Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 February 2026
705. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether national housing delivery targets assume electricity infrastructure upgrades that have not yet received planning permission or secured funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9709/26]
View answer708. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether projected housing completions to 2030 assume electricity grid upgrades that have not yet received planning approval or secured funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9743/26]
View answer709. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether regional housing targets have been adjusted to reflect regional electricity grid constraints; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9744/26]
View answerI propose to take Question Nos 705,708 and 709 together.
The Revised National Planning Framework (NPF) was finalised and approved by Government and the Oireachtas in April 2025. The Revised NPF identifies the need to plan for approximately 50,000 additional households per annum to 2040.
The Revised NPF provides the basis for the review and updating of Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies (RSESs) and local authority development plans to reflect such critical matters such as updated housing figures or projected jobs growth, including through the zoning of land for residential, employment and a range of other purposes.
To ensure that local authority development plans reflect the requirements of the NPF in respect of housing as soon as possible, I issued the NPF Implementation: Housing Growth Requirements Guidelines under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 in July 2025. These guidelines set out the housing demand scenario to 2040 for each local authority, by translating the NPF housing requirements into average annual figures and require planning authorities to commence the process of varying their development plan to meet the new housing growth requirements. Local authorities are currently reviewing their development plans and undertaking variation processes in response to the Guidelines.
The NPF Revision process has also given rise to consideration of implementation to date, and the potential need for further support for the implementation of the NPF strategy. In particular, the process highlighted the need to give effect to the efficient coordination and delivery of enabling infrastructure and services.
The Programme for Government (2025) has emphasised the delivery of essential infrastructure as a key driver in attracting and retaining investment in Ireland, growing our economy, fostering regional development, delivering on our housing targets and achieving our ambitious climate goals.
In April 2025, Government agreed a set of key actions focused on accelerating infrastructure delivery, including the review of the National Development Plan, emphasising the Programme for Government’s prioritisation of increased investment in growth-enhancing infrastructure, such as energy grid capacity, water supply, transport connectivity and health digitalisation; the establishment of a new Infrastructure Division within the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation; and the establishment of the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce. The Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce Report and Plan were published in December 2025, setting out a series of actions under four pillars to address infrastructure delivery.
The Government’s Housing Action Plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, published in November 2025, seeks to significantly accelerate delivery of new homes by focusing on activating land and creating the optimal environment to encourage housing activity – including regulatory reform, tax incentives and the largest ever capital investment in the history of the State, with €275 billion invested in infrastructure over ten years through the National Development Plan.
The Housing Action Plan states that at least 300,000 homes must be delivered over its lifetime and acknowledges that delivery must be in-step with infrastructure provision, including necessary investments in electricity network infrastructure. The Government’s target is based on a broad assessment of the housing system, including factors which are currently acting as constraints such as electricity and other infrastructure.
The updated National Development Plan includes provision for significant investment in electrical infrastructure by Government to meet on-going demand, with €3.5 billion in equity funding allocated directly to grid infrastructure to 2030. This funding will help to future proof Ireland’s electricity system and will enable the delivery of over 500 capital network projects nationwide, support new housing connections and grid capacity for housing growth, integrate onshore and offshore renewables and strengthen grid reliability and decarbonisation. The Housing Activation Office in my Department will work directly with ESB Networks to help coordinate the investment needed to unlock key housing sites nationally.
The Housing Activation Office (HAO) has been established to address the critical need to accelerate housing delivery in Ireland. The HAO includes six experts seconded from Uisce Éireann, ESB Networks, the National Transport Authority, Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the local government sector, alongside Departmental staff with expertise in planning, project management and administration.
The team is actively engaging with the 31 City and County Councils and with Departments and agencies to develop a full understanding of barriers affecting infrastructure delivery and how the barriers can be addressed. The HAO will be able to identify and target barriers in areas such as roads, water, electricity, drainage and community infrastructure, to get housing developments moving across the country. The HAO will focus on infrastructure needed at a local level to support housing delivery needed to support the development of sustainable communities.
Government also recently launched the first call of the new Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund (HIIF) on 21 January 2026, inviting applications for grant funding to support direct investment in the critical infrastructure needed to unlock housing delivery in towns and cities across the Country.
The HIIF is a multiannual €1 billion fund and will be managed by the HAO within my Department. It represents the largest housing infrastructure investment announced by the State in many years. The fund is designed to address infrastructure constraints that are preventing or delaying housing development, particularly in locations where housing can be delivered at scale and at pace. It will complement investment by Uisce Éireann, ESB Networks and other agencies as part of a more coordinated, end-to-end approach to infrastructure delivery for housing. It will also operate alongside other existing Departmental programmes such as the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund and the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund.
The HAO will continue to work with all relevant stakeholders to coordinate the delivery of infrastructure projects needed to unlock housing development on sites nationwide.
