I had put in for this speaking slot and I still wish to speak to the matter.

I am thankful to the parents who raised this issue with me, as well as to the principals who worked with me in the past number of months. This was an issue for parents. It has caused major concern because there is a lack of school places in the Leixlip area. Parents want their children to attend school in their parish, but in excess of 20 parents had not been able to get places for their children. As I said, there was real concern for those children, especially given that some of their siblings already attend the local school. It was a serious, live issue. I thank the three school principals, Anita Clarke, Seán O’Boyle and Áine Crotty, who liaised with me continually over the past number of months. They indicated to me that they wanted to get behind this to provide the extra places. Obviously, we had to convince the Department of the need for the class. The Minister, Deputy Naughton, was amazing throughout the process. She and her team kept going back and forth. I needed to explain to them the importance of delivering this extra school class in our parish. In fairness, it worked and the classroom has been delivered. That group of children will be able to go to school along with their siblings and friends.

This speaks to the wider issue we have in north Kildare and in the Minister of State’s constituency of Dublin West, the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach’s constituency of Wicklow, Deputy Tóibín’s area of south Meath and Wexford town, where Deputy Lawlor is from. There are big population increases in these areas and there is a need for increased school provision. There is an increased demand for Gaelscoileanna, which is hugely important for all our towns and villages. We have demand in our secondary schools. We have a need for secondary school places. We also have a need for extra special education classes. I know this is not hard but they need to be dealt with. We must have a focus on this area.

Every few years, we carry out a census. Every year, we see new numbers coming into the early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme. We need to be analysing those numbers clearly and in a qualitative way so we know where issues will arise in individual towns. Growing up in the expanding town of Leixlip in late eighties and the nineties, there was real growth in the area in which we went to school. As that boom declined, the numbers decreased but we are now seeing another housing boom coming back and those numbers are changing. We need to be alive to those changes. We must build for the future. All of these issues are real for the people who live in these communities.

The idea of a parent with one or two children in a certain school having to ultimately put another child in the car for an extra 15 to 20 minutes depending on traffic – we all know how bad traffic can be in north Kildare – is just not tolerable. That was a real concern. I am happy that I have been able to speak and receive text messages from a number of parents today who are so relieved and delighted. I thank them for their forbearance. I also thank the principals for their work. I thank the Department for seeing sense in this proposal and making the right decision. I thank the Minister for her decision as well.

Deputy Emer Higgins

Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Teachta. I congratulate Deputy Neville and the school communities. I know that he attended one of the schools. I am sure this is a big day for both he Deputy and the school communities. I thank him for raising this issue and for his strong and consistent advocacy on behalf of families in Leixlip. I know he worked very closely with the school community on this issue. His engagement and that of the school community with the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Naughton, both on the ground locally and in the House, has been important. I compliment Deputy Neville on his hard work because he has been instrumental in bringing this matter to a positive outcome.

Providing school places for every child, including those with additional needs, is a top priority for the Government. While we are seeing a general decline in enrolments nationally, we know that growing communities like Leixlip are facing real and immediate pressures. Behind every statistic are families who simply want a place for their child in a local school. While the Department is aware of enrolment pressures and demand for additional school places in some areas, it is important to note that enrolment pressures can be driven by duplications of applications, applications from outside an area and school-of-choice factors.

In Leixlip, there has been particular pressure for junior infant places for September 2026. Department officials have been working closely with local schools, analysing the data and responding directly to the concerns raised by parents and the Deputy. Today, I am pleased to confirm a clear and practical step forward. Following direct engagement with Scoil Mhuire on Green Lane, the Department of education has, as the Deputy outlined, now approved the opening of a second junior infant class. This additional class will be in place for September 2026 to accommodate local children.

I am sure the Deputy will agree that this is a real and tangible outcome that will make a difference for families in the area. It will mean more local children will now have access to a place in their community. While places are available across the wider Leixlip area, we recognise that families want to stay local, wherever possible. That is why targeted, local actions like this matter.

The Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in the area. For planning purposes, the Department examines urban areas as a whole and does not recognise parish boundaries in the review. Parents have the right to choose which school to apply to and, where the school has places available, the pupil should be admitted. However, in schools where there are more applicants than places available, a selection process may be necessary. This selection and enrolment processes must be non-discriminatory and applied fairly in respect of all applicants. However, this may result in some pupils not obtaining a place in the school of their first choice.

In accordance with the provisions of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, schools are required to clearly set out their selection criteria in their admission policies. The criteria to be applied by schools and the order of priority are a matter for the schools. It is an important feature of the act that schools can only make a decision on an application for admission that is based on the school’s admission policy.

I am pleased to be putting positive news on the record of the House today. I again thank the Deputy and the local school community in Leixlip who have engaged in a constructive and successful campaign.

Deputy Joe Neville

It is not often that I table a Topical Issue and get the win on the same day. This is a matter I have been raising for a number of months.

As already stated, this is a very positive situation. What has happened speaks to the work of Department in this case. The Minister of State stated that a specific issue can be targeted. I was conscious of the potential for the Department to look organically at this from a high level as opposed to looking at parish boundaries, different clubs and roads and what areas gravitate towards their own areas. Children want to go to school with the other kids who live on their roads.

We have a Gaelscoil and an Educate Together in our area. The Green Lane schools all have a Catholic ethos. Each one offers different things. Ultimately, people want their children to have the opportunity to go to school with other children on their roads and, most importantly, with the children in their homes, namely their older brothers or sisters who are already going to particular schools. In this instance, that would not have been possible until the decision made today. That is why I was quite passionate about this issue, why I liaised, as much as I could, with the schools and the parents involved in respect of it and, ultimately, why I raised it in the Dáil. I also spoke at meetings and raised the issue with the Department.

As I said, in this case, the issue has been resolved. There is a wider issue regarding north Kildare and other areas that have difficulties. I am sure parents in Celbridge, Naas and Kilcock have real concerns about waiting lists for primary and secondary schools. Ultimately, we have a group of families who are delighted. As I said, I am sure other families might be in a position where they are still awaiting decisions. As I said, this is a new good news story for the Green Lanes schools and I am glad to be in a position to have that news.

Deputy Emer Higgins

I thank the Deputy for outlining the steps he has taken and the positive and proactive engagement he has had with the Minister for Education and Youth and departmental officials and the collaborative way in which he has worked with the school community. That matters and doing that work matters. It is hard and tough work, but as the Deputy can see it gets results. It has got results in this instance.

The message here is very simple. The Government has listened, engaged and delivered. A new junior infant class has now been approved for Scoil Mhuire. Critically, that class will be ready for September of this year. The Deputy mentioned other schools in similar situations. The annual enrolment process for new junior infants at primary level and new first years at post-primary level is a large-scale operation. It is transacted with close to 4,000 schools across the country involving 140,000 pupils. In order to plan for school places and need, the Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and utilises a geographical information system to anticipate school place demand. Information from a range of sources, including child benefit data, school enrolment data and data on residential development activities is used for this purpose. In addition, the Project Ireland 2040 population and housing targets inform the Department's projection of school place requirements.

The Deputy mentioned constituents in Celbridge and other areas. It is important that they are aware that the Department is looking at this from a holistic perspective and is making sure that the Department is able to provide classes, classrooms and schools where demand exists. Scoil Mhuire and the Green Lane schools very clearly demonstrated that the demand is there, and the Department responded accordingly.

National Monuments

Deputy James Geoghegan

I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter, which relates to the Martello tower in Sandymount. The Minister of State will be familiar with Martello towers located across Dublin Bay. I understand that 28 were originally built. Every few of them are in as good nick as the one on Sandymount Strand.

As a local Deputy and a former councillor, I am aware that people have been raising this issue on a continuing basis. They would walk along the promenade past the Martello tower, which is such an iconic building. People have not had access to the inside for decades. Those who have lived in the community long enough remember a time when there was a café in the tower. In other parts of the city, such as Dún Laoghaire, there is a James Joyce museum in a Martello tower.

I could not tell the Minister of State the number of occasions on which I, as a councillor, was contacted by people asking whether anything could be done with the Martello tower. I do not know how often Dublin City Council wrote to the owner to see whether a collaborative approach could be taken to open the tower. We talk about dereliction and vacancy generally across the city. This is a landmark building. The owner is the only person who has access, which he is perfectly entitled to have. The first time anyone has had a glimpse of the inside of the building is right now because it has been put up for sale. Photographs have been published in order that people can see what the tower looks like inside. It has been decades since anyone has peered into the building.

The tower is recognised and registered as a national monument on the national monument registry. There is precedent for the State acquiring buildings that are recognised as national monuments. One of the challenges if the monument goes into private hands is its ability to serve the community and serve its intended purpose. To be fair to the current owner, perhaps 25 years ago or so, a planning application was submitted to put in place a café at the site. For whatever reason, that did not work out.

We should be able to do so much more to recognise and preserve our history. This is a unique opportunity. A tower was constructed over 200 years ago by our then colonial overlords to prevent or at least defend against the perceived risk of a French invasion. We now have an opportunity to preserve and highlight that history. It is not just on behalf of the community that I am making this representation. Sandymount Strand is visited by hundreds of people on a daily basis. It is an oasis on Dublin Bay and a UNESCO biosphere. It is something that the whole of Dublin is proud of, enjoys and frequents.

There would be an enormous opportunity to create a history tour linking all of the Martello towers. It could become an iconic destination. In terms of value for the State, the Government could work with the local authority and Dublin City Council. To be fair to the council, there has already been some preliminary engagement with the seller. The State and the local authority could work together to provide a café on site that would build up revenue. Whatever the capital cost might be right now, it would wash its face within a short period.

The cultural, historic and social dividend for everyone visiting the area would be ginormous. I have raised this matter in order to encourage the relevant agencies of the State to engage with the sales process and investigate and determine whether it is plausible that the State could acquire this Martello tower.

Deputy Emer Higgins

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, which provides an opportunity to outline the position of the Office of Public Works, OPW, in regard to the potential acquisition of the Martello tower at Sandymount Strand, although I would suggest that there are other State bodies, Departments and local authorities that will have an interest in this matter.

At the outset, I wish to acknowledge the significant historical and cultural value that this tower represents as part of Ireland’s built heritage. These early 19th century defensive structures form an important element of our coastal landscape and are closely associated with our architectural, social and literary history, with approximately 50 located around the country. The OPW has responsibility for the care, management and presentation of a large portfolio of heritage sites across the State, as the Deputy will be aware. These include many of Ireland's most significant national monuments, currently numbering approximately 780 sites nationwide, which are under the ownership of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. In this context, it is important to note that the OPW does not have a general role in acquiring national monuments; rather, it is responsible for the conservation, maintenance and management of services of those sites where guiding services exist.

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage is a relevant decision maker when the State is considering taking a property or monument into the care of the State. Ultimately, the OPW is responsible for conservation, maintenance and management of what is in the State's control. Acquisitions are considered on a case-by-case basis, having regard to a range of factors, including national significance, strategic fit within the existing portfolio, public access potential and the availability of resources to conserve and manage the site into the future.

As the Deputy said, the State already has a Martello tower in its care. It is managed by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown local authority and operates successfully as the James Joyce Tower and Museum. This demonstrates that, where appropriate, such structures can be preserved and repurposed through collaborative arrangements at local level.

In relation to the specific property referred to, I understand that the Martello tower at Sandymount Strand is in private ownership and has, over time, been used as a private dwelling and for commercial purposes. I commend the fact that the Deputy has engaged with the private owner from his time as a councillor and recognise that the situation will change if, as he stated, the property is up for sale. While the OPW recognises its heritage value, it is the case that the State must carefully consider carefully its approach to acquiring historic properties. The assumption of ownership, as I am sure the Deputy understands, brings with it long-term obligations in terms of conservation, maintenance and public access. All of this must be carefully considered in the context of competing priorities across the heritage sector. In addition, local authorities are often best placed to bring forward proposals for the reuse and regeneration of heritage buildings where there is a clear community or civic function identified.

I was really pleased to hear the Deputy say that it is his understanding that preliminary engagement has already begun between the seller and Dublin City Council as that may be a really good avenue to continue to explore. Any future proposal for the Martello tower at Sandymount Strand may be more appropriately considered at local authority level, in this instance Dublin City Council, and potentially in partnership with other stakeholders. I urge the Deputy to continue to engage with the city council on this matter. If the tower is up for sale, it is obviously now an opportunity for those discussions to happen in a serious context.

Deputy James Geoghegan

I thank the Minister of State. I am very encouraged by the reply. I may be too much of an optimist. However, to be fair to the OPW, particularly in the context of the reply the Minister of State read out its behalf, it has highlighted a very successful model that has worked when working with a local authority in the preservation of Martello tower in Dún Laoghaire, which is not very far away from the Martello tower in Sandymount, and how it successfully operates as a museum. It is my understanding, as already stated, that there has been some engagement on the part of the local authority regarding the sales process. I acknowledge that it identifies the parent Department as being the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, which might have a role in directing the OPW in this matter.

This is clearly an area in which the State has comfort. What everybody wants to see is a community dividend from this unique opportunity. I would be concerned that the relevant stakeholders on the State side will not grasp the nettle. This is a live sale process. Theoretically, the tower could be acquired by any person who wishes to acquire it right now. It is for sale on the open market. I will certainly be engaging with Dublin City Council on foot of the reply that has been given. Equally, I will engage with the Ministers responsible in the Department of heritage, particularly as this Martello tower is registered as a national monument. I will highlight, as the OPW has done, a ready-made existing policy, not something to be feared by the State, that has proven successful, viable and that it has the experience to deal with the maintenance of such an important building.

Deputy Emer Higgins

I thank the Deputy. I agree. The fact that this is a registered national monument that is located in a UNESCO biosphere on, as the Deputy put it, the oasis that is Dublin Bay, this does represent a unique opportunity now that it is for sale. To reiterate, the OPW does not have plans to acquire the tower, but it is standing ready to engage constructively with relevant stakeholders, where appropriate, and remains committed to the conservation and the promotion of Ireland's built heritage and its natural heritage more broadly.

What the Deputy said regarding continuing engagement with Dublin City Council is very positive and is something I would actively encourage him to do. In my constituency, we had a similar situation whereby Lucan House, which is the former residence of the Italian ambassador to Ireland, was going to be put up for sale on the open market. We have really benefited from the fact that South Dublin County Council, our local authority, was in a position to purchase the estate. While it is still not fully open to the public, it was open on Saturday and it was great to have so many people there enjoying the atmosphere and the stunning grounds. The house itself will soon be open to the public. There is precedent for local authorities taking the lead on this, obviously supported by national Government.

There is the precedent for local authorities to take the lead in circumstances where the OPW does not necessarily see that something is a fit for it. In this instance, the OPW has clearly stated that it is not a fit for it in the here and now, but having Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council operate a successful museum in a very similar tower not far away does offer a roadmap for success. Ultimately, I know the Deputy's goal is to preserve this historic amenity and to bring to life its history and that would be a wonderful thing if he was able to partner with Dublin City Council to achieve.

Dáil Éireann debate - Thursday, 30 Apr 2026