Alan Kelly
Question:759. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if a list will be provided of all persons appointed to State or semi-State boards under his remit since 1 November 2024. [46931/24]
View answerDepartmental Data
Questions (759)
Written answers
A list of all persons appointed to State or semi-State boards appointed under my remit since 1 November 2024 is set out in the table attached.
Urban Development
Questions (760)
Paula Butterly
Question:760. Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for a full update on the Westgate Vision application for Drogheda, which will revitalise the centre of Drogheda; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1014/25]
View answerWritten answers
In line with the objectives of the National Planning Framework and the National Development Plan, the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) is currently providing part-funding to applicant-led projects, enabling more compact and sustainable development within the existing built-up footprints of our cities and large towns.
Under Call 1 of the URDF programme, Louth County Council (LCC) has received an allocation of €720,167 towards its Westgate Vision project in Drogheda. The funding was provided for technical assistance, including project management, concept development, feasibility and detailed design along with the planning elements of the project. The project is described as an Urban Regeneration project to transform the Westgate area of Drogheda and establish a positive regeneration dynamic in the broader town centre. The initial allocation was increased in September 2022 to include an Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) and Natura Impact Statement.
95% of the URDF funding allocated to this project has been drawn down by the Council and it is substantially complete in that context. The planning application was lodged with An Bord Pleanála (ABP) in December 2023 (ABP ref number 318758). 11 submissions have been received by ABP and the Council’s response to the submissions was issued to ABP on 8 April 2024. No further details have been requested by ABP. LCC is in regular contact with ABP for updates regarding the project and is awaiting a decision.
The design proposals, EIAR and all lodged planning documents are available on the ABP website under 'view associated documents' at www.pleanala.ie/en-ie/case/318758 and also on the Louth County Council portal at consult.louthcoco.ie/en/consultation/westgate-2040.
Housing Schemes
Questions (761)
Danny Healy-Rae
Question:761. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the new incentives or grants that been introduced for those building passive or log cabin homes; the schemes that are available currently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1022/25]
View answerWritten answers
All incentive schemes for new housing provided under Housing for All are required to meet the minimum performance requirements of Building Regulations.
All new dwellings must comply with building regulations, the aim of which is to provide for the safety and welfare of people in and about buildings, and in addition achieve a 60-year durability for all key elements. The Building Regulations set out the minimum requirements for the construction of new buildings and certain works to existing buildings.
Part L of the Building regulations requires an advanced Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB) energy performance for new dwellings in accordance with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive which is typically an 'A' Building Energy Rating (BER).
There are no specific grants available for passive homes or log cabin homes.
Fire Stations
Questions (762)
Paula Butterly
Question:762. Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a full update on the progress made to deliver a new state-of-the-art fire station in Dunleer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1025/25]
View answerWritten answers
The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Acts, 1981 and 2003.
My Department supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding for equipment and priority infrastructural projects.
Louth County Council has indicated that Dunleer remains its top priority project, and a new fire station at Dunleer is provided for in the Fire Services Capital Programme 2021 - 2025.
The Council submitted a preliminary appraisal to my Department in January 2021. Following examination of the proposal, approval in principle for this project issued on 25 June 2021, along with approval for the Council to appoint a design team and to progress this project to full design and cost plan stage.
Louth County Council is working to finalise the acquisition of their preferred site. Upon final confirmation of the site acquisition, I understand that Louth County Council will move quickly through the necessary phases to progress the construction of a new station for Dunleer. My Department will continue to support Louth County Council to progress the new Dunleer fire station project.
Question No. 763 answered with Question No. 716.
Departmental Data
Questions (764)
Peadar Tóibín
Question:764. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the nationality of each person currently registered as homeless in Ireland today. [1063/25]
View answerWritten answers
My Department currently gathers and publishes data on a monthly basis on the number of homeless persons accommodated in emergency accommodation funded and overseen by local authorities. These reports are based on data provided by local authorities, produced through the Pathway Accommodation & Support System (PASS).
The monthly homelessness report includes details of individuals, families and the dependants of these families who accessed emergency accommodation during the relevant count week of the month in question. The most recently published data is in respect of November 2024. The reports are collated on a regional basis and are available on my Department's website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/80ea8-homelessness-data/ and are also published to the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform's open data portal https://data.gov.ie/.
Since April 2022 my Department has gathered information from local authorities on citizenship of adults accessing emergency accommodation. The citizenship information is broken down by Irish, EEA/UK and Non-EEA and is available on a regional basis at the link above.
Development Contributions
Questions (765, 802, 804, 807, 809)
Mairéad Farrell
Question:765. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans, if any, to extend further the development contribution fees waiver, following the extension that was made to 31 December 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1110/25]
View answer
Michael Fitzmaurice
Question:802. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the temporary waiver of development contributions will be extended; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1622/25]
View answer
Mattie McGrath
Question:804. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he intends to extend the planning fees waiver further in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1643/25]
View answer
Claire Kerrane
Question:807. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if persons starting a residential development (home) now will be able to avail of the development contribution waiver; if this waiver applies to people starting now; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1698/25]
View answerPaula Butterly
Question:809. Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there are plans to further extend the local development levy waiver on new houses beyond December 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1719/25]
View answerWritten answers
On 25 April 2023, the Government approved additional measures under the Housing for All Action Plan to incentivise the activation of increased housing supply and help reduce housing construction costs, including the introduction of temporary time-limited arrangements for the waiving of local authority “section 48” development contributions and the refunding of Uisce Éireann water and waste water connection charges.
The schemes originally applied for one year to all permitted residential development that commenced on site between 25 April 2023 (the date of the Government Decision approving the measure) and 24 April 2024, and that are completed not later than 31 December 2025. On 23 April 2024, the Government approved an extension for the waiving of local authority “section 48” development contributions in respect of residential development commenced not later than 31 December 2024 and the refunding of Uisce Éireann water and waste water connection charges in respect of residential development commenced not later than 30 September 2024. There are no plans to change these dates.
In April 2024, the final date for the completion of development works on qualifying houses under the schemes was extended from 31 December 2025 to 31 December 2026.
National Monuments
Questions (766)
Timmy Dooley
Question:766. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide all the information in relation to the recording of a standing stone (details supplied); the date it was notified to his Department; the date it became officially recorded; the professional qualification of the individual who identified and validated the monument in question; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1126/25]
View answerWritten answers
From time to time the National Monuments Service (NMS) will consider referrals for addition to our records of archaeological monuments. A referral in relation to a standing stone (CL015-131 on the Sites and Monuments Record) was submitted to the NMS in 2005 with a grid reference and a townland in order that the stone could be located. Unfortunately, an error was made in the creation of the record of this monument on the NMS system.
An inspection was carried out by NMS archaeologists in September 2024 and a full new record was made at this stage at the correct location in the adjacent townland of Ballingaddy West. The Historic Environment Viewer is currently being upgraded and NMS will make updates on it as soon as this project is completed and this record too will be updated.
Wildlife Regulations
Questions (767)
Michael Cahill
Question:767. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the plans that are in place to eliminate wandering deer from roads in Kerry (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1134/25]
View answerWritten answers
While the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of my Department licenses the hunting of deer, it does not own the deer population and is not responsible for their control on private lands or in the wider countryside. They roam freely throughout the countryside and are present in many parts of the country. Deer populations, by their nature, are mobile and have a home range that is not constrained by land ownership boundaries.
The NPWS actively manages deer herd on lands in its ownership including National Parks. Where appropriate, and depending on the annual count and instances of damage caused by deer to habitats, especially woodland, culls are carried out on National Park lands to ensure that deer populations do not reach levels that would have negative ecological consequences. With regard to the management of deer within Killarney National Park, culling is a regular and on-going management operation and is undertaken periodically when resources, weather and timing permit. This allows the NPWS to work towards sustainable herd management, and, as such, there is a need to remove a certain percentage of animals from the herd on an on-going basis. The National Parks and Wildlife Service of my Department has received no reports of incidents involving road users within the park.
In the case of deer on private property, landowners may apply to my Department for permission under section 42 of the Wildlife Acts to cull deer where this is necessary outside the annual open seasons. These permissions offer a facility whereby a person can obtain a permit, on a case by case basis, to prevent serious damage caused by individual deer on specific lands. Permissions are only issued where there is evidence of such damage.
Nationally, representatives of my Department participated in the Deer Management Strategy Group alongside representatives of Department of Agriculture and other interested stakeholders such as Coillte and Teagasc. My Department is committed to continuing to engage with the actions arising out of the group’s report and to being part of the national response to the issue of deer management.
Energy Policy
Questions (768)
Christopher O'Sullivan
Question:768. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the options that are available to older people who can no longer use the housing aid for older people grant to buy a new fossil fuel boiler, such as an oil or gas boiler, given the new grant amount will not cover air to water systems, and in many cases the house will not be suitable for these heating systems (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1144/25]
View answerWritten answers
My Department provides funding under the suite of Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and Disabled People, to assist people in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. The suite of grants, which include the Housing Adaptation Grant for Disabled People, the Mobility Aids Grant and the Housing Aid for Older People Grant, are funded by my Department with a contribution from the local authority.
The Housing Aid for Older People Grant scheme provides grants of up to €10,700 to assist older people living in poor housing conditions to have necessary repairs or improvements carried out. Qualifying works include structural repairs or improvements, upgrading unsafe electrical wiring, drylining, repair or replacement of windows and doors and the repair or provision of central heating (where no central heating exists or the existing system is broken or beyond repair).
The European Union (Energy Performance of Buildings) Regulations 2024 (S.I. No. 749/2024), signed by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications on 19 December 2024, transposes Article 17(15) of Directive 2024/1275 of the European Parliament and of the Council of the 24 April 2024 on the energy performance of buildings (recast) into Irish law. The Regulations provide that from the 1 January 2025 public bodies shall not provide any financial incentives for the installation of stand-alone boilers powered by fossil fuels other than those already approved under EU funds.
As a result, grants under the Housing Aid for Older People Grant scheme can no longer be provided for the installation of new stand-alone boilers powered by fossil fuels. However, any applications for grant funding in respect of the purchase of a new fossil fuel boiler (oil or gas), which were received and approved by a local authority prior to 1 January 2025 can still be paid to applicants after 1 January 2025. The grant scheme continues to be available for applications approved after 1 January 2025 in respect of costs relating to the repair of an existing fossil fuel boiler by a qualified contractor (oil or gas) or the purchase and installation of a second hand fossil fuel boiler by a qualified contractor (oil or gas).
Grants under the scheme may also continue to be paid after 1 January 2025 in respect of the repair or replacement of all other parts of a central heating system such as new radiators, oil tanks or pipe work, regardless of connection to an existing fossil fuel boiler (oil or gas). Grants continue to be paid in respect of non fossil fuel heating such electric or biomass heating solutions e.g. wall mounted electric heaters or wood pellet stoves etc., where either are deemed to be a suitable option in line with applicant’s circumstances. The detailed administration of the schemes is the responsibility of the local authorities, therefore the qualifying works is a matter for consideration and decision on a case-by-case basis by the local authority within the scope of the grant scheme.
Grant funding for insulation works and associated heating systems are appropriate to the schemes available from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). Further information in relation to these schemes can be found on the SEAI website at www.seai.ie/homeenergyupgrades.
Local Authorities
Questions (769)
Malcolm Byrne
Question:769. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of additional powers granted to local authorities and the number of powers removed from local authorities over the ten-year period 2015 to 2024 inclusive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1227/25]
View answerWritten answers
Local government has direct functional relationships with several Government Departments covering a wide range of policy and operational areas. In the context of those areas for which my Department has direct responsibility, local authority powers have been varied in a number of instances since 2015, including as follow below:
The Water Services Acts 2007 to 2022 allow for the responsibility for public water services to transfer from Local Authorities to Uisce Éireann. This process has commenced and, from 2026, local authorities will have no functions related to water services delivery.
The Planning and Development Act 2024 was enacted in October 2024, though the provisions have not yet been commenced. There are a number of new or amended powers for local authorities in the Act which would apply upon commencement of their related provisions. To take just one example, Part 22 allows planning authorities to identify suitable sites for Urban Development Zones.
My Department is currently putting arrangements in place to implement a phased commencement of the Act of 2024 to facilitate the transition to the new legislation across the planning system, taking into account the need to liaise with local authorities, planning bodies and other stakeholders.
The Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016 enabled planning applications for strategic housing developments (SHDs) of 100 housing units or more, or student accommodation or shared accommodation developments of 200 bed spaces or more, to be made directly to An Bord Pleanála for determination instead of going to local planning authorities. This change took effect on 3 July 2017. However, the Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Act 2021 amended the Act of 2000 to return decision-making powers on planning applications for large-scale residential development from An Bord Pleanála to local authorities.
The Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 allowed planning authorities to charge a levy on vacant sites.
The Land Development Agency Act 2021 contains a number of provisions that impact the powers of local authorities. For example, Section 15 of the Act permits local authorities to request the Land Development Agency (LDA) to provide certain services. If the LDA cannot grant this request, the Minister may – on receipt of a report from the LDA - direct the Agency to provide these services. Other provisions of the Act impact local authorities’ powers in relation to the disposal of land. For example, Section 58 provides that Section 183 of the Local Government Act 2001, which permits members of a local authority to resolve a disposal of land not to be carried out, does not apply to the disposal of land by a local authority to the LDA.
The National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 will be repealed on a phased basis as the provisions of the Historic and Archaeological Heritage and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 are commenced. The commencement of the 2023 Act, will streamline and strengthen many of the provisions already available to local authorities under the National Monuments Acts 1930 – 2014. Local authorities will also have a new power of compulsory acquisition of registered monuments suitable to become national monuments (subject to Ministerial approval).
The Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2024 facilitated the election of Ireland’s first directly elected Mayor in June 2024. The Mayor of Limerick has taken functions at a strategic and policy level which were previously carried out by the chief executive. These include strategic and economic development, housing and building, road transport and safety, and environmental and climate action plans.
A number of new structures and supports are in place to aid the Mayor, including a Mayoral fund and a consultative forum (to facilitate engagement between the Mayor and national government). The Act also obliges any public body or government Minister to consult with the Mayor on the exercise of functions that have an impact on Limerick.
The 2024 Act also makes provision for individual local authorities to hold plebiscites on the question of whether to have a directly elected Mayor with executive functions for their administrative area. Where the outcome of a plebiscite is in favour of this, the Act requires that the Minister submit a report to the Oireachtas within two years, containing proposals for legislative measures to provide for a directly elected Mayor of that administrative area.
The Local Government Rates and Other Matters Act 2019, enacted in July 2019, contains a number of new powers for local authorities in respect of the levying and collection of rates. Local authorities have been levying and collecting rates under the new legal rates framework since 1 January 2024. The Act contains provisions to add to the suite of options already available to local authorities to support local businesses and ratepayers. These include new rates vacancy abatement and rates waiver schemes, to be decided by local authority members.
It is also worth noting that many of the 1,100 individual services provided by local authorities are non-statutory. Such services are provided in areas including: Finance, Housing, Planning, Libraries, Emergency Planning, Community, Tourism, Town Centre First Programme, Climate Action and Circular Economy, Transport, Waste, Water, Culture and Heritage, Business and Enterprise, and Support to the Ukraine humanitarian response. Priorities are determined and agreed by the Elected Council every 5 years and set out in the Corporate Plan, with the Annual Service Delivery Plan, the Annual Budget and the Capital Programme setting the related work programme and targets each year. My Department oversees workforce planning for the local government sector, a process that is concerned with ensuring that local authorities are resourced to meet evolving business and public needs efficiently.
The Government is committed to the ongoing reform and strengthening of local government. In this regard, the Programme for Government commits to convening a ‘Local Democracy Taskforce’ to finalise a programme for reform and to make proposals relating to local government, including proposals to increase the range of reserved functions of elected members of local authorities as well as to devolve further powers to local authorities for local services.
Planning Issues
Questions (770)
Malcolm Byrne
Question:770. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on planned revisions to the Rural Planning Guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1228/25]
View answerWritten answers
Since the publication of the current Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines in 2005 (which continue to have effect in addition to subsequent clarifications and national policy changes in the NPF published in 2018) there have been important changes to our planning system. Most notably, obligations under European Directives and international agreements relating to the management and protection of the environment and adapting to and mitigating climate change have become more central to the operation of the planning system.
Updated Rural Housing Guidelines are currently being prepared by my Department. The updated guidelines will expand on the high level spatial planning policy of the National Planning Framework (NPF), in particular on National Policy Objective (NPO) 19 which relates to rural housing. This objective makes a clear policy distinction between rural areas under urban influence (i.e. areas within the commuter catchment of cities, towns and centres of employment) on the one hand, and structurally weaker rural areas where population levels may be low or declining, on the other. NPO 19 is also aligned with the established approach whereby considerations of social or economic need are to be applied by planning authorities in rural areas under urban influence.
The draft Rural Housing Guidelines will set out relevant planning criteria to be applied in local authority development plans for rural housing, based on the high level policy framework set by the NPF. The guidelines will continue to allow county development plans to provide for housing in the countryside based on the considerations detailed in NPO 19 of the NPF, and will also highlight the need to manage development in certain areas, such as the areas around cities and larger towns and environmentally sensitive areas, in order to avoid over-development.
While planning policy is a national, as opposed to an EU competence, due care is being taken to ensure the updated guidelines will not operate to conflict with fundamental EU freedoms, comply with EU environmental legislative requirements and have due regard to decisions of the European Court of Justice. The draft planning guidelines will address these complex environmental and legal issues, while also providing a framework for the sustainable management of housing in rural areas.
Having regard to these complex considerations, the draft guidelines are subject to legal review and Ministerial approval.
Housing Schemes
Questions (771)
Malcolm Byrne
Question:771. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the factors used to determine the property price ceilings for the first home scheme by local authority area; if he would consider examining such ceilings by local electoral area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1229/25]
View answerWritten answers
The First Home Scheme, which launched in July 2022, is a shared equity scheme, designed to help bridge the gap for eligible first-time buyers, eligible homebuyers, and self-builders, between their deposit and mortgage, and the price of their new home (within price ceilings established across the country). Full details are available on the First Home Scheme website, www.firsthomescheme.ie.
The First Home Scheme Designated Activity Company (DAC) is fully responsible for the operation of the First Home Scheme on behalf of all shareholders, including price ceiling reviews. At its launch, the First Home Scheme Designated Activity Company (DAC) announced it would review all price ceilings at 6-month intervals. The DAC take into account a range of factors as part of these reviews, including the median price and volume of new builds purchased by first time buyers throughout local authority areas.
A decision was made at the establishment of the DAC that these price ceilings would be established at local authority area. At the end of December 2024, the First Home DAC published the outcome of the fifth of its scheduled 6-monthly review of the price ceilings that apply to qualifying homes and subsequently revised price ceilings in relation to 3 local authority areas. The revised price ceilings came into effect on 1 January 2025.
More information on price-ceiling reviews is available at the following link: www.firsthomescheme.ie/about-the- scheme/property-price-ceilings/.
Housing Policy
Questions (772)
Malcolm Byrne
Question:772. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he plans to provide for a new local infrastructure housing activation fund or similar measure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1232/25]
View answerWritten answers
The objective of the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF) is to provide public off-site infrastructure to relieve critical infrastructure blockages. The types of infrastructure being provided include roads, bridges, diversion of power-lines, drainage works, as well as public amenities (parks).
In July 2016, the Department invited relevant infrastructure project proposals from local authorities, and received over 70 applications. It should be noted the scheme closed to new applications in 2017.
In December 2023 the Government approved a decision to extend the LIHAF scheme for the remaining projects until the end of 2025 but it remains closed to new applications. Any decision to provide for a new fund or similar measure will be a matter for the Government in due course.
Question No. 773 answered with Question No. 716.
Cybersecurity Policy
Questions (774)
Malcolm Byrne
Question:774. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures taken by his Department and by local authorities to address cybersecurity; if he is satisfied as to the level of such security in his Department and such authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1235/25]
View answerWritten answers
My Department has measures in place in relation to its IT systems and cyber security best practices. My Department works closely with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which encompasses the State's national/governmental Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT-IE), and operates in accordance with NCSC guidance in this regard.
While each local authority has responsibility for their own cybersecurity measures my Department is assisting and supporting local authorities with increasing their cybersecurity capabilities and capacity.
My Department does not comment on operational security matters as it would be inappropriate to disclose information that may in any way assist those with malicious intent.
Artificial Intelligence
Questions (775, 791)
Malcolm Byrne
Question:775. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department and agencies under the aegis of his Department have policies on the use of artificial intelligence within his Department; if training has been provided to staff on the use of AI; if his Department has used AI, including large language models in the preparation of legislation or statutory instruments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1236/25]
View answerMalcolm Byrne
Question:791. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department and agencies under the aegis of his Department have policies on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) within the Department and those agencies; whether training has been provided to staff on the use of AI; if his Department has used AI, including large language models, in the preparation of legislation or statutory instruments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1584/25]
View answerWritten answers
My Department does not use artificial intelligence (AI) to conduct business. As with all new technologies, my Department is assessing the potential of AI in the delivery of services, in line with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) guidance on its usage in the public service, and works closely with the NCSC.
My Department does not hold the requested information in respect of the State Bodies under its aegis. These State Bodies may be contacted directly by e-mail by members of the Oireachtas at the email addresses set out in the table attached.
Invasive Species Policy
Questions (776, 777)
John Brady
Question:776. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide details on plans to ensure that cherry laurel which has been removed from the Glen of the Downs does not regrow in areas that have been cleared; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1285/25]
View answerJohn Brady
Question:777. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide details on when the work to eradicate all remaining cherry laurel from the Glen of the Downs will take place; the costs associated with same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1286/25]
View answerWritten answers
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of my Department prioritises the ongoing management and eradication of invasive species as part of its conservation role, dedicating a significant level of its resources to these management activities each year.
NPWS has to date removed approximately 4 hectares of Cherry Laurel from the Glen of the Downs Nature Reserve. The remaining approx 1 to 2 hectares are to be removed in 2025, along with re-treating any of the previous 4 hectares as required. The work to date has already significantly transformed the structure of the woodland from a conservation viewpoint.
Question No. 777 answered with Question No. 776.