Written Answers Nos. 638-653
638. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of ECCE-only childcare services that are considered exempt and not exempt from paying commercial rates in 2025 and 2026, as per paragraph 10, schedule 4 of the Valuation Act 2001. [14240/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra640. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of sessional childcare services that are considered exempt and not exempt from paying commercial rates, as per paragraph 10, schedule 4 of the Valuation Act 2001. [14242/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra643. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of part-time childcare services that are considered exempt and not exempt from paying commercial rates, as per paragraph 10, schedule 4 of the Valuation Act 2001. [14245/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 638, 640 and 643 together.
Tailte Éireann is an independent Government agency and provides a property registration system, property valuation service, and national mapping and surveying infrastructure for the State. Tailte Éireann is independent in the exercise of its valuation functions under the Valuation Act 2001, as amended (the Act), and I, as the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, have no function in decisions in this regard.
Tailte Éireann has overall responsibility under the Act, for the maintenance of all Valuation Lists used by Local Authorities in the calculation of rates liability. Under the Act, all property is rateable unless it falls into one of the exempt categories listed in Schedule 4 of the Act. There is a very specific range of exemptions that can be applied, and Tailte Éireann has no discretionary latitude to grant exemptions not covered by Schedule 4.
On the basis of legal advices received, and relevant case law, Paragraph 10 of Schedule 4 of the Act does not apply to childcare or childminding facilities, therefore the question posed is moot.
The Valuation (Amendment) Act 2015 introduced paragraph 22 to Schedule 4 of the Act which refers specifically to early childhood care and education facilities. This paragraph provides an exemption for childcare providers that exclusively provide early childhood care and education and are established and operated on a not-for-profit basis.
Paragraph 22 of Schedule 4 of the Act provides an exemption for:
“Any land, building or part of a building used exclusively for the provision of early childhood care and education, and occupied by a body which is not established and the affairs of which are not conducted for the purpose of making a private profit.”
Paragraph 22 of Schedule 4 of the Act provides that early childhood care and education facilities that are established and operated on a not-for-profit basis are exempt from rates; it does not provide a general exemption from rates for all childcare or childminding facilities operating on a for-profit basis. To avoid ambiguity, if an early childhood care and education facility is established and operated on a for-profit basis, then it does not fulfil the criteria for exemption under Paragraph 22.
As a matter of course, Tailte Éireann examines all properties on their individual merits by reference to the relevant statutory provisions governing the operation of the Act and case law arising from the independent Valuation Tribunal and the Higher Courts.
There are a number of avenues of redress for an occupier of rateable property who is dissatisfied with a determination of valuation by Tailte Éireann made under the provisions of the Valuation Act 2001, as amended. Firstly, before a determination is made, there is a right to make representations to Tailte Éireann in relation to a proposed valuation. Later in the process, if the occupier is still dissatisfied with the determination, there is a right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal which is an independent body set up for the purpose of hearing appeals against determinations of Tailte Éireann. There is a right of appeal to the Higher Courts on a point of law.
Under Irish law there is a distinct separation of functions between the valuation of rateable property and the setting and collection of commercial rates. The commercial rates payable on a particular property is a product of the valuation of that property determined by Tailte Éireann multiplied by the “Annual Rate on Valuation” (ARV) which is set annually by the elected members of the local authority as part of its budgetary process. The billing and collection of rates is solely a matter for the relevant local authority. Tailte Éireann has no function in that regard.
639. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of ECCE-only childcare services that have received commercial rates bills in 2025 and 2026. [14241/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra641. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of sessional childcare services that have received commercial rates bills in 2025 and 2026. [14243/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra644. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of part-time childcare services that have received commercial rates bills in 2025 and 2026. [14246/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra645. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of childminders that have had their homes assessed for commercial rates in 2024, 2025 and 2026. [14249/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra646. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of childminders that have received bills for commercial rates in 2024, 2025 and 2026. [14250/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra647. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of ECCE childcare services that have had their premises assessed for commercial rates in 2024, 2025 and 2026. [14251/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 639, 641 and 644 to 647, inclusive, together.
Tailte Éireann is an independent Government agency and provides a property registration system, property valuation service, and national mapping and surveying infrastructure for the State. Tailte Éireann is independent in the exercise of its valuation functions under the Valuation Act 2001, as amended (the Act), and I, as the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, have no function in decisions in this regard.
Tailte Éireann has overall responsibility under the Act, for the maintenance of all Valuation Lists used by Local Authorities in the calculation of rates liability. General categorisations are used for different types of property assessed for rateable valuation purposes, primarily for descriptive purposes. For example, a shop will be categorised as a shop but not a particular type of shop, a butchers and fishmongers shop are both categorised as a shop, as the rateable valuation must reflect the value of the property itself; it is the property and not the business that is valued. Accordingly, Tailte Éireann does not categorise properties as ECCE-only or ECCE childcare services, sessional childcare services, part-time childcare services, childminder; the general categorisation for the majority of those properties is “créche”. Therefore Tailte Éireann cannot provide the numbers requested.
Under Irish law there is a distinct separation of functions between the valuation of rateable property and the setting and collection of commercial rates. The commercial rates payable on a particular property is a product of the valuation of that property determined by Tailte Éireann multiplied by the “Annual Rate on Valuation” (ARV) which is set annually by the elected members of the local authority as part of its budgetary process. The commercial rates billing and collection of rates is solely a matter for the relevant local authority. Tailte Éireann has no function in that regard.
642. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his definition of ECCE, sessional and part-time childcare services; and how commercial rates are applied to each of them. [14244/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraTailte Éireann is an independent Government agency and provides a property registration system, property valuation service, and national mapping and surveying infrastructure for the State. Tailte Éireann is independent in the exercise of its valuation functions under the Valuation Act 2001, as amended (the Act), and I, as the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, have no function in decisions in this regard.
It is understood from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth that the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme is a universal free two-year preschool programme available to all children within the eligible age range.
Part-time day care service means a pre-school service offering a structured day care service for pre-school children for a total of more than 3.5 hours and less than 5 hours per day and which may include a sessional pre-school service for pre-school children not attending the part-time day care service.
A sessional pre-school service means a pre-school service offering a planned programme to pre-school children for a total of not more than 3.5 hours per session.
Tailte Éireann has overall responsibility under the Act, for the maintenance of all Valuation Lists used by Local Authorities in the calculation of rates liability.
The basis of valuation and assessment for all properties is specified in the Act. A valuation for commercial rates purposes is arrived at by estimating the Net Annual Value (NAV) of a property, by reference to a specified and statutorily prescribed valuation date. The term “Net Annual Value” has a legal definition and is set out in section 48 of the Act, as “the rent for which, one year with another, the property might, in its actual state, be reasonably expected to let from year to year, on the assumption that the probable average annual cost of repairs, insurance and other expenses (if any) that would be necessary to maintain the property in that state, and all rates and other taxes payable in respect of the property, are borne by the tenant”. This definition of Net Annual Value is applied to all properties considered rateable under the provisions of the Act and the rateable valuation reflects the value of the property itself; it is the property and not the business that is valued.
Under the Act, all property is rateable unless it falls into one of the exempt categories listed in Schedule 4 of the Act. There is a very specific range of exemptions that can be applied, and Tailte Éireann has no discretionary latitude to grant exemptions not covered by Schedule 4.
Paragraph 22 of Schedule 4 of the Act, which was inserted by the Valuation (Amendment) Act 2015, refers specifically to early childhood care and education facilities and provides an exemption for:
“Any land, building or part of a building used exclusively for the provision of early childhood care and education, and occupied by a body which is not established and the affairs of which are not conducted for the purpose of making a private profit.”
Therefore, while the Act provides that early childhood care and education facilities that are operated on a not-for-profit basis are exempt from rates, it does not provide a general exemption from rates for all childcare or childminding facilities operating on a for profit basis. To avoid ambiguity, if an early childhood care and education facility is operated on a for-profit basis, then it does not fulfil the criteria for exemption under Paragraph 22.
As a matter of course, Tailte Éireann examines all properties on their individual merits by reference to the relevant statutory provisions governing the operation of the Act and case law arising from the independent Valuation Tribunal and the Higher Courts.
There are a number of avenues of redress for an occupier of rateable property who is dissatisfied with a determination of valuation by Tailte Éireann made under the provisions of the Valuation Act 2001, as amended. Firstly, before a determination is made, there is a right to make representations to Tailte Éireann in relation to a proposed valuation. Later in the process, if the occupier is still dissatisfied with the determination, there is a right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal which is an independent body set up for the purpose of hearing appeals against determinations of Tailte Éireann. There is a right of appeal to the Higher Courts on a point of law.
Under Irish law there is a distinct separation of functions between the valuation of rateable property and the setting and collection of commercial rates. The commercial rates payable on a particular property is a product of the valuation of that property determined by Tailte Éireann multiplied by the “Annual Rate on Valuation” (ARV) which is set annually by the elected members of the local authority as part of its budgetary process. The billing and collection of rates is solely a matter for the relevant local authority. Tailte Éireann has no function in that regard.
648. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if, given the significant increase in population, he will increase the number of city and county councillors nationally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14320/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Local Democracy Taskforce was established in June 2025, and it is currently progressing with its work schedule with the aim of delivering recommendations to Government in the coming weeks.
In relation to councillor numbers, the Taskforce has been asked to “examine how the current number of councillors is determined and explore proposals for a framework for amendments including taking into consideration population growth since the 2014 reforms and the consequent need for an increase in the numbers of councillors to ensure appropriate representation of citizens”.
Taking an evidence informed approach, the Taskforce will finalise a programme of recommendations for the reform and strengthening of local government in Ireland, which will include recommendations in relation to the framework for determining councillor numbers. These will be considered by Government following reporting by the Taskforce.
649. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether he has obtained legal advice to support the position that complaints concerning the administration, delay, procedures, resourcing or transparency of the Defective Concrete Blocks Appeals Panel fall outside the remit of the Office of the Ombudsman by virtue of the panel being described as independent; if so, the legal basis for that position; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14321/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra650. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether it is the position of his Department that homeowners affected by defective concrete blocks have no external or independent complaints or oversight mechanism available to them in respect of delay, maladministration or procedural unfairness in the appeals process; if so, the way in which this position is compatible with principles of good administration and access to remedy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14322/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra651. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the role of his Department in determining or influencing the operation of the Defective Concrete Blocks Appeals Panel, including its terms of reference, appointment process, funding, staffing levels, procedures and timelines; whether, in view of this role, he accepts that the administration and operation of the panel must remain subject to normal public accountability standards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14323/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 649, 650 and 651 together.
The Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 (the Act) was commenced on 22 June 2023 which contains the enhanced grant scheme and adopted the related Regulations on 29 June 2023.
An Appeals Panel has been established to assess appeals made under the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the use of Defective Concrete (DCB) Blocks Grant Scheme.
Oversight and accountability of the Appeals Panel is outlined in Part 5 of The Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022.
The Appeals Panel is statutorily independent in the performance of their functions of myself as Minister, my Department and of the Housing Agency. Timelines for the processing of appeals are a matter for the Chair and the Panel. My Department provides limited administrative support during the initial stage of the process, in that appeals submitted by homeowners are forwarded to the Panel. Funding for an additional administrative resource within the Panel itself has also been provided to assist in ensuring the panel can carry out its work as quickly as possible.
It is my understanding that the Appeals Panel is very much aware of the understandable desire of applicants to have their cases dealt with in as expeditious a manner as possible. The time taken to assess appeals has been in many cases longer than originally envisaged. However, I understand that some of the time taken to consider and issue decisions has been taken up by requests for further information either from the appellants themselves or from other stakeholders. The Panel have taken this approach, I am informed, in order to allow appellants to have the full facts of their situation properly assessed. A corollary of this inclusive and holistic approach is that this has unfortunately added time onto the overall process.
I understand that a number of Decisions have now begun to issue in recent weeks as the Panel accelerates its work and seeks to meet the legitimate expectations of appellants. My Department will continue to do all it can given the statutory framework the process operates under, to support the Panel to ensure that the timeframes in which appeals are assessed continue to improve towards a satisfactory level for appellants.
652. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether hemp-based construction materials, including hempcrete and bio composite products are being considered within public procurement frameworks and housing policy as part of efforts to reduce building emissions and construction costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14329/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation issued the Green Public Procurement Circular 17/2025 in July 2025 available at the following link: assets.gov.ie/static/documents/Circular_17_2025_PDF.pdf
The purpose of the Circular is to provide updated instructions to government departments and the public sector regarding 11 of the 54 actions included in Buying Greener: Green Public Procurement Strategy and Action Plan 2024-2027
Sections 2.31 to 2.32 of the circular provides the following instructions:
2.3.1 In line with the Public Sector Climate Action Mandate all public bodies shall specify low carbon construction methods and low carbon cement material as far as practicable for directly procured or supported construction projects. From 2026, public bodies must include specifications for low carbon construction related components and sustainable building processes in accordance with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, using Construction Products Regulation data where available and EN 15978:2011 Sustainability of construction works (EN 15978), and reference to GPP criteria related to construction, including National GPP guidance, where appropriate in the Preliminary Project Brief. In addition, whole life-cycle analysis in accordance with EN 15978, where appropriate, shall be used to inform the design of building projects over 1,000 m2 to ensure life-cycle Global Warming Potential is optimised at the building level and to facilitate declarations of embodied carbon for inclusion in the Building Energy Rating/Energy Performance Certificate of buildings completed after 31 December 2027.
2.3.2 Whole life-cycle costing to be used by all public sector bodies for all works contracts as defined by the Capital Works Management Framework.
2.3.3 For the procurement of low carbon cement material, public sector bodies and beneficiaries of grant (Exchequer) funding should implement construction related technical guidance that has been developed by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment.
The guidance published by the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment (DETE) is available at the following link:
www.gov.ie/en/department-of-enterprise-tourism-and-employment/publications/procurement-guidance-for-public-bodies-reducing-embodied-carbon-in-construction/
The Whole Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions assessment referred to in Par 2.3.1of Circular 17/2025 and Paragraphs 5 and 6 of DETE Technical Guidance for construction materials takes account of the benefits of low embodied carbon materials such as hemp-based materials.
All materials used in construction works subject to Building Regulations should comply with all parts of the regulations and should be fit for their intended use and the conditions in which they are to be used. NSAI Agrément assesses, specifies testing, and where appropriate, issues Agrément certificates confirming that new building products, materials, fit for purpose in accordance with the Irish Building Regulations to those products and processes which do not fall within the scope of existing construction standards either because they are innovative or because they deviate from established norms.
653. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has issued policy guidance or circulars to local authorities regarding the governance and leasing of publicly owned sports facilities to third parties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14332/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra654. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has any role in approving, reviewing or providing guidance on governance structures for sports facilities owned by local authorities and leased to external bodies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14333/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra655. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has issued guidance to local authorities on community consultation processes in respect of publicly owned sports and recreational facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14339/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 653 to 655, inclusive, together.
Local authorities are independent corporate entities having full responsibility under statute for the performance of their functions and the discharge of their governance and other responsibilities.
As the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, I have responsibility for policy, legislation, Oireachtas accountability and, at a broad level, oversight, in respect of the local government system and my Department has responsibility in relation to some, but not all, functions of, and services provided by, local authorities. However, responsibility for Government policy on sport and the funding and governance arrangements relating to sports facilities rests with my colleague the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport.
