Written Answers Nos. 722-742
722. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether he has held any meetings with the Minister for Finance on the new derelict sites tax; and the number of these meetings. [30539/26]
View answerI can confirm that I have had one meeting with the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance relating to the proposed Derelict Property Tax measure, and there is ongoing engagement between my officials and officials in the Department of Finance on the development of the proposed legislation.
723. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of times the Southwest Regional Homeless Forum met in 2025 and to date in 2026; the dates of these meetings; and the number of attendees. [30540/26]
View answerMy Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of local authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual local authorities.
While responsibility for the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual housing authorities, the administration of homeless services is organised on a regional basis, with nine administrative regions in place.
A homelessness consultative forum has been established in each region in accordance with Chapter 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2009. Decisions on the range of emergency accommodation services, funding required and operational matters such as the number of Homeless Consultative Forum meetings in each region are a matter for individual housing authorities in consultation with the Management Group of the relevant regional joint Homelessness Consultative Forum.
My Department publishes quarterly Progress Reports which are based on quarterly Performance Reports submitted by the nine regional lead authorities responsible for the administration of homeless services at local level. These quarterly Performance Reports include information on the organisations that attend the regional Management Group, Consultative Fora and Homeless Action Team meetings and the dates that these meetings occurred within the quarter.
These reports are collated on a regional basis and are available on my Department's website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/collections/homelessness-data/.
724. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the full voids return allocation was drawn down in 2025; the date the full allocation was drawn down; and the number of homes that remained vacant at 31 December 2025. [30541/26]
View answer725. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of homes that have had stock audits completed; whether he has seen preliminary results of these stock audits; and whether he intends to fund legacy issues identified in these audits. [30542/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 724 and 725 together.
The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, is a matter for each local authority under s.58 of the Housing Act 1966. Local authorities must also ensure all tenanted properties comply with the provisions of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019. To this end, they must make adequate budgetary provision for housing repairs and cyclical maintenance utilising the significant housing rental income available to them as part of the annual budgetary process.
Notwithstanding the legal obligation on local authorities, €40 million will be provided as a contribution towards the remediation of local authority housing through my Department's Planned Maintenance and Voids Programme this year.
Details on funding recouped to local authorities under the Voids Programme to end 2025 is available on my Department's website at www.gov.ie/en/collection/0906a-other-local-authority-housing-scheme-statistics/#voids-programme. The programme supported the return of almost 2,200 vacant social homes to productive use by local authorities in 2025, with more than €24 million provided by my Department to support local authority efforts in this regard. A further €6.9m was recouped to the local authorities to complete stock condition surveys and to support planned maintenance works on social homes.
My Department works closely with local authorities to promote preventative, planned maintenance of social housing, informed by stock condition surveys. Local authorities continue to progress surveys, with over 14,186 completed to mid-April this year. I expect all local authority social homes will be surveyed over the next four or five years. It is for local authorities to develop planned maintenance works programmes arising from the findings of their stock condition surveys. Base funding of €150 per survey per property is available in 2026, with a €100 top-up grant available to local authorities that have at least 15% of their total social housing stock surveyed by the end of this year.
Local authorities will always have a level of vacancy in their housing stock. This will fluctuate over time as tenancy surrender and re-letting of dwellings is an ongoing process. Accordingly, data on the number of vacant homes are not routinely collated by my Department.
That said, statistics in relation to social homes, at a point in time, are published by the National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC) in its Annual Reports on Performance Indicators in Local Authorities, including Kilkenny. These reports provide a range of information in relation to social housing stock, including levels of vacancy and average turnaround times in local authority owned properties.
The most recent NOAC report for 2024 is available at www.noac.ie/noac_publications/report-77-noac-performance-indicator-report-2024/.
In line with previous years, NOAC data for 2025 will likely be published in the Autumn. In the meantime, data on vacancy in social housing, at any specific moment in time, should be sought directly from the respective local authorities.
726. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has assessed the impact of probate delays on national housing supply; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30577/26]
View answerIn December 2023, an Expert Group on Conveyancing and Probate was convened by the then Taoiseach to review conveyancing and probate processes in Ireland to reduce costs and delays for home-purchasers. A major objective underpinning the Group’s work was to maximise the available housing stock, by avoiding having homes lying empty because they are caught in lengthy and inefficient conveyancing or probate transactions.
In July 2024, Government approved the Report of the Expert Group on Conveyancing and Probate, which set out a series of recommendations and improvements to be made to both processes to make them more efficient.
An Implementation Group (IG), comprising an independent Chair, alongside key stakeholders as well as relevant Government departments, agencies and statutory bodies, was put in place in September 2024 to oversee the implementation of the Expert Group’s recommendations. Significant progress has been made by the Group and its most recent progress report is available here: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-the-taoiseach/publications/conveyancing-and-probate-implementation-group-progress-report-june-2025/.
The Programme for Government 2025 Securing Ireland’s Future makes a commitment, as part of a Homebuyer Help Package, to “significantly reduce the time taken for the Probate Office to process applications to extract grants of probate.
In that regard, the Courts Service is rolling out a reform programme to the probate process, which has already seen significant reduction in processing times. The Courts Service is also currently working with a pilot group of solicitors in the Dublin court area to test and refine an online probate process.
727. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if it is the current policy of his private office/Department to formally invite or notify all local Oireachtas members of constituency events at which Ministers are in attendance in the course of performing their ministerial duties and functions; if he will provide the Department's current policy or protocol on this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30601/26]
View answer728. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a list of all events across every constituency attended by the Minister in the course of his ministerial duties since 1 January 2026, where formal invitations/notifications to attend were not issued by his office to all local Oireachtas members; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30619/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 727 and 728 together.
I attend a wide range of official engagements across the country in my capacity as Minister. My attendance at such events is managed by my Departmental office. The office responds to, and liaises with, the local authorities and other bodies/organisations directly on my behalf. It is a matter for the event organisers to issue invitations and/or notify local Oireachtas members.
729. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide the complete staffing WTE compliment for Tailte Éireann, by grade; if his attention has been drawn to a human resourcing issue at the body; the steps he will take with Tailte Éireann to clear backlogs in processing files. [30647/26]
View answerTailte Éireann is an independent Government agency under the aegis of my Department. Tailte Éireann provides a property registration system, property valuation service and national mapping and surveying infrastructure for the State. Under section 8 of the Tailte Éireann Act 2022, Tailte Éireann is independent in the performance of its functions.
The number of Tailte Éireann staff, and the full time equivalent, by Grade has been provided in tabular form below as requested.
In 2023, a request for a planned increase in the pay-bill subhead of Tailte Éireann’s Vote was supported by my Department and subsequently granted in the Estimates for 2024. As part of Tailte Éireann’s resourcing strategy, the Accelerated Recruitment Programme was launched in early 2024 to address the high volume of vacancies and strengthen operational capacity in response to increasing service demands.
Since the establishment of the programme, recruitment activity has been sustained and extensive. Key roles and vacancies have been filled through a combination of new appointments, internal promotions and mobility placements. Recruitment has supported the expansion of operations in the Roscommon office with additional dedicated units established to drive further efficiencies in the Registration application process.
In a number of areas, recruitment campaigns are complete or ongoing, with successful candidates awaiting confirmed start dates. It is understood that Tailte Éireann is continuing to fill vacancies at a rapid rate with the expectation that total vacancies in Tailte Éireann will be between 3-4% by the end of Q2 2026.
The Registration team within Tailte Éireann is now fully staffed to support ongoing improvements in the delivery of registration services and contribute to the timely processing of applications. A significant number of new staff are currently completing various stages of training and ongoing development to support the prompt processing of applications.
The continued increase in applications received for registration by Tailte Éireann year over year, and challenges in recruitment, has resulted in longer processing times for certain application types, however these delays are alleviating, with significant progress achieved to date in reducing the age profile of applications on hand.
Tailte Éireann has advised me that improvements have been made to date in throughput times and I am confident that they have the resources and procedures in place to further reduce waiting times across all application types.
|
Grade Description |
Head Count |
FTE / WTE |
|
Administrative Officer |
2 |
2 |
|
Archivist |
5 |
5 |
|
Assistant Principal |
72 |
71.6 |
|
Assistant Secretary |
4 |
4 |
|
Clerical Officer |
163 |
154.29 |
|
Deputy Registrar of Deeds & Title |
2 |
2 |
|
Deputy Secretary |
1 |
1 |
|
Digital Mapping Officer |
62 |
59.99 |
|
Examiner Of Title |
6 |
6 |
|
Executive Officer |
268 |
254.6 |
|
Head Services Officer |
1 |
1 |
|
Higher Executive Officer |
103 |
101.2 |
|
Managing Valuer |
2 |
2 |
|
OSI General Manager |
3 |
3 |
|
OSI Level 1 |
3 |
3 |
|
OSI Level 2 |
14 |
14 |
|
OSI Level 3A |
17 |
16.8 |
|
OSI Level 3B |
26 |
25.5 |
|
OSI Level 4 |
95 |
94 |
|
OSI Level 5 |
3 |
3 |
|
Principal Officer |
20 |
20 |
|
Regional Mapping Director |
18 |
17.9 |
|
Senior Archivist |
3 |
3 |
|
Senior Mapping Manager |
3 |
3 |
|
Services Officer |
22 |
22 |
|
Staff Valuer |
9 |
9 |
|
Superintendent Mapping |
6 |
5.7 |
|
Valuer Grade 1 |
16 |
16 |
|
Valuer Grade 2 |
17 |
16 |
|
Valuer Grade 3 |
46 |
45 |
|
Grand Total |
1012 |
981.58 |
731. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there are solar panels in place on the rooftop or within the grounds of his Department building; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30700/26]
View answer732. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has a solar panel policy in place in relation to the installation of solar panels on all buildings operated and owned by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30718/26]
View answer733. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has a solar panel policy in place in relation to the installation of solar panels on all buildings operated and owned by agencies under the control of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30738/26]
View answer734. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on the merits of installing solar panels on all buildings operated and owned by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30755/26]
View answer735. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on the merits of installing solar panels on all buildings operated and owned by agencies under the control of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30777/26]
View answer738. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the position regarding any buildings operated and owned by his Department that have solar panels in place to support the energy demands of the building; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30846/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 731, 732, 733, 734, 735 and 738 together.
The information requested is being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy in accordance with Standing Orders.
736. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total allocation of funding to each State agency under his Department’s remit, broken down by the allocation to each agency, for each of the past 15 years, in tabular form. [30798/26]
View answerThe information requested is being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy in accordance with Standing Orders.
737. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total spend on consultancy firms by each State agency under his Department's remit, broken down by the allocation to each named consultancy firm, for each of the past 15 years, in tabular form. [30816/26]
View answerMy Department does not maintain the requested information in respect of the State bodies under its aegis. Arrangements have been put in place by all bodies under the aegis of my Department to facilitate the provision of information directly to members of the Oireachtas. This provides a speedy, efficient and cost effective system to address queries directly to the relevant bodies. These bodies may be contacted directly by e-mail by members of the Oireachtas, as set out in the attached table.
739. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason the Government is not represented at the Public Planning Inquiry in Omagh into the Curraghinalt (Dalradian) Project, the proposed gold mine in County Tyrone given the profound cross-Border implications of the matter. [30874/26]
View answerIn accordance with the provisions of the 1991 United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (the Espoo Convention) transboundary States are required to engage in transboundary consultation, including with members of the public, in respect of projects likely to have significant effects on the environment of neighbouring States as part of the environmental impact assessment of a proposed development. For this purpose, the Transboundary State in whose territory the project is intended to be carried out is required to send to the affected State, no later than when informing its own public, a description of the project and any available information on its possible transboundary impact.
Article 132 of the Planning and Development Regulations, 2001, as amended, sets out the transboundary consultation process for inbound notifications i.e. when another jurisdiction contacts this State to notify of development which may have transboundary environmental impacts in Ireland.
On 30 January 2025, I received a transboundary EIA consultation notification from the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Northern Ireland, in relation to development consent applications concerning the proposed Dalradian Gold Mine Project.
Following consultation with relevant subject matter experts in other State bodies on the potential transboundary environmental impacts of the proposed development, on 20 February 2025 I accepted the invitation to participate in transboundary EIA consultation.
As noted above, the transboundary EIA consultation process in Ireland is set out in article 132 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended. As part of this process, when a transboundary EIA consultation invitation is accepted, I, as Minister, can delegate the day-to-day administration of the consultation to a local planning authority. In this instance, Donegal County Council was the nominated authority.
The Public consultation opened on 26 February 2025, with the deadline for the receipt of written submissions or observations under this transboundary consultation process being close of business on 23 April 2025.
During this transboundary consultation, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of my Department was notified of the transboundary EIA consultation on the proposed Dalradian Gold Mine Project development by Donegal County Council. On receipt of this notification the NPWS professional staff reviewed the documents and information available on the consultation page: consult.donegal.ie/en/consultation/transboundary-public-consultation-dalradian-gold-mine-project-co-tyrone.
A submission from the NPWS was issued on 22 April 2025 to Donegal County Council and can be found at the following link
www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/publications/dalradian-curraghinhalt-project-transboundary-consultation-2025
Additionally, Donegal County Council made a submission on 9 May 2025 on the project, which included submissions from An Taisce, the EPA, Loughs Agency and the submission from the NPWS referenced.
My Department received an email notification from DfI on 9 March 2026, advising that the DfI arranged publication of a newspaper notice in the Belfast Gazette for 13 March, setting out the date, time and venue of the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) Public Inquiry into the proposed Dalradian Gold Mine project.
On 18 March 2026 my Department published newspaper notices in three national newspapers notifying members of the public in this jurisdiction of the date, time and venue of the PAC Public Inquiry into the proposed Dalradian Gold Mine project.
In this context, the State has fulfilled its obligations under the Espoo Convention ensuring that members of the public were notified of the proposed Dalradian Gold Mine project, informed of its potential transboundary environmental impacts, provided with an opportunity to make submissions on this project to the relevant authorities in Northern Ireland and informed of the ongoing PAC public inquiry.
741. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether fire service personnel who assist in cross-Border co-operation in the 26 counties can receive recognitions/awards in this State. [30898/26]
View answer746. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the awards or recognition that can be presented to members of the Fire Service; and whether any of these can be presented to those working in the Northern Fire Service who engage in cross-Border operations. [31029/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 741 and 746 together.
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 & 2003. My Department, primarily through the National Directorate for Fire & Emergency Management (NDFEM), 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.
The Irish fires services, both retained and full-time, are highly-trained, elite frontline services, staffed by dedicated and selfless people who respond to a range of emergency scenarios, in support of the communities they serve.
The efforts of our firefighters save lives, prevents damage to residential and commercial property, protects critical infrastructure and safeguards the environment. The work of our fire crews is both physically challenging and psychologically demanding. I wish to take this opportunity to place on record my appreciation of the vital contribution made to our society by the men and women of the local authority fire services.
In 1992, recognition of long service for personnel in the local authority fire services was launched. There are four categories of awards, marking service of ten years, twenty years, thirty years and forty years. The ten-year award is a certificate presented locally, while the twenty, thirty and forty year awards all involve the presentation of medals and certificates at a national ceremony.
The first national awards presentation was organised in 1998 and a national presentation ceremony is generally held on a bi-annual basis. These awards honour the service of firefighters within the 27 fire authorities.
742. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the details of the current and upcoming funding streams available under his Department and associated bodies for the conservation, restoration and protection of built and archaeological heritage sites; if he will outline the application processes, eligibility criteria and assessment procedures for such schemes; the timelines and submission deadlines for the next round of funding allocations under schemes, including the built heritage investment scheme and the historic structures fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30912/26]
View answerA number of relevant grants fall under the heritage remit of my Department. The National Built Heritage Service (NBHS) provides two main grant schemes which support the protection of eligible heritage buildings and historic structures. These schemes include the provision of capital grants for conservation works as well as financial assistance for owners to obtain conservation advice for their historic structures. The Built Heritage Investment Scheme (BHIS) and the Historic Structures Fund (HSF) are, in the main, administered by the local authorities.
The BHIS provides capital funding of between €2,500 and €50,000 for repair or conservation works to the following types of buildings:
Protected structures.
Proposed protected structures.
Structures in Architectural Conservation Areas (ACAs).
Vernacular buildings.
Under BHIS, each local authority receives an allocation of funds from my Department based on the proportion of structures on their Register of Protected Structures (RPS) when compared to the national total. Each local authority can award funding to eligible applications within their area that meet the terms and conditions of the BHIS circular. Within the BHIS, separate, ring-fenced funding is available for thatched buildings under the Historic Thatch Buildings stream. The purpose of this scheme is to protect the heritage value of historic thatched roof buildings, and funding is allocated to local authorities on the basis of the number of thatched properties within their area. Any historic thatched structure, including domestic or commercial, is eligible for consideration under this scheme.
BHIS awards for 2026 were announced in January this year, while the window for applications for the 2027 scheme is expected to open this July and run until September. Awards will be announced early next year. It is advised that potential applicants should contact their relevant local authority to seek further guidance in relation to applications.
The primary focus of the Historic Structures Fund (HSF) is to assist the conservation and enhancement of historic structures and buildings for the broader benefit of communities and the public. The HSF offers grants from €50,000 up to €200,000 for larger scale conservation works.
An announcement of successful applicants for 2026 was made earlier this month, and it is planned to reopen for 2027 projects in October. All applications are made to the relevant local authority, with a deadline of mid-January. Following assessment at a local authority level, they submit suitable applications to the Department for assessment at a national level.
More details on both schemes, including guidance material, can be found here: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/services/built-heritage-investment-scheme-bhis/, and www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/services/historic-structures-fund/.
A further scheme that may be of relevance is the Conservation Advice Grant Scheme for Traditional Houses, which is an expanded funding scheme to provide grants for expert conservation advice to owners of traditional houses who are availing of, or considering, the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant. The Conservation Advice Grant Scheme provides grants to cover 67% of the costs (up to a maximum grant of €5,000) of having a conservation expert with proven and appropriate expertise:
Visit a traditional building,
Conduct a survey, and
Compile tailored conservation advice for the property owner.
This expert advice will include a report which outlines the condition of the building and identifies conservation improvements which would restore it to use while enhancing its character, energy efficiency, integrity, and amenity. The closing date for receipt of completed application form, accompanying photos and relevant documents to be sent to conservationadvicegrants@housing.gov.ie by deadline of 5pm 8 May 2026.
In relation to archaeological heritage sites, the National Monuments Service of my Department administers the Community Monument Fund through the Local Authorities. The Community Monuments Fund provides funding for projects in relation to:
Archaeological Monuments that are included in the Record of Monuments and Places (RMP) under the National Monuments Act 1930 (as amended);
Archaeological Monuments that are identified in the Sites and Monuments Record compiled by the National Monuments Service.
There are three streams under which funding can be applied for:
Stream 1 provides grants of up to €100,000 for essential repairs and capital works for the conservation of archaeological monuments.
Stream 2 provides grants of up to €30,000 for the Development of Conservation Management Plans/Reports and detailed Specification of Works aimed at identifying measures for conservation of archaeological monuments and improving public access.
Stream 3 provides grants of up to €30,000 for the enhancement of access infrastructure, interpretation projects (including virtual/online), and small-scale emergency conservation works at archaeological monuments.
Details of CMF are usually announced in November for the following year. Further information can be found at www.archaeology.ie/advice-and-support/grants-and-funding/community-monuments-fund/.
