Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 June 2026
585. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total landholding of his Department, broken down by county, including the amount currently unused or vacant, the portion zoned for development, and the number of sites that include vacant or derelict properties. [47617/26]
View answerMy Department currently owns lands, buildings, forest plots and former Land Commission plots totalling 2612.4 hectares, broken down as follows;
|
County |
Hectares |
|
|
|
|
Cavan |
17.0 |
|
Cork |
728.6 |
|
Donegal |
78.6 |
|
Dublin |
10.5 |
|
Galway |
386.2 |
|
Kerry |
289.4 |
|
Kildare |
137.0 |
|
Kilkenny |
18.3 |
|
Leitrim |
79.0 |
|
Limerick |
149.2 |
|
Mayo |
55.6 |
|
Offaly |
117.8 |
|
Roscommon |
225.0 |
|
Sligo |
245.0 |
|
Tipperary |
1.9 |
|
Westmeath |
40.6 |
|
Wexford |
15.9 |
|
Wicklow |
17.0
|
Currently, none of these lands are zoned for development. Two small units in Co Kildare are currently vacant, with consideration being given to their future usage.
My Department also owns, operates, develops and maintains six designated State-owned Fishery Harbour Centres (FHCs), located at Castletownbere, Dingle, Dunmore East, Howth, Killybegs and Ros an Mhíl, under statute. There are 265 properties in the Fishery Harbour Centre portfolio on 18th June 2026 (excluding pier infrastructure). The portfolio contains a diverse range of properties reflecting the harbours’ role as working fishery harbours and as the location for a broad range of other marine-related activities. Almost 30% of these properties are used by the Department in the operation of the harbours, providing facilities for net mending, pier service areas, storage for fishing gear, weighbridge etc. Almost all remaining properties are occupied by tenants under formal lease agreement. Some of the properties operate as commercial premises such as fish processing facilities, restaurants, clubs (yachting, rowing, scout hall) etc. Other properties reflect more functional aspects of the harbour such as car parking, marina, boat houses. In addition, a number of other State Bodies such as Bord Iascaigh Mara, Marine Institute, Revenue (Customs & Excise), ESB, RNLI, Coast Guard occupy properties within the harbours. There are currently 12 vacant properties across the six harbours, some of which are being prepared for open tender, and others which have recently come back into my Department’s possession and are undergoing remedial works.
|
County |
Total No. of Properties |
No. of Vacant Properties |
|
Cork (Castletownbere) |
56 |
1 |
|
Donegal (Killybegs) |
43 |
1 |
|
Dublin (Howth) |
83 |
7 |
|
Kerry (Dingle) |
18 |
0 |
|
Galway (Ros an Mhíl) |
20 |
2 |
|
Waterford (Dunmore East) |
45 |
1 |
