I propose to take Questions Nos. 300 to 302, inclusive, together.
In line with the agreed Programme for Government, and as set out in Delivering Homes Building Communities, the initial €2 billion allocation to the URDF has been extended by a further €500 million to 2030 under the updated NDP.
The URDF supported capital programme is applicant-led and while my Department works closely and communicates regularly with Kildare County Council in respect of project delivery, responsibility for the advancement of URDF-supported projects, such as the Celbridge to Hazelhatch Link Road project, through the various stages of the project lifecycle is, in the first instance, a matter for the Sponsoring Agency (in this case Kildare County Council).
It is a condition of URDF support that advancement of proposals/projects and related funding arrangements must accord with the Department’s Guidance on applying the Infrastructure Guidelines (formerly the Public Spending Code) to URDF-supported projects.
This requires a local authority to ensure that at each of three Approval Gates it provides a submission to my Department for approval prior to progressing to the next stage of the project lifecycle. These Approval Gates are:
• AG1 - Approval in Principle (Preliminary Business Case)
• AG2 - Pre-Tender Approval (Project Design, Planning and Procurement Strategy)
• AG3 - Post-Tender Approval (Final Business Case)
Approximately €10 million of URDF funding has been allocated towards Kildare County Council’s Call 2 proposal for a Celbridge to Hazelhatch Link Road. This project involves the proposed delivery of a 2km link road and a second bridge over the River Liffey, which includes the land purchase and construction of the bridge with 300m of road. It would provide essential infrastructure to support compact urban growth in Celbridge as well as enhanced connectivity between the town and Hazelhatch Train Station.
In February 2025, Kildare County Council submitted an Approval Gate 1 Preliminary Business Case (PBC) for the project, which outlined a substantial increase in overall project costs. Following an initial review of the Council's submission and clarification on the estimated costs, my Department recently met with the Council to discuss how best to progress the project. At this meeting, a revised proposal to utilise the approved URDF allocation to provide for further design work and some construction elements, including completion of the bridge, was discussed.
On foot of this meeting, my Department wrote to the Council on 11 November 2025 confirming provisional support for its proposal. This provisional support is subject to the Council forwarding a revised PBC submission detailing its proposed options for proceeding with the revised proposal. This submission will also set out options for delivery of the remainder of the original proposal.
My Department is currently awaiting this submission.
In respect of the query on the Maynooth Town Centre Works, the Deputy should refer to the response to his question (No. 283 of 17 December) on the Call 2 Maynooth Town Centre Renewal – Strengthening the Grid proposal.
