Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions – Dáil Éireann (34th Dáil) – Thursday, 1 Oct 2026

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions

Departmental Policies

Barry Heneghan

Ceist:

99. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures his Department is taking to ensure that the delivery of large-scale housing developments is matched by the guaranteed provision of essential community infrastructure, including community centres, libraries, childcare and other local amenities; and whether additional funding or supports will be provided to areas experiencing significant population growth such as Belmayne and Clongriffin. [69336/26]

Deputy Barry Heneghan

I will always support housing and building it, but in my constituency, the communities need to be built at the same time. Belmayne and Clongriffin have been developing for 20 years, yet residents are still waiting for basic infrastructure and services to catch up, and building is continuing at pace. Will the Minister commit to ensuring that major housing delivery is matched and funded with timely delivery of community facilities, healthcare, childcare, transport and other essential services?

Deputy James Browne

I thank Deputy Heneghan for his important question about community supports for housing delivery. Planning for the provision of infrastructure and amenities is a core element of the statutory plan-making process. National policy objective 105 of the revised national planning framework sets out that the planning authorities and infrastructure delivery agencies should focus on the timely delivery of enabling infrastructure to priority zoned lands. At local level, the local authority development plan set out relevant objectives, policy support and development management standards for specific forms of development. All existing development plans are required to include objectives for the provision of infrastructure and the integration of the planning for sustainable development of the area with the social community and cultural requirements of the area and its population. The development plan's guidelines for planning authorities further specify that every development plan should include an objective to prepare a community, social and cultural infrastructure audit for areas likely to experience significant development.

Under the Planning and Development Act 2024, when preparing a new development plan, planning authorities will be required to prepare a strategy relating to creation, improvement and preservation of sustainable places and communities. This strategy must include objectives for the provision, improvement, extension and preservation of amenities, facilities and services to meet the social, community, recreational and cultural requirements of the area.

Planning authorities are required to consult with infrastructure and service providers as part of the plan-making process to help ensure that future infrastructure and service requirements are identified at an early stage. Furthermore, a planning authority may attach a condition to a grant of planning permission requiring the payment of a contribution in respect of public infrastructure and facilities that it is intended will be provided by or on behalf of a local authority. The provision of funding to support the delivery of community facilities and infrastructure falls within the remit of a number of Government Departments.

My Department has also established a housing activation office to accelerate the delivery of infrastructure required to support housing development. The office supports infrastructure development through initiatives such as the housing infrastructure investment fund. I also launched a towns and cities regeneration investment fund, which replaced the urban regeneration and development fund, to support such proposals.

Deputy Barry Heneghan

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. Is é an fhadhb ná go mbíonn daoine ag bogadh chuig na háiteanna seo, ach níl an t-infreastruchtúr iontu. People are moving into these houses now, but those things are not there. They are told the infrastructure will come five or ten years down the road, but they are in their homes right now. In Clongriffin alone, hundreds of additional apartments are coming, which is brilliant because we need apartments, but the Land Development Agency also has 408 homes under construction in phase 1, with a further 711 proposed for phase 2. I and, I imagine, other local representatives have people contacting our offices who cannot get buses because they are full. The DART service is already under pressure and childcare provision is not keeping pace. I welcome the news, following engagement with the Minister for Transport, that changes are being made to the DART service. What mechanisms are in place to ensure that, when homes for thousands of people's are delivered, which I look forward to, services for the residents will be delivered at the same pace? The people who have contacted my office are not opposed to housing. They are asking that we build sustainable communities.

Deputy James Browne

I hear Deputy Heneghan's concerns in relation to supports for communities where significant housing is being delivered. The provision of funding to support the delivery of community facilities and infrastructure falls within the remit of a number of different Departments. My Department established the housing activation office to ensure we accelerate housing delivery and also the necessary infrastructure required to support housing development. To that end, we are also providing significant funding for urban regeneration within communities to support regeneration infrastructure, public realm projects that facilitate housing delivery, and sustainable community development. A number of the issues touched on by the Deputy Heneghan, for example, in the area of transport, fall under other Departments and Ministers. I will relay the Deputy's concerns to the relevant Ministers.

Deputy Barry Heneghan

We need to build healthcare centres and community facilities, but that will mean very little if we cannot adequately staff the services they provide. The Land Development Agency says Clongriffin, Belmayne and the neighbouring Stapolin lands have the potential for thousands more homes. Will the Minister work across government to ensure that the planned population growth is linked directly to funding for the workforce and planning for healthcare, gardaí, childcare, libraries and community services? My ask is very straightforward. The people of Belmayne and Clongriffin in the area I represent, after more than 20 years of development, are entitled to know where the other half of the bargain is. That means transport with enough capacity, childcare that is actually available, healthcare, community facilities and policing. I welcome that we are pushing housing. One of the biggest things we need to do is build more homes, but I ask that we plan the services needed in order that people can live sustainably and the services the residents have been waiting for are provided.

Deputy James Browne

I hear the Deputy's concerns. It is very important that, where we are delivering housing, infrastructure and regeneration to support housing, community supports are also put in place, along with the additional supports that are required from other Departments. I will ensure we have a cross-government approach to this.

Housing Schemes

Brendan Smith

Ceist:

100. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the income eligibility limits for social housing in Cavan and Monaghan will be increased. [69157/26]

Deputy Brendan Smith

I welcome the Minister's comments in response to Deputy Gillian Toole's very important question on ensuring we have adequate provision for persons with additional needs and disabilities. We had a detailed discussion on this at our parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday night. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, was with me in Cavan on Monday when this particular issue was discussed and he heard at first hand the determination of HSE officials at local level and Cavan County Council to make progress in the matter.

With regard to the income eligibility limits, it is time they were revised upwards. They are extremely low in Cavan and Monaghan. We need a radical amendment to ensure that people who cannot buy their own home can qualify for social housing.

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin

This is a matter the Minister and I have discussed on a number of occasions. When does he hope to bring forward the promised increase in thresholds? As part of that, will he also consider abolishing band 3, which leaves a number of counties, particularly rural and western seaboard counties, in an exceptionally disadvantaged position, even with an increase? Can he also give the House an update on his Department's consideration of index-linking social housing eligibility thresholds to some sensible index in the future to ensure that, as he has said, it will not be left to a Minister of the day to make an arbitrary decision on what the limits should be and that, instead, decisions will be based on some rational and credible publicly available criteria?

Deputy James Browne

I thank the Deputies for their questions in relation to social housing limits. Deputy Brendan Smith raised the issue of social housing limits in Cavan and Monaghan and asked when those limits will be increased. As the Deputies will know, applications for social housing supports are assessed by the relevant local authorities in accordance with the eligibility and need criteria set down in section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated social housing assessment regulations of 2011. The 2011 regulations prescribed maximum net income limits for each local authority in different bands according to the area concerned, with income being defined and assessed according to a standard household means policy. The policy provides for a range of income disregards. Local authorities also have discretion to disregard income that is once-off, temporary or short-term in nature, and which is outside the regular pattern of a person's annual income. The income bands are expressed in terms of a maximum net income threshold for a single-person household, with an allowance of 5% for each additional adult household member, subject to a maximum allowance under this category of 10% and, separately, a 2.5% allowance for each child.

The baseline social housing income thresholds are €40,000, €35,000 and €30,000 for bands 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Cavan and Monaghan are in band 3, with €30,000. These thresholds are net income, for example, gross household income less income tax, PRSI, universal social charge and additional superannuation contribution. Income is defined and assessed according to a standard household means policy. The policy provides for a range of income disregards and local authorities also have discretion to disregard income that is once-off, temporary or short-term in nature and which is outside the regular pattern of a person's annual income.

My Department has been examining the existing income limits in the context of current market and household income conditions, including the suitability or otherwise of the current framework, having regard to the significantly changed landscape since the standardised income limits were introduced. This includes examining the findings of research commissioned by my Department, and this work is ongoing. I expect the analysis will be concluded shortly to facilitate a final determination on the next steps. I am also keen to put in place a more structured and frequent process for the review of these limits going forward.

Deputy Brendan Smith

I thank the Minister for his reply. He will have heard me raise this particular issue on many occasions, both in written correspondence to him in parliamentary questions and within our parliamentary party. I welcome the very substantial funding provided to Cavan and Monaghan county councils since January 2025 to continue a very impressive and comprehensive house-building programme throughout both counties. Houses are being delivered, and that is very welcome.

The Minister visited County Cavan a few months ago at my request. He met with senior councillors and council officials from the housing division. One common theme in all of those contributions was the urgent need to improve the income eligibility limits. As the Minister knows, we all meet constituents at weekends. Every weekend, I have people with me who are working hard in low-paid jobs and whose income is still above the limit for social housing. These people have no chance of getting a mortgage or home loan. We cannot condemn them to renting for life. I know the Minister wants to make progress on this matter. We need that to be achieved as soon as possible. Since the 1930s, when Seán T. Ó Ceallaigh began the major house-building programme, there has been a very successful social housing programme in this country.

We want to continue it, with a mix of people in housing estates.

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin

For every week or month that passes before a decision is made on this matter, a significant number of people will lose their position on local authority housing waiting lists. I have constituents who became homeless from their HAP tenancy, went into emergency accommodation and are marginally above the thresholds of my own local authority. Because income is now reassessed for eligibility as part of the annual review, they were removed for the social housing waiting list. They lost nine years on the list. They have no possible exit from emergency accommodation because they cannot afford private rental, if they could find it, and do not have family to stay with. As the Minister's party colleague has rightly said, there are also thousands of people who have no hope of renting or buying privately. In many counties, particularly the ten counties that are in band 3, there is no cost rental. They would not be able to afford that, and they are excluded from the list. I am asking the Minister to inject some urgency into this. The increase needs to be significant. I would make the very strong case that those ten counties in band 3 should all be in band 2 at a minimum. I urge the Minister to proceed with his suggestion of index-linking the increases, so that annually they keep track of the economy, wages and the cost of housing in the private market.

Deputy James Browne

I thank the Deputies for their questions on the social housing limits. There is very much a recognition that those limits need to increase. We are working on that proposal. In my view, they absolutely do have to increase. They should be reviewed on a more frequent basis rather than when certain pressures have built or a certain amount of time has passed. I am conscious that social protection payments have increased since the last limit was set. Incomes have increased as well. I do not want to have people waiting to get homes on housing lists. If increasing the limits means the numbers go higher, that in itself is not a concern for me. My concern is getting those people housed.

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin

Absolutely.

Deputy Brendan Smith

I very strongly welcome the Minister's concluding remarks. As he has heard from me on numerous occasions, and as I have heard from our councillors in Cavan and from all the officials at all ranks in the housing division in Cavan County Council, it is a big issue that we deal with on a daily basis. Good, genuine, hard-working people are coming to us who are above the income limit. They are not in well-paid jobs. They are working hard, rearing families. We have to ensure that they are given the opportunity to get their own home. We cannot emphasise strongly enough how successful social housing policy has been for decades in this country. We want to continue that. We need a good mix of people in every community and every estate, whether private or public. I sincerely hope the Minister will be able to put additional momentum into this to ensure that the limits are adequately increased at the earliest possible date. I thank him for his work in this area.

Deputy James Browne

I thank the Deputies again for raising this matter. I assure them it is being given very serious consideration. There will be announcements on this in the near future.

Housing Provision

Brian Stanley

Ceist:

101. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures being considered to increase the number of affordable-to-buy housing units provided by local councils. [69263/26]

Brian Stanley

Ceist:

102. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the plans to increase the number of cost-rental units that will be provided in schemes by local authorities. [69265/26]

Deputy Brian Stanley

The question I have for the Minister is about increasing the number of affordable housing units that can be bought and provided by local authorities. We need that affordable housing scheme. Deputies have referred to people who are working hard. I have them coming to me; I suppose all TDs and councillors have people coming to them. We need to get housing solutions for these people who cannot get on a local authority housing waiting list because of the income threshold, and who cannot obtain a loan from a private lending institution. We need to fix this problem.

Deputy James Browne

I propose to take Questions Nos. 101 and 102 together.

I thank Deputy Stanley for his questions on the increase in the number of affordable-to-buy housing units provided by local authorities, and plans to increase the number of cost-rental units that will be provided in schemes by local authorities as well.

Providing affordable and high-quality homes for purchase and long-term rental is at the centre of the Government's housing policy and our housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities. The housing plan reinforces and expands the range of existing affordable housing measures being implemented by the Government. In particular, a new starter homes programme, which is a central component of the plan, aims to deliver an average of 15,000 affordable housing supports annually to 2030, including starter purchase homes and cost-rental homes. To underpin the delivery of the starter homes programme, the Government is investing an unprecedented level of funding by way of a package of direct Exchequer-funded affordability measures, additional investment through the Land Development Agency and lending by the Housing Finance Agency.

In terms of delivery, starter purchase homes and cost-rental homes are being delivered at scale across the country, in partnership with the local authorities and the Land Development Agency and the approved housing bodies. It is through this ambitious network of partnership that the Government was able to deliver almost 9,300 starter purchase and cost-rental homes in 2025, and is on target to exceed this in 2026. Total Exchequer capital investment in starter homes in 2025 was just over €1 billion, with a further €1.2 billion available this year. This is a huge level of investment.

To support the delivery of starter homes by local authorities specifically, the affordable housing fund is open to applications and available to support all local authorities to deliver starter purchase and cost-rental homes in their local area. The affordable housing fund subsidy is also available as a direct subvention on local authority housing development costs, at rates of €50,000, €75,000 and €100,000 per starter purchase home, depending on the density of housing units per hectare on the development and its location. In addition, a higher rate of affordable housing fund subsidy of €150,000 per home is available to support the delivery of cost-rental homes in the five cities. Some 95% of the approved subsidy is met from Exchequer funds via the affordable housing fund scheme, and the remaining 5% subsidy is paid by the local authority concerned from its own funds.

To date, funding of over €766 million has been approved from the affordable housing fund and its precursor, the serviced sites fund, for 27 local authorities to support the delivery of over 8,400 affordable purchase and cost-rental homes. This includes the approval of 30 starter purchase homes in the Deputy's own county of Laois, with all of these homes to be delivered by the end of 2026. Overall, from 2022 until the end of quarter 1 of 2026, over 3,100 local authority starter purchase and cost-rental homes had been delivered. The local authority starter home delivery programme continues to expand as new opportunities for affordable housing delivery are identified and developed. To further support the expansion of starter home delivery nationwide, since the beginning of 2026, Roscommon, Cavan, Donegal and Tipperary have received approvals to deliver their first local authority starter purchase home schemes. The approvals support the commitment under the programme for Government, and action 7.5 in Delivering Homes, Building Communities, to work with local authorities to bring forward affordable housing fund proposals in areas that do not currently have projects in place.

In addition to Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030, local authorities have commenced the updating of their housing delivery action plans for review by my Department, setting out how the starter homes programme will be implemented within their area. Each housing delivery action plan will be informed by identifiable affordable housing needs within the local authority area and will include the collaboration with its delivery partners, including the Land Development Agency and the approved housing bodies, as applicable. These plans will be completed and published by local authorities later in the year. They will help determine what is needed and help drive delivery out to the end of the decade. Furthermore, measures such as the first home scheme, the help to buy scheme, vacant property refurbishment grants and ready-to-build schemes are also available.

Deputy Brian Stanley

I submitted two separate questions. There are significant differences between the affordable-to-buy homes and the cost-rental homes. I ask that we take them separately.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

We have grouped the questions together but we are dealing with the content of both questions.

Deputy Brian Stanley

The median price of a house in Laois has gone up. According to the property price register, it has gone up 16.8% in one year. The Minister gave out a lot of figures, but the reality is that the target given by his Department, which I have here, is 38 affordable-to-buy and cost-rental homes to be done in Laois over a five-year period. It is minuscule and would not even make a dent in the numbers that we need. The demand is massive. Laois County Council directly delivered over 90 homes. The Minister was down at the launch of some of them. There are 62 more in the pipeline. The Minister was at the launch of Dargan Woods, which are good houses.

I want to raise a point about that. The scheme needs to be expanded to meet the demands of households whose incomes are over the threshold for social housing but do not qualify for or cannot get a mortgage. These workers and households are the real squeezed middle, typically trapped in private rented accommodation and paying sky-high rents. I gave the Minister the median price. There was an increase of 16.8%. In Laois, one-, two- and three-bedroom homes now cost €348,000. The scheme needs to be expanded.

This is not about being parochial. The Minister attended the launch of Dargan Woods. Due to the way the scheme was advertised, people could apply from anywhere. People moved from Dublin to cost-rental accommodation in Dargan Woods. They are now commuting to Dublin. Some local workers who work in County Laois applied but did not get in first and missed out. They are unable to get a house in the locality. We need to reduce commuting times and get people to live where they are working. Not to be parochial, but we need to open the schemes to people in the county in the first instance. I ask that the Minister's Department consider that.

Deputy James Browne

I again thank the Deputy for his important questions on affordable homes to buy and cost-rental units. As he knows, Laois has an excellent record of delivering homes. It is one of the stronger counties. It is benefiting from taking the lead in delivering homes. It will benefit in the medium and long term economically as well as enjoy the key benefit of providing roofs over people's heads. I wish every local authority would deliver homes at the rate of Laois. Nonetheless, we know we have an awful lot more to do. We need to work harder in collaboration with Laois because people in the county continue to be under pressure to get a housing solution for their needs.

I very much hear the concerns, proposals and ideas of the Deputy. We want to ensure that everybody can access a home they can afford, be that social, affordable or private delivery. It is important that people are able to stay in their local communities. The Deputy referred to people commuting. I want people to be able to stay in their local communities. That is why, for example, we are changing the rules for rural one-off housing. The Deputy provided examples of people living in towns because they cannot live in the rural areas where they grew up and where their families are, and drive to work on farms or to look after their family. I acknowledge that we have more work to do, but we are making significant changes and differences and will continue to work on that.

Deputy Brian Stanley

The Minister saw the good-quality houses in Dargan Woods. The council exceeded the Government's target by nearly 250%. The Government needs to increase its targets for both affordable and cost-rental housing. There have been a huge number of inquiries. Cost rental is the only option for a lot of workers and households. People aged in their 40s, 50s and 60s may have broken relationships or be separated. They cannot get a loan due to their age and do not qualify for a council house because of their income. Low-paid workers in their 20s, 30s and 40s who are above the limit but are unable to get a mortgage to buy a home need to be helped with cost rental. We cannot condemn them to a full lifetime, including their pension years, in private rental accommodation. That is not fair in a balanced society.

Some of us advocated for the cost-rental scheme ten years ago when it was not on the radar. Others have come to it now, which I welcome. It removes the profit element and is a sustainable model. The finance is repaid and there is no long-term hit for the State. It is a good scheme and provides good-quality housing. People will say many such units are apartments or small houses. I lived in a 56 sq. m house. It was fine. It did the job for the 12 years I lived in it. People refer to small houses in Drimnagh, Cabra or wherever else. We do not want to go backwards. Modern houses can be compact and still meet people's needs.

We need to provide affordable and cost-rental housing at scale. That is the message I am trying to convey. The Government needs to increase its targets. It also needs to reduce prices. The Government needs to dust down the Kelly report, or produce another report, and implement it in order to reduce land costs and bring down the price of housing.

Deputy James Browne

I hear the Deputy's concerns for his constituents in being able to have a housing solution they can afford. He is correct; we need multiple housing solutions for people. People of a certain age will not be able to get or will find it extremely difficult to get a mortgage, even with the mortgage supports available because repayment times are squeezed as people get older, repayments go up and it becomes harder and harder to get a mortgage. I very much hear the concerns of the Deputy for his constituents. We will continue to work to ensure those solutions are put in place in every constituency. People need to be able to stay in their local communities.

Question No. 103 taken with Written Answers.

Grant Payments

Eamon Scanlon

Ceist:

104. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide additional funding to Sligo County Council to enable the housing adaptation grant scheme to reopen to priority 2 and priority 3 applications, which have been paused for a number of months. [68949/26]

Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Deputy Kieran O'Donnell)

My Department provides funding under the suite of housing adaptation grant for older people and disabled people to assist those in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. The suite of grants, which include the housing adaptation grant for disabled people, the mobility aids grant and the housing aid for older people grant, is funded by my Department with a contribution from the local authority. The detailed administration of the scheme, including assessment, approval, prioritisation and apportionment, is the responsibility of local authorities.

The Exchequer funding available for these grants in 2026 increased substantially by €30 million to €129.5 million, or over €152 million when accounting for the local authority contribution of 15%, continuing the year-on-year increases since 2014. During 2025, my Department approved two requests for additional funding, totalling €453,670, from Sligo County Council and over €2.14 million was drawn down by the council in 2025. Sligo County Council received an allocation of over €2.3 million in Exchequer funding for 2026, an increase of 30% on the original allocation in 2025. The county council submitted a request for additional funding of €500,000 earlier this year and this was approved in full. No further requests have been submitted. The council has confirmed to my Department that no further funding will be sought for the remainder of the year.

We want to encourage local authorities to seek additional funding. It is something the Deputy might take up with Sligo County Council. If it wishes, it can apply for additional funding. That is the update I have from the officials in my Department. I have met all of the officials in the local authorities who deal with housing adaptation grants to encourage them to seek additional funding if they require it.

My Department works closely with local authorities to monitor spend and to achieve a full drawdown of available funding. This means that any underspends that arise on the part of any local authority can be redistributed to other authorities that have high levels of grant activity. My Department makes every effort to redistribute such funding throughout the year. It is actively engaging with local authorities to facilitate the redistribution of any such savings identified as early as possible.

Deputy Eamon Scanlon

I thank the Minister of State. I have raised this issue a number of times. The position in Sligo is critical. Sligo County Council received €2.3 million in Exchequer funding for 2026, an increase of 30%, and I want to recognise that. In fairness, it was very much needed. Priority 2 housing adaptation grant applications, however, remain paused and new applications are being returned. The council has, I am told, sought additional funding, but the Minister of State said it has not. I fully accept that the most urgent, priority 1 cases must come first. However, we cannot have a situation whereby funding is sufficient only to deal with priority 1 cases when many of those in the priority 2 category also have substantial needs and are unable to apply.

Earlier this year, a total of 89 priority 2 applicants had been on hold since 2025, representing an estimated cost of €859,000. These grants make an enormous difference. They enable older people and those with a disability to remain safely in their homes, maintain their independence and, in many cases, avoid the need for more costly hospital or long-term residential care. I ask the Department to urgently approve Sligo County Council’s request, which it has not put in, for an increased Exchequer capital allocation, including additional funding to reopen the scheme to priority 2 applicants.

Deputy Kieran O'Donnell

It must be acknowledged that Sligo County Council did apply for additional funding of €500,000, which it received. Obviously, the Deputy will be making contact with Sligo County Council, and I encourage the council to make an application for additional funding, if it is required. I will also ask my officials in the Department to reach out to Sligo County Council to find out what the position is. Where local authorities wish to provide additional funding and where there is a need, we want to ensure we can redistribute funding to them. We will address this issue on both fronts - Deputy Scanlon will be in contact with Sligo County Council and I will also ask my officials to reach out to Sligo County Council in this regard. As of now, my understanding from officials is that no additional application has been received from Sligo County Council on top the €500,000 it applied for and received earlier this year.

Deputy Eamon Scanlon

It is important that we help these people before their circumstances deteriorate to the point where they become a priority 1 case. The whole purpose of the housing adaptation grant is to intervene before someone reaches crisis point, not afterwards. Priority 1 cases must always come first, but being a priority 2 case cannot mean having no priority at all. There is a human cost to delaying these adaptations, as well as a cost to the State, because people lose their independence and require greater levels of health or residential care. That defeats the whole purpose of the scheme.

Deputy Kieran O'Donnell

I know the Deputy has raised this issue and advocated for it before. On practical measures, as he mentioned, initial funding to Sligo County Council increased by 30% this year to €2.3 million. It received a further €500,000 in additional funding that it requested earlier in the year, bringing total funding to €2.8 million. I ask the Deputy to inform Sligo County Council that if it has an additional request, it should be made to the Department. In a practical way, I will ask my officials to reach out to Sligo County Council in this regard to determine the exact position. The money is available. Housing adaptation grants, as the Deputy stated, make a huge difference, particularly to the daily lives of older people. The Government, the Minister, the Department and I are keen to promote them.

National Monuments

Ruairí Ó Murchú

Ceist:

105. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has responded to a letter sent to his Department by An Taisce about a proposed housing development (details supplied); and whether he intends to exercise the powers outlined in the letter by An Taisce. [68197/26]

Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú

Has there been a response to, or a decision made on, the letter sent to the Minister’s Department by An Taisce about a proposed housing development? People may have read about this development, particularly online. It is the housing development located close to what is known as Cú Chulainn’s Castle in Dundalk. An Taisce laid out its fears about ensuring that this national monument is looked after. It spoke about particular legislation that could be employed in this regard. I am interested to hear what the Minister has to say.

Deputy James Browne

I thank the Deputy for asking this important question. A response was issued from my Department to the correspondence received from An Taisce on this matter. As outlined in that reply, Dún Dealgan, which is also known as Cú Chulainn’s Castle, is a national monument - national monument No. 388 - in ministerial guardianship and, therefore, already has a high level of protection under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014. Such statutory protection will continue to carry over to the Historic and Archaeological Heritage and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 when the relevant aspects of that Act are commenced.

In recognition of its national importance and by reason of the historical, archaeological and architectural interest attached thereto, Dún Dealgan Motte, in accordance with the provisions of the National Monuments Act 1930, as amended, was brought into the guardianship of the Minister for heritage in 1940. As such, the national monument is afforded the most robust statutory protections under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014.

On the basis of its legal status as a national monument, any works to Dún Dealgan Motte can only be lawfully carried out with the written consent of the Minister, which is granted following consultation with the National Museum of Ireland under section 14 of the National Monuments Act 1930, as amended. The requirement for such consent also extends to any ground disturbance around or in proximity to any such national monument.

The presence of recorded monuments, such as a standing stone, LH007-118006, and a souterrain, LH007-118008, in proximity to Dún Dealgan further underpins the significance of the site. I confirm that these recorded monuments are also afforded statutory protections in accordance with section 12(3) of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994.

Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú

I thank the Minister for his answer. One of the requests from An Taisce suggested that an archaeological investigation and test would be carried out before the application was granted permission. The application has since been granted permission, albeit with some changes by Louth County Council. I understand that it is now with An Coimisiún Pleanála and that a number of observations have been submitted. There will be people who fall in a number of places on this issue. We know the importance of this site. We are talking about a Norman motte and bailey castle. We know it goes right back and is connected to the mythology of Cú Chulainn. It is known as Cú Chulainn’s Castle or Byrne’s Folly. Over many years, however, there has been a failure to consider this entire area a proper heritage site. Work needs to be done in that regard.

An Taisce stated that the buffer zone of 5.2 ha of open space around the castle cited by Louth County Council is totally inadequate to maintain the ambience of the complex of monuments. It spoke about the special powers the Minister has under legislation in this regard. While I understand that An Coimisiún Pleanála is going to go through this process, there is a need to look at this from the point of view of ensuring that we do what is best, which has not been done previously by Louth County Council and others, to protect this site so that it can be enjoyed in a far better way than has been the case to date.

Deputy James Browne

The Deputy touched on an important aspect of what our heritage section does, ensuring our heritage sites are both protected and accessible and not put away or wrapped in bubble wrap. Rather, they will be accessible for this generation and future generations to appreciate, understand and enjoy.

Notwithstanding the statutory protections afforded to Dún Dealgan under the National Monuments Act, the Department, in its submission to the respective local authority, recommended a suite of archaeological conditions for the proposed development. The recommended archaeological conditions were informed by a further archaeological assessment provided in May 2026, which was reviewed by Department officials and included results of test excavations carried out in 2020 and 2026. Additional archaeological assessment provided in May 2026 was requested by Department officials in January 2026 following a review of the initial archaeological assessment, which summarised the results of the archaeological test excavations and a geophysical survey.

Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú

I am not taking away from the work that has been carried out from an archaeological due diligence point of view. A number of people are worried about this. I have already made the argument that there has been a failure to look after Cú Chulainn’s Castle in general. Work needs to be done in that regard, whatever the outworkings of this case.

I understand that the zone of 5.2 ha is slightly greater now following the changes Louth County Council introduced, but people are still worried. They talk of both the area and the views that will be impacted. I have also heard a number of people say that they do not want to see houses go by in the midst of a housing crisis. Will the Minister promise that his Department will look at aspects of this development, such as the 50 m buffer, to determine whether they are sufficient? Many say that buffer needs to be extended.

I accept there is an issue with the building of houses. There will be people who will be utterly opposed to building houses that impact them personally, but that is not where I or many of the people who have contacted me are coming from. It is about protecting the structure, doing what we can and ensuring that all the necessary sight lines are maintained.

Deputy James Browne

The Deputy is correct. A buffer area of 50 m should be implemented. That was a recommendation and condition of the local authority to ensure the continued protection of the archaeological setting. It was also recommended that no groundworks, including boundary works, landscaping or ground reduction are to be carried out within the buffer area, and the area should be fenced off and protected during construction and should not be used for storage or vehicular access, for example. In addition to the buffer zone of 50 m, additional archaeological conditions to ensure the continued preservation of other objects of archaeological interest within the proposed development were also outlined.

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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht - Thursday, 1 Oct 2026