Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 September 2026
477. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the engagement has he and his Department had with Dublin City Council to find a way to facilitate the community indoor market in the eight building in Dublin 8 that was part of the planning permission as a ground-level market hall. [68638/26]
View answerOn 14 September 2026, I announced a landmark injection of up to €409 million of investment, through Round 1 of the new Towns and Cities Regeneration Investment Fund, that has the potential to benefit almost 120 projects across every Local Authority in the Country, including three in Dublin City Council (Cherry Orchard Park, Newcomen Bank and the former Isolation Hospital).
Around €1.9 billion of investment has already been earmarked for projects, also in every local authority area, through three previous rounds of funding announced under the former Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF). The Towns and Cities Regeneration Fund has now replaced the URDF while continuing to build on its success to date.
These investments have been made possible because, as set out in Delivering Homes, Building Communities, a further €500m in funding up to 2030 (in addition to €2bn of existing funding) was made available to the Fund under the updated National Development Plan (NDP). With a focus on supporting policies such as ‘Town Centre First’ and City Task Forces, as well as integrated urban regeneration, the expanded Fund will deliver transformative and impactful projects that will regenerate eligible areas.
Dublin City Council (DCC) recently carried out a review of its existing Call 1 and Call 2 allocations with a view to targeting the available funding towards projects which are delivering and likely to complete within the duration of the Towns and Cities Regeneration Investment Fund programme timeline, i.e. by the end of 2030. One of the outputs of this exercise was a request from DCC to reallocate the remaining funding from the Newmarket Square Environmental Improvement Scheme to projects that are progressing within the South Inner City Concept Area 2 Proposal. My Department agreed with this proposal.
It should also be noted that DCC did not apply for funding for the area in question under Round 1 of the Towns and Cities Regeneration Investment Fund.
My Department works closely with DCC in respect of all these investments. However, responsibility for the composition of any applications for funding and their advancement through the various stages of planning, development and completion is, in the first instance, a matter for the relevant sponsoring agency, in this case DCC.
