Cathal Crowe
Ceist:
166. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the main policy achievements of his Department since 22 January 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23080/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra
The information requested is being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy in accordance with Standing Orders.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Orders.
The Programme for Government - Securing Ireland’s Future, is the foundation for my Department's main policy initiatives. My Department's Statement of Strategy 2024-2025 was published in November 2024 and set out our strategic goals, objectives and actions. It is available on my Department's website at the following link www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/publications/statement-of-strategy-2024-2025/. A new Statement of Strategy for the period 2026-2028 is currently being prepared by the department and will be published imminently.
My Department's website, www.gov.ie/en/organisation/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage, is a good source of information about activities and initiatives undertaken, but by way of illustration, some of the key policy achievements delivered since 10 December 2025 are outlined below.
Housing
• Revised Secure Tenancy Affordable Rental (STAR) equity contract was launched and is available on the Housing Agency website;
• In line with Programme for Government commitments, a number of adjustments to optimise delivery of apartments and encourage greater take up of the Croí Cónaithe Cities scheme were introduced. These include broadening the geographical area to include the metropolitan boundaries for each of the five cities, bringing several important growth towns within the Scheme, and a reduction to the minimum unit eligibility threshold for developments from 40 to 20 units, allowing smaller developments to avail of funding;
• Establishment of the Housing Activation Office (HAO) to accelerate home building by unlocking infrastructure delays and coordinating the servicing of zoned lands;
• Establishment of the Housing Activation Delivery Group and Housing Activation Industry Group to support the HAO to ensure that infrastructure, policy and delivery partners are working together in a coordinated and transparent way to remove barriers and accelerate housing supply;
• Launch of new multiannual €1 billion Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund (HIIF) to support direct investment in housing enabling infrastructure;
• Launch of Call 1 of the Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund (HIIF) which opened for applications from local authorities and the Land development Agency (LDA) on 21 January 2026 and closed on 27 February 2026;
• Publication and launch of the new single approval process and associated guidance for all new build social housing construction projects up to the value of €200 million;
• Roll-out of a new single approval process to all 31 local authorities over the course of March 2026 in co-ordination with the Housing Delivery Coordination Office of the Local Government Management Agency;[
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• Approval of over €41m has been given to support the delivery of over 500 local authority affordable homes under the Affordable Housing Fund since December 2025;
• Ministerial approval granted for the first two ‘Allocation Plans’ for specified Cost Rental homes, under S.31A of the Affordable Housing Act 2021 since December 2025. These plans allow for the prioritisation of applicants with local links through residence, employment, or education;
• Ministerial approval granted to an Allocation Plan covering 16 new Cost Rental homes delivered in Monaghan town by Monaghan County Council in December 2025;
• Ministerial approval-in-principle granted to an Allocation Plan proposed by Tuath Housing Association covering 66 homes to be delivered at Montpelier, Dublin City in February 2026;
• The Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026 came into operation on 1 March 2026, introducing a new national rent control for all tenancies, which limits rent increases to inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) up to a maximum of 2%. For new build apartments and student-specific accommodation, however, rent increases are capped at the level of inflation (CPI) only. In order to provide greater security of tenure for tenants, the Act provides stronger tenant protections by significantly restricting “no fault evictions” for new tenancies. The existing provision for tenancies of unlimited duration is strengthened by the incorporation of 6 year Tenancies of Minimum Duration (TMD);
• Removal of child maintenance payments as assessable income under the Household Means Policy for social housing support;
• Publication of S.I. No. 669 of 2025 European Union (Construction Products) Regulations 2025;
• Publication of S.I. No. 670 of 2025 Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2020 (Construction Products – Market Surveillance) (Amendment) Regulations 2025;
• Enactment of Part 3 of the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks (Amendment) Act 2025;
• Publication of Insights into Total Development Costs Report 2025;
• Publication of data to show 69% of scheme housing intended to use Modern Methods of Construction(MMC) 2025 as a result of MMC Initiatives in Delivering Homes Building Communities;
• Publication of the Report of the Approved Housing Body (AHB) Strategic Forum, which is the most detailed examination ever by the State of the AHB Sector and outlines an ambitious vision and roadmap of policy development reforms to support a more resilient, efficient & effective sector;
• Legislated to increase the Statutory Borrowing Limit and funding capacity of the Housing Finance Agency to €13.5bn, to support the delivery of social and affordable homes by AHBs, Local Authorities and Higher Education Institutions;
• The Pyrite Remediation Scheme has been amended to include homes with damage condition rating of 1 with progression, as of 14 January 2026;
• Publication of the S.I. No. 57 of 2026 Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the use of Defective Concrete Blocks (Amendment) Act 2025 (Commencement) Order 2026;
• Publication of the S.I. No. 58 of 2026 Dwellings Damaged By Use Of Defective Concrete Blocks (Increased Grant) Regulations 2026.
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[1] The new single approval process, which replaces the 4-Stage and existing Single Stage approval process, removes the requirement for additional detailed submissions for review and approval throughout the project lifecycle. It is designed to align particular requirements related to the delivery of social housing, providing a more seamless approval process, with a clear and intentional focus on embedding standardisation and value for money. This new process covers all social housing new build and major refurbishment projects up to a value of €200 million, funded via the Social Housing Investment Programme (SHIP) incorporating regeneration and remedial works schemes; and the Approved Housing Body (AHB) Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS).
Planning
• Enactment of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2025;
• A new Towns and Cities Regeneration Investment Fund was announced. The new Fund will continue to support urban regeneration projects and the development of sustainable communities, building on the success of the previous Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF). The new Fund is open for applications until 1 May.
Local Government
• Commencement of section 12 of the Local Government Rates and Other Matters Act 2019, which provides for the application by a local authority of interest on overdue commercial rates;
• Publication of the Fire services Capital Programme 2026 – 2030;
• Establishment and conclusion of the work of the Local Democracy Taskforce to finalise a programme for the reform and strengthening of local government in Ireland.
Water
• Publication of the Water Quality and Water Services Infrastructural Sectoral Adaptation Plan;
• Publication of S.I. No. 673/2025 - European Union (Drinking Water) (Amendment) Regulations 2025;
• Publication of S.I. No. 403/2025 - Urban Wastewater (Nutrient - Sensitive Areas) Regulations 2025 which was prepared by the Water Advisory Unit and signed off by the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment on our behalf;
• Measures brought forward for developers to deliver new standalone wastewater treatment plants to bolster the service provided by Uisce Éireann to support increased levels of housing;
• Regulations to implement the Developer-Led Wastewater Services Infrastructure (DLI) initiative have been signed. The framework enables developers to construct wastewater infrastructure to Uisce Éireann standards, with completed systems transferring to the ownership of Uisce Éireann for operation and maintenance. The initiative is now operational and will be kept under ongoing review;
• New procedures created for active engagement by Uisce Éireann with potential developers of wastewater infrastructure to facilitate construction. The engagement framework is fully operational and will kept under review.
Heritage
• Cabinet approval of the second Sectorial Adaptation Plan for Built and Archaeological Heritage, developed by DHLGH in November 2025;
• Ireland ratified the 2001 UNESCO Convention on Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, with the Convention coming officially into force for the State of 11 March 2026;
• The Independent Advisory Committee providing recommendations relating to the development and content of the National Restoration Plan for the Nature Restoration Regulation met for the final time on 11 March, and have submitted their recommendations to the minister for consideration;
• The first Implementation Report of the National Biodiversity Action Plan 2023-2030 was coordinated by NPWS, approved by Government and published in February 2026;
• As party to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Ireland is required to submit regular national reports outlining the effectiveness of measures undertaken at a national level in meeting global biodiversity objectives. The 7th National Reports to the CBD was submitted in February 2026 by NPWS on behalf of Ireland.
My Department’s high level activity, with respect to the Statement of Strategy, is documented in its Annual Reports, which can be found at www.gov.ie/en/collection/f9a38-annual-reports/. Regular updates, in the form of press releases, are also issued by my Department, particularly when outcomes are achieved, and these can be found at www.gov.ie/en/search/?type=press_releases&organisation=department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage.
