Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 June 2026
307. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the position regarding plans for a maritime activity centre for Cork (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48575/26]
View answerOn 5 March last, I announced a new Towns and Cities Regeneration Investment Fund which, while replacing the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF), will continue to build on its success to date and apply many of the key criteria established by Government in 2018 for the URDF.
To date, there have been three calls for funding provided under the former URDF which has resulted in the allocation of €1.9 billion of funding, with URDF supported projects now active in every local authority area in the Country.
The Cork City Docklands Enabling Infrastructure Proposal was approved for funding under Call 2 of the former URDF with an allocation of €357.6 million. On 23 June, the Government gave approval for the Preliminary Business Case (PBC) for the development which is a key element of Cork City’s ambitious plans to achieve compact urban growth as part of Project Ireland 2040.
The Cork City Development Plan includes for the provision of a maritime activity centre and identifies a proposed site at the eastern end of the Marina Promenade. This centre is envisaged to accommodate a range of local maritime activity-based organisations and services, which will support sporting, social, recreational, cultural, civic, educational engagement and participation.
While the proposed maritime activity centre is included in the regeneration plans for the Docklands area, it did not form part of the Cork City Docklands Enabling Infrastructure Proposal that was approved for funding under the Towns and Cities Regeneration Investment Fund. I am not in a position to provide more detailed information pertaining to this particular project on that basis.
However, the approved Proposal will unlock Cork City Docklands potential to develop as a vibrant, high quality district that will attract investment in relation to other leisure and cultural facilities as well as mixed-use development. It will also provide the enabling infrastructure required to redevelop a 147-hectare brownfield site to the east of Cork City centre and, in that respect, will support the development of housing for up to 25,000 people with the potential to support up to 25,000 jobs.
My Department continues to work closely with Cork City Council (CCC) in respect of project developments under the Towns and Cities Regeneration Investment Fund. However, responsibility for the advancement through the various stages of planning, development and completion will remain, in the first instance, a matter for CCC.
