Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 March 2026
1020. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount spent to date by his Department to facilitate Ireland’s participation in the Marché International des Professionels de l'Immoblier 2026 Conference in Cannes, by expenditure type, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18807/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra1021. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the persons attending the Marché International des Professionels de l'Immoblier 2026 Conference in Cannes on behalf of the Irish Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18808/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra1022. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide documentation, presentations and promotional material produced by the Irish government and/or his Department for the Marché International des Professionels de l'Immoblier 2026 Conference in Cannes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18809/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra1023. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide the organisers of the Irish stand at the Marché International des Professionels de l'Immoblier 2026 Conference in Cannes; his Department’s involvement in same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18810/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra1066. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 191 on the 4 of March 2026, if he could provide the value of the sponsorship in cash terms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19394/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra1067. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the sponsor of Ireland's participation in Marché International des Professionnels de l'Immobilier (MIPIM) Conference last year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19399/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 1020 to 1023, inclusive, and 1066 and 1067 together.
There is no single solution to the funding and cost challenges in housing supply. Delivering Homes, Building Communities sets out a range of interdependent and complementary actions that seek to address these challenges.
Part of this plan is to recognise that even with the largest housing budget in the history of the State providing unprecedented levels of investment in housing, Government cannot fund all of the estimated €20 billion development finance needed annually to achieve the delivery of 300,000 new homes by 2030. The majority of the finance required will need to be sourced from private sources. It is imperative that patient and sustainable private capital is attracted, including from international sources, in line with similar practice by our European neighbours and beyond.
Under Delivering Homes, Building Communities, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, in partnership with other key Government Departments and agencies, will lead a co-ordinated programme of stakeholder engagement on the role of private capital, including institutional investment, in supporting additional housing supply.
In that regard, the Irish Government led a coordinated national presence at MIPIM 2026, one of the world’s leading real estate and investment forums which took place in Cannes, France from 9th to 12th March. The key aim of Ireland at MIPIM 2026 was to establish a presence at the conference to compete with other countries and cities for a limited supply of international capital which is crucial to fund increased supply of new housing in Ireland. In support, a total of eight officials from my Department attended MIPIM 2026.
The organisation of the Ireland Pavilion at MIPIM was overseen by my Department, working closely via a joint working group with the Department of Finance, the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund and the Housing Agency.
Having reviewed how other countries and cities fund their attendance at MIPIM and in line with that, private sector sponsors funded the event costs of Ireland at MIPIM 2026. The sponsors were coordinated through two key representative bodies, Irish Institutional Property and Property Industry Ireland.
Sponsors included AIB, Ardstone, Bank of Ireland, Cairn, Evara, Glenveagh, Avenue Capital Group, A&L Goodbody, I-RES, Kennedy Wilson, KPMG, Lioncor, Matheson and McCann Fitzgerald. These organisations have a shared interest in MIPIM and in increasing the pool of private investment which is available for funding new residential and complementary development in Ireland. This sponsorship covered the financial cost to Ireland at MIPIM 2026 in terms of the Ireland pavilion and the associated organisational supports, the quantum of which may be commercially sensitive information and my Department will need to consider further.
Ireland at MIPIM 2026 centred around an ‘Ireland’ pavilion which hosted a series of panel discussions and interviews to highlight the operational environment and growth potential for residential development in Ireland. The discussions included a mix of public and private sector participants discussing key themes. All the information is available at irelandatmipim.com
The public delegation was led by myself, as Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and included officials from my own Department, the Department of Finance, the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, the Housing Agency, some local authorities and IDA Ireland. Any costs relating to the travelling delegation from my Department, such as flights and accommodation, were borne by the Department in line with the standard approach to attendance at international conferences and are currently being concluded.
