Tuesday, 25 Mar 2025

Written Answers Nos. 462-479

• Díospóireachtaí
• Aimsigh díospóireacht
  • Díospóireachtaí na Dála
  • Díospóireachtaí an tSeanaid
  • Díospóireachtaí Coiste
• Aimsigh vótáil
  • Vótálacha na Dála
  • Vótálacha an tSeanaid
  • Vótálacha Coiste
• Ceisteanna Parlaiminte
  • Ceisteanna scríofa
  • Ceisteanna ó bhéal
• Leideanna cuardaigh
• Nuair a bhíonn tionchar tromchúiseach ag aithrisí

Meteorological Services

Ceisteanna (462)

Aidan Farrelly

Ceist:

462. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will clarify the rationale for Met Éireann not providing flood forecasts or warnings for floods to the public via its website or broadcast media; the plans to make provision for the dissemination of this information to the public; if he will provide a full update in respect of NFFWS services capabilities to provide warnings for specific locations to the public; the costs to date of developing the NFFWS; and the allocation of resources available for it in 2025. [13774/25]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

During Stage 1, the initial set up phase of the National Flood Forecasting and Warning Service (NFFWS), under the oversight of OPW, a Flood Forecasting Centre was established in Met Éireann and became operational in early 2024.

Met Éireann’s Flood Forecasting Centre is successfully providing information and guidance to decision making stakeholders such as the Local Authorities, the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management and other agencies, who have received training to enable them to interpret the information and use the software system. The service being provided operationally is tailored for these stakeholders and provides valuable information regarding the likelihood of river and/or coastal flooding. This information protects the public from flood risk as it is utilised by these emergency management stakeholders to manage flood risk and make decisions pertaining to emergency response measures.

The focus for the information developed during Stage 1 of the establishment of the NFFWS, overseen by the OPW, was to provide information support to emergency management decision-makers. Further development of the NFFWS, including Ireland’s network of hydrometric observation systems, is required to support a public flood warning service. The NFFWS Service developed under Stage 1 is not at the level of maturity required to provide warnings for specific locations to the public.

Proposals and recommendations for the further development of the NFFWS, including resource requirements, are being prepared under the oversight of the OPW and will be brought to Government for consideration as soon as possible.

Total expenditure to date on the establishment and development of the Flood Forecasting Centre at Met Éireann is €6.9m. An allocation of €4.3m has been made to the Flood Forecasting Centre at Met Éireann for 2025.

Question No. 463 answered with Question No. 445.

Official Engagements

Ceisteanna (464)

Paul Donnelly

Ceist:

464. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he met with the Chinese foreign minister during his visit there for St. Patrick's Day events. [13870/25]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Deputy James Browne)

I can confirm that I did not meet with the Chinese Foreign Minister on the St. Patrick's Day visit to China.

Wind Energy Generation

Ceisteanna (465)

Richard O'Donoghue

Ceist:

465. Deputy Richard O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage given that in 2015, the then-Minister committed that the Department would continue to liaise with the Department of Health regarding the potential health impacts of wind turbines, when the most recent dialogue took place; the outcomes; if no such dialogue has occurred, why not; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13951/25]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The possible affect from wind turbine noise is the principal potential health impact most frequently attributed to wind energy developments. The Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) has primary responsibility for environmental noise matters.

In this regard, my Department is working in conjunction with DECC, in the context of its environmental noise policy remit, to finalise the guidance on the noise aspect of the review of the Wind Energy Development Guidelines to ensure that the final Guidelines, once published, are robust and fit for purpose having regard to international best practice and standards. My Department has had no recent engagement with the Department of Health as part of this review process.

My Department held a public consultation on the revised Draft Wind Energy Development Guidelines in December 2019 and will be holding another public consultation on the updated draft Guidelines in due course, which will provide a further opportunity for the Department of Health or any other relevant stakeholders to provide input on potential health impacts from wind turbine noise.

Wind Energy Generation

Ceisteanna (466)

Richard O'Donoghue

Ceist:

466. Deputy Richard O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he can confirm if operating wind farms pose a health risk, given that all three published revisions of the 2006 wind energy development guidelines state that wind turbine noise must align with World Health Organisation (WHO) standards, while existing wind farms generally operate at noise limits at least six decibels higher, and the WHO noise limit does not account for special noise characteristics such as amplitude modulation and low frequencies (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13952/25]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The possible affect from wind turbine noise is the principal potential health impact attributed to wind energy developments. The Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) has primary responsibility for environmental noise matters.

My Department is currently undertaking a focused review of the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines in line with the “preferred draft approach” (PDA) which was announced in June 2017 by the then Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, in conjunction with the then Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment. The PDA proposes noise restriction limits that are consistent with World Health Organisation standards and takes account of certain noise characteristics specific to wind turbines.

My Department is working in conjunction with DECC, in the context of its environmental noise policy remit, to finalise the guidance on the noise aspect of the review. As part of this work, DECC, in the context of its environmental noise remit, appointed noise consultants in May 2023 to inform any amendments to the noise aspect of the Guidelines. As part of their work, which is now substantially complete, the noise consultants have assessed the impact of human health from turbine noise having regard to international best practice and standards, including the current World Health Organisation (WHO) standards on noise.

My Department, in conjunction with DECC, will make any further changes to the draft Guidelines which are deemed necessary or appropriate in the wake of this work to ensure that the finalised Guidelines, once issued, are fit for purpose to provide guidance in line with renewable energy and climate targets, whilst having appropriate regard to the impacts of wind energy development, including in relation to noise annoyance.

Defective Building Materials

Ceisteanna (467)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

Ceist:

467. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is aware of the growing number of older people living in homes with defective concrete blocks who would like to transfer their eligibility to avail of the defective concrete block grant scheme on to their family; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13993/25]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Deputy James Browne)

The Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 (the Act) commenced on 22 June 2023 which contains the current grant scheme and the related Regulations were adopted on 29 June 2023.

Section 9 of the 2022 Act deals with Relevant Owner and Section 24 relates to a Change of Relevant Owner in specific circumstance.

The Spring 2025 Government Legislation Programme has included the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks (Amendment) Bill for priority drafting. Along with details of the wider group of relevant owners that can avail of the recent increases in the grant scheme cap and rates it will also examine a number of technical amendments and I have asked my Department to consider this matter in that context.

It should be noted that in order to assist homeowners, particularly those that are vulnerable, facilitators are available in four local authorities with information on the scheme. They use a combination of outreach efforts on an ongoing basis to create awareness about the programme and supports available, continuously researching and signposting homeowners to other resources in relation to mental health, financial support, SEAI etc.

Social Media

Ceisteanna (468)

Gary Gannon

Ceist:

468. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the percentage of social media video accessible, such as providing the information or activities posted on each of his Department’s social media accounts, or the social media accounts of public bodies and agencies that operate under its remit, including closed captioning and subtitling and Irish Sign Language translations, between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2024, inclusive. [14055/25]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The information requested is being compiled and will be forwarded in accordance with Standing Orders.

The information requested in relation to bodies under the aegis of my Department is a matter for the individual bodies concerned. Arrangements have been put in place by each Agency to facilitate the provision of information directly to members of the Oireachtas. The contact email address for each agency is set out in the following table:

Bodies under the Aegis of DHLGH	Oireachtas email
An Bord Pleanála	[e-mail]
An Fóram Uisce	[e-mail]
Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority	[e-mail]
Docklands Oversight and Consultative Forum	[e-mail]
Electoral Commission	[e-mail]
Gas Networks Ireland	[e-mail]
Heritage Council	[e-mail]
Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency	[e-mail]
Housing Finance Agency	[e-mail]
Land Development Agency	[e-mail]
Local Government Management Agency	[e-mail]
National Oversight and Audit Commission	[e-mail]
National Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee	[e-mail]
Office of the Planning Regulator	[e-mail]
Pyrite Resolution Board	[e-mail]
Residential Tenancies Board	[e-mail]
Tailte Éireann	[e-mail]
Uisce Éireann	[e-mail]
Valuation Tribunal	[e-mail]
Waterways Ireland	[e-mail]

Housing Provision

Ceisteanna (469)

Darren O'Rourke

Ceist:

469. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in light of the ongoing delay in his Department's approvals for affordable housing projects funded via SHIP, CAS, CALF, CREL and AHF, if he believes it important to deliver affordable housing units at the proposed development at Ashewood Glen, Ashbourne, County Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14082/25]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Responsibility for the delivery of the housing targets set under Housing for All rests with individual local authorities, which identify the social housing need in their administrative area and are best placed to make decisions on potential sites for development. It is therefore a matter for individual local authorities to identify suitable sites and bring forward proposals to my Department in line with the number and type of households on their housing lists and their social housing development policy.

My Department granted Stage 2/Pre-Planning approval for a 79 unit project at the location in question in July 2024 and I understand that the Part 8 planning process is currently ongoing.

Further details on the advancement of the project will be available directly from Meath County Council. The project when constructed, would be funded through my Department's Local Authority Housing Capital Budget.

All local authorities, including Meath County Council, have developed and published their Housing Delivery Action Plans setting out their plans to deliver social and affordable housing during the period 2022-2026. This follows a comprehensive Housing Needs and Demand Assessment. Each local authority's Action Plan is available on their official website.

The Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) is available to all local authorities to assist towards the cost of developing affordable housing at locations where significant affordability needs have been identified.

My Department, the Housing Agency and Housing Delivery Co-ordination Office of the Local Government Management Association continue to be available to assist local authorities in relation to ongoing development of their affordable housing delivery programmes.

Housing Provision

Ceisteanna (470)

John Brady

Ceist:

470. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of new build homes to include both apartments and houses, both private and social housing, constructed in 2022, 2023 & 2024, in Greystones, Delgany, Kilcoole, Newcastle, Newtownmountkennedy & Roundwood; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14094/25]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Housing for All is the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade. This includes the delivery of 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable purchase homes and 18,000 cost rental homes. Budget 2025 provided Exchequer funding be of €4.85bn to support housing programmes, comprising €3.2bn capital funding and €1.65bn current funding. The Exchequer Capital provision of €3.2bn will be supplemented by Land Development Agency (LDA) investment (projected up to €1.25bn) and Housing Finance Agency (HFA) lending (projected €1.65bn), resulting in an overall capital provision of over €6bn.

Housing completions data are published by the CSO on a quarterly basis and are available on its website at: www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-ndc/newdwellingcompletionsq42024/data/

Completions disaggregated by dwelling type (scheme house, single house, apartment) are available at local authority level at data.cso.ie/table/NDQ06. Completions are also available at local electoral area at data.cso.ie/table/NDQ09. Data on new dwelling completions in towns and village level is not available on the CSO website.

Increasing the supply of new homes is key to addressing many of the challenges in the housing market.

Supply has increased significantly in recent years, with some 125,000 new homes delivered since July 2020. This includes 92,500 homes delivered from 2022 to 2024, exceeding the combined target for new homes for the period by 5,500 or so homes.

This progress is mirrored across the country, some 4,324 new homes completed in Wicklow over the three-year period, including 1,538, 1,428 and 1,358 in 2022, 2023 and 2024 respectively.

My Department also publishes comprehensive programme-level statistics on a quarterly basis on social housing delivery activity by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) in each local authority. This data is available to the end of Q3 2024, and is published on the statistics page of my Department’s website, at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/

My Department also publishes the Social Housing Construction Status Report (CSR). The CSR provides details of social housing developments and their location that have been completed, are under construction or are progressing through the various stages of the design and tender processes. The most recent publication was for Quarter 3 2024. All Construction Status Reports are available at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/cb885-social-housing-construction-projects-status-reports/

A version of the CSR file can also be downloaded for analysis of completions, locations, approvals stage etc at the link below: opendata.housing.gov.ie/dataset/social-housing-construction-status-report-q3-2024

Data for Q4 2024 is currently being collated and will be published in due course.

Homeless Persons Supports

Ceisteanna (471)

Duncan Smith

Ceist:

471. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to examine the case of persons (details supplied) facing homelessness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14120/25]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

My Department has no direct role in the provision of accommodation for Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection, which is a matter that is under the remit of the Minister for Children, Equality, Integration, Disability and Youth.

Vacant Properties

Ceisteanna (472)

Rory Hearne

Ceist:

472. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of vacant housing officers, per local authority, in terms of full-time equivalent posts, in tabular form; the expenditure per local authority on addressing housing vacancy in each of the years 2020 to 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14142/25]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Deputy James Browne)

Addressing vacancy and making efficient use of existing housing stock is a key priority for Government, as set out in Pathway 4 of Housing for All.

The Vacant Homes Action Plan, published in January 2023, built on Pathway 4 and set out the various actions that were being pursued to return vacant properties back into use as homes. My Department publishes annual progress reports on the Action Plan outlining what has been achieved each year and plans for the year ahead, and in the coming weeks I will publish the 2025 Progress Report.

My Department provides funding to local authorities across a range of the schemes in the Action Plan to support their work in tackling vacancy and dereliction, including funding for resources.

A key initiative under the Action Plan is the successful delivery of the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant. By the end of 2024, over 1,400 grants were paid out nationwide, supporting people to return previously empty dwellings into use as homes. This amounts to €77 million in grant funding. All grant data from 2022 onwards can be accessed at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/4bbe4-vacant-property-refurbishment-grant-statistics/#:~:text=A%20grant%20of%20up%20to,property%20up%20to%20%E2%82%AC70%2C000.

In acknowledgement of the administrative overhead for local authorities in managing the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant and the Ready to Build Scheme, my Department provided an initial supporting allocation of up to €180,000 to each local authority in respect of processing applications. Another initiative in the Action Plan is the €150 million Urban Regeneration and Development Fund, which has been made available for local authorities to acquire vacant or derelict properties and sites for re-use or sale. More than 1,200 vacant and derelict properties have now been identified and approved under Call 3 of the Fund, with an estimated residential yield of over 4,800 homes.Funding is also made available through the Social Housing Investment Programme, the Repair and Leasing Scheme and the Local Authority Purchase and Renovation Loan, among other initiatives.My Department provides funding of €60,000 per annum to support each local authority's Vacant Homes Office, including a Vacant Homes Officer (VHO), this was increased from €50,000 in 2022. This supports the commitment in Housing for All to ensure that the VHO role in each local authority is fulltime. The provision of central funding reinforces the capacity of local authorities, including through the important role of VHOs, to ensure a dedicated focus on tackling vacancy and dereliction.

Since 2023, all 31 local authorities have a fulltime VHO in place. VHOs across local authorities are supported in their work by the Vacant Homes Unit in my Department and by the Housing Agency.

Housing Schemes

Ceisteanna (473)

Rory Hearne

Ceist:

473. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of households in receipt of HAP, by local authority, broken down by household dwelling type and type of HAP payment (including discretionary HAP payment), in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14143/25]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a form of social housing support available for people who have a long-term housing need. Any household assessed as eligible for social housing is immediately eligible for HAP. Eligible households can source their own accommodation in the private rental sector which should be within the HAP rent limits provided to them by the local authority.

The latest available data covers the period to the end of Q3 2024. The tables below provide a breakdown of the total number of active HAP tenancies registered by local authority to end Q3 2024 and a breakdown of tenancies by household compositions.

Table 1: Number of active tenancies at end Q3 2024

Local Authority	Total Active HAP Tenancies
Carlow County Council	583
Cavan County Council	441
Clare County Council	1,091
Cork City Council	2,513
Cork County Council	3,330
Donegal County Council	1,713
Dublin City Council	5,408
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council	824
Fingal County Council	2,464
Galway City Council	1,848
Galway County Council	1,392
Kerry County Council	1,560
Kildare County Council	1,709
Kilkenny County Council	471
Laois County Council	663
Leitrim County Council	239
Limerick City & County Council	1,963
Longford County Council	273
Louth County Council	2,911
Mayo County Council	1,073
Meath County Council	1,503
Monaghan County Council	500
Offaly County Council	513
Roscommon County Council	366
Sligo County Council	737
South Dublin County Council	2,435
Tipperary County Council	1,550
Waterford City & County Council	1,532
Westmeath County Council	871
Wexford County Council	1,161
Wicklow County Council	1,372
Dublin Regional Homeless Executive*	9,413
Total	54,422

*The DRHE is operating HAP Homeless Place Finder Service on behalf of the four Dublin local authorities.

Table 2: Active HAP tenancies by household type

Family Size/Type based on HAP Active Tenancies	% of Active HAP Tenancies	Total Active HAP Tenancies
Couple	4%	2,103
Couple +1	7%	3,560
Couple +2	8%	4,454
Couple 3+	7%	3,765
Couple Sharing	0%	154
Single	21%	11,304
Single +1	24%	13,255
Single +2	13%	7,308
Single 3+	6%	3,203
Single Sharing	4%	2,158
2022 Uplift Single	5%	2,481
2022 Uplift Single Sharing	1%	677
Total	100%	54,422

Since 11 July 2022, each local authority has statutory discretion to agree to a HAP payment up to 35% above the prescribed maximum rent limit, and for new tenancies to extend the couple’s rate to single persons households. Up to 50% discretion can be provided in the case of homeless households in the Dublin region. It is a matter for the local authority to determine, whether, and to what extent, the application of the flexibility is warranted.

From available data, at the end of Q3 2024, 68.2% of the total number of households being supported by HAP were benefiting from the additional flexibility, at an average rate of discretion of 28.8% above the relevant limit.

When the additional discretion available to homeless households in the Dublin Region is removed, 65% of households nationally were benefiting from the additional flexibility. In those cases, the average rate of discretionary payment being used was 23.7% above the relevant limit.

My Department continues to keep the operation of the HAP scheme under review and closely monitors the level of discretion being used by local authorities, taking into account other sources of data, including Residential Tenancies Board rent data published on a quarterly basis.

Question No. 474 answered with Question No. 445.

Housing Provision

Ceisteanna (475)

Eoin Ó Broin

Ceist:

475. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage how buy and renew social homes are reported by his Department, as acquisitions or as new builds; the number of buy and renew social homes delivered in each year from 2020 to 2024; and the average cost to the Exchequer each year from the delivery of these homes. [14166/25]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Local authorities are supported by my Department to purchase and renovate vacant/derelict properties to be upgraded as new, value-for-money social homes.

The Buy & Renew Scheme allows local authorities to acquire and refurbish such properties and since it was introduced in 2016, in excess of 950 properties have been delivered under this arrangement, as new social homes. Buy and Renew Units are counted as acquisitions and a breakdown of such units delivered from 2020 to 2024 and the total funding in each year is included below.

Year	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Number of Units	117	59	67	55	32
Funding provided in respect of Buy and Renew Units*	€19.7m	€10.2m	€12.9m	€8.5m	€6.3m

*these figures represent the amounts paid out to date by my Department; these figures are subject to change as further claims for refurbishment works are received from Local Authorities.

The Social Housing Investment Programme/SHIP which is the main capital programme that supports local authorities in the development of social housing, also provides them with full funding to acquire and renew/re-model existing vacant/derelict properties, effectively obsolete properties in need of more substantial capital investment, with a view to the delivery of new build social homes.

Given the opportunities this creates for local authorities to respond to more significant dereliction in town centres, I am pleased to see an increasing use of these options and there is no cap or restriction on the extent to which this approach may be used by local authorities, other than the individual projects being reasonable value for money.

Question No. 476 answered with Question No. 445.

Local Authorities

Ceisteanna (477)

Michael Murphy

Ceist:

477. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide the extent of commercial rates arrears carried by each local authority, for each of the past five years; the local authorities carrying arrears outside of that five year period; the extent of commercial rates arrears written off by each local authority, each year for the past five years, in tabular form. [14210/25]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Local authorities are under a statutory obligation to levy rates on any property used for commercial purposes in accordance with the details entered in the valuation lists prepared by Tailte Éireann under the Valuation Acts 2001 to 2020. The levying and collection of rates are matters for each individual local authority.

Information in relation to Commercial Rates Income and Collection data is available in Appendix 7 of each local authority's Annual Financial Statement. 2023 is the latest year for which audited local authority annual financial statement data is available.

The commercial rates arrears and commercial rates written off by each local authority from 2019 to 2023 are set out in the tables below. Commercial rates are only written off by local authorities after they have exhausted all means of collecting outstanding amounts owing, and it is considered that those outstanding amounts are irrecoverable.

The Local Government Audit Service provide an independent audit of local authorities annual financial statements and a summary of their findings, titled Overview of the Work of the Local Government Audit Service, is published annually on my Department's website at the following link:

www.gov.ie/en/collection/5e9c7-overview-of-the-work-of-the-local-government-audit-service/

Data in relation to commercial rates arrears prior to 2019 can be found in the Local Government Audit Service reports.

Local Authority	2019 Rates Closing Arrears	2020 Rates Closing Arrears	2021 Rates Closing Arrears	2022 Rates Closing Arrears	2023 Rates Closing Arrears
Carlow County Council	€2,344,169	€1,703,135	€1,927,504	€1,963,679	€2,341,033
Cavan County Council	€3,572,614	€3,250,910	€3,650,209	€3,419,727	€2,505,194
Clare County Council	€10,043,132	€11,577,540	€10,891,784	€10,389,041	€9,957,704
Cork City Council	€13,943,422	€22,723,000	€19,020,961	€15,873,340	€15,797,317
Cork County Council	€9,587,252	€10,399,767	€10,771,609	€8,230,599	€8,811,542
Donegal County Council	€15,424,576	€16,138,257	€14,607,087	€14,317,092	€14,450,054
Dublin City Council	€23,058,147	€34,063,391	€38,124,419	€30,650,400	€28,471,225
Dun Laoire/Rathdown County Council	€14,463,823	€19,133,314	€21,425,164	€25,264,293	€26,336,862
Fingal County Council	€4,842,767	€6,873,694	€7,154,860	€2,989,380	€2,502,768
Galway City Council	€8,846,534	€10,793,093	€11,584,836	€9,508,099	€8,847,259
Galway County Council	€5,728,393	€6,587,679	€8,037,829	€8,523,199	€8,066,027
Kerry County Council	€6,494,848	€9,273,913	€7,053,265	€6,562,647	€6,199,062
Kildare County Council	€12,492,361	€15,670,069	€11,785,323	€9,906,814	€8,380,465
Kilkenny County Council	€1,265,055	€1,956,162	€2,049,279	€1,507,725	€3,289,551
Laois County Council	€3,228,515	€3,402,576	€2,222,709	€1,985,987	€2,279,420
Leitrim County Council	€2,513,072	€2,979,011	€3,223,257	€3,017,049	€3,234,344
Limerick City & County Council	€9,759,506	€10,696,120	€8,732,896	€5,888,292	€4,796,855
Longford County Council	€1,033,827	€1,124,618	€966,941	€859,942	€1,200,532
Louth County Council	€8,931,758	€11,030,292	€10,273,724	€7,561,465	€5,352,580
Mayo County Council	€3,922,582	€4,182,624	€4,278,902	€3,406,852	€2,623,492
Meath County Council	€2,795,024	€3,417,263	€2,754,906	€2,556,309	€2,087,757
Monaghan County Council	€3,302,230	€3,554,362	€2,179,799	€1,951,292	€2,356,756
Offaly County Council	€2,290,436	€3,602,210	€2,765,170	€3,004,215	€2,583,407
Roscommon County Council	€1,358,169	€2,736,574	€1,232,568	€1,343,850	€1,466,294
Sligo County Council	€3,626,837	€3,561,285	€2,858,849	€4,096,791	€6,357,341
Sth Dublin County Council	€19,631,981	€17,820,823	€18,232,558	€16,560,497	€14,674,019
Tipperary County Council	€7,607,383	€8,955,863	€7,740,942	€5,921,516	€5,520,979
Waterford City & County Council	€9,198,695	€11,042,246	€6,132,653	€3,008,361	€2,044,492
Westmeath County Council	€2,971,391	€1,951,305	€1,051,010	€761,664	€649,617
Wexford County Council	€6,055,100	€6,858,783	€6,066,597	€4,843,754	€3,927,888
Wicklow County Council	€5,217,406	€8,194,672	€6,342,375	€4,598,635	€3,457,366
Total	€225,551,005	€275,254,551	€255,139,985	€220,472,506	€210,569,202

Local Authority	2019 Rates Write Offs	2020 Rates Write Offs	2021 Rates Write Offs	2022 Rates Write Offs	2023 Rates Write Offs
Carlow County Council	€1,593,150	€1,533,346	€685,093	€935,649	€853,479
Cavan County Council	€624,117	€442,027	€322,499	€243,068	€619,964
Clare County Council	€1,240,930	€886,910	€1,338,773	€1,299,102	€1,227,941
Cork City Council	€1,798,511	€254,697	€1,233,585	€2,212,665	€1,257,257
Cork County Council	€2,263,917	€1,089,515	€1,172,224	€3,088,437	€1,594,914
Donegal County Council	€1,935,307	€788,895	€1,379,942	€2,125,121	€2,649,350
Dublin City Council	€15,349,723	€14,779,286	€15,984,977	€17,784,906	€16,591,766
Dun Laoire/Rathdown County Council	€4,823,259	€842,670	€937,679	€2,114,453	€1,897,994
Fingal County Council	€2,060,181	€636,460	€799,162	€1,953,715	€1,558,328
Galway City Council	€1,225,162	€364,499	€373,731	€534,955	€571,538
Galway County Council	€64,220	€148,454	€33,184	€268,436	€311,929
Kerry County Council	€5,221,037	€3,919,140	€3,495,689	€4,170,376	€2,917,697
Kildare County Council	€2,055,717	€2,733,445	€1,504,330	€1,819,666	€3,055,925
Kilkenny County Council	€943,038	€1,101,704	€606,414	€864,091	€388,686
Laois County Council	€937,845	€394,443	€319,728	€475,791	€488,267
Leitrim County Council	€20,777	€164,712	€109,850	€215,458	€15,766
Limerick City & County Council	€2,833,093	€685,365	€1,748,372	€2,755,841	€2,351,291
Longford County Council	€242,361	€42,246	€13,075	€19,036	€14,911
Louth County Council	€534,788	€0	€96,787	€539,303	€517,966
Mayo County Council	€282,489	€328,774	€340,498	€399,128	€1,064,947
Meath County Council	€821,477	€1,184,242	€644,063	€752,436	€902,929
Monaghan County Council	€323,810	€467,355	€221,400	€351,842	€274,239
Offaly County Council	€267,589	€93,135	€161,772	€191,631	€399,755
Roscommon County Council	€584,261	€152,469	€176,716	€220,328	€253,175
Sligo County Council	€870,717	€404,232	€337,763	€1,877,665	€867,202
Sth Dublin County Council	€3,354,310	€3,220,404	€1,893,604	€2,341,639	€2,250,458
Tipperary County Council	€496,310	€408,498	€131,254	€311,762	€217,557
Waterford City & County Council	€1,754,414	€1,394,609	€2,151,005	€1,840,981	€1,882,655
Westmeath County Council	€473,017	€527,182	€644,194	€305,831	€317,796
Wexford County Council	€3,890,814	€1,345,988	€2,687,821	€3,212,344	€2,928,693
Wicklow County Council	€1,727,073	€378,519	€635,243	€1,711,759	€1,092,225
Total	€60,613,417	€40,713,221	€42,180,428	€56,937,415	€51,336,601

Urban Development

Ceisteanna (478)

Michael Murphy

Ceist:

478. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the establishment of the new town and cities infrastructure investment fund, specifically a timeline for the launch of this fund as a replacement for the urban regeneration and development fund. [14214/25]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

A flagship element of Project Ireland 2040, the €2 billion Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) supports a programme of significant transformational capital projects that will contribute to the regeneration and rejuvenation of Ireland’s cities and other large towns, in line with the objectives of the National Planning Framework and the National Development Plan.

As set out in the Programme for Government, it is my intention to continue and expand URDF-type investment in projects as part of the new Towns and Cities Infrastructure Investment Fund. This will allow for investment in infrastructure, the acquisition of land, assembly of sites and the de-risking of sites in existing towns and cities to maximise their potential growth.

The detailed arrangements for the implementation of these funding streams will be clarified further following completion of the National Development Plan Review, which will enable the level of additional capital funding for infrastructure investment to be determined.

Housing Provision

Ceisteanna (479)

Edward Timmins

Ceist:

479. Deputy Edward Timmins asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the housing target completions for County Wicklow, by year, from 2025 to 2030; and the targets and actual completions, by year, from 2020 to 2024. [14216/25]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Deputy James Browne)

Increasing the supply of new homes is key to addressing many of the challenges in the housing market.

Supply has increased significantly in recent years, with some 125,000 new homes delivered since July 2020. This includes 92,500 homes delivered from 2022 to 2024, exceeding the combined target for new homes for the period by 5,500 or so homes.

New home completions data are published quarterly by the CSO and show that progress at a national level has been mirrored locally across the country. For example, some 6,112 new homes have been delivered in Wicklow between 2020 and 2024, with almost 4,800 of these delivered since Housing for All was published in September 2021.

An annual breakdown of new home completions data per local authority per year can be accessed via the CSO website at the following link: https://data.cso.ie/table/NDQ06.

Housing targets for urban and rural areas in each local authority area are set out in the respective Core Strategies of the 31 City and County Development Plans (as may be applicable), having regard to the hierarchy of settlements of different scales in each local authority area and informed by the National Planning Framework (NPF) and the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies.

Ministerial Guidelines published under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 on ‘Housing Supply Target Methodology for Development Planning’ complement the objectives of the NPF and have introduced a standardised national approach, to be applied by each planning authority in projecting Housing Supply Targets in their Development Plan over the six-year period of each plan.

• Written Answers Nos. 437-461
• Written Answers Nos. 480-499