Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 December 2025
157. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the plans there are to reduce the number of quangos and strip out the amassed red tape and bureaucracy that exists, in order to allow the delivery of projects under his Department’s remit in a more timely, efficient and customer-friendly manner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68372/25]
View answerOne pillar of the Government’s new housing plan Delivering Homes, Building Communities focuses on activating the supply of 300,000 homes. This will be achieved through activating more land, providing more housing-related infrastructure, securing more development finance for home building, addressing viability challenges, particularly those seen in apartment delivery, increasing both the adoption of Modern Methods of Construction and skills in the residential construction sector, and working towards ending dereliction and vacancy.
A range of actions are being introduced under the new plan to ensure the delivery of social and affordable projects. Those actions include introducing a new single stage approval for social housing projects to streamline processes; mandating the use of standard house layouts and specifications as part of the new approval process and facilitating the use of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) through a standardised design approach; expanding and streamlining the operation of the Land Acquisition Fund and financially incentivising local authorities to exceed annual ‘own build’ social housing targets.
The Starter Homes Programme will bring together the existing variety of affordable supports under one umbrella to strengthen the focus and visibility of these initiatives. The State will support the more widespread and viable delivery of new-build, high-quality Starter Homes by driving a standardisation programme across its home ownership and cost rental measures that enables cost efficient and higher volume delivery, including in mixed tenure communities.
The commencement of the Planning and Development Act 2024 is important in activating available land for housing delivery. For the first time, statutory timelines will apply to all consenting processes, providing certainty for applicants, communities, and the development sector. A stronger alignment between national and local policy, clearer and more consistent guidance, and longer-term ten-year local authority plans will ensure a more coordinated and strategic approach. The first phase of commencements of the 2024 Act provided for the establishment of An Coimisiún Pleanála and introduced provisions for reformed planning judicial review. New tools such as Urban Development Zones and Urban and Priority Areas will support faster, more responsive delivery of housing and infrastructure, where it is needed most.
I am also committed to implementing fully the Ministerial Action Plan on Planning Resources, including the provision of staffing resources and expertise to enable planning authorities to perform their functions efficiently and effectively. The provision of additional resources to An Coimisiun Pleanála has been instrumental in ensuring that the organisation is making significant improvements to performance, with the majority of decisions now being made within expected timelines and backlogs in decision-making addressed.
I recently published the Sectoral Plan for Water Services and Water Quality, which outlines how the record investment of €12.2 billion for the water sector will be spent over the next five years. This will support Uisce Éireann in the delivery of key strategic projects in our cities and regions. The new Developer Led Infrastructure scheme will enable developers to directly fund and deliver wastewater treatment infrastructure in areas where limited capacity has been delaying or preventing housing development. This new approach will unlock housing delivery in locations currently constrained by wastewater capacity. Funding for water and wastewater infrastructure to facilitate housing development in our towns and villages will also be prioritised, through an enhanced Small Towns and Villages Growth Programme.
I have also established the Housing Activation Office within my Department, which includes experts seconded from Uisce Éireann, ESB Networks, the National Transport Authority, Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the local government sector. The Housing Activation Office is developing a coordinated programme of public infrastructure investment to address infrastructure barriers affecting housing delivery on zoned lands with the potential to delivery housing in the short to medium term. I am also bringing forward a €1 billion Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund shortly, under Delivering Homes Building Communities, to support direct investment in housing infrastructure which will help accelerate housing delivery by unblocking infrastructure constraints and ensuring that investment is targeted to where it can have the greatest impact.
The above actions will be complemented by broader actions under the new Accelerating Infrastructure - Report and Action Plan which was published on 3 December 2025 which help to drive the efficient delivery of infrastructure across Ireland.
