Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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1186. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the position regarding any initiatives proposed by his Department that seeks to protect the architectural heritage of Georgian Dublin and the so-called Georgian core; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18995/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The built heritage of the ‘North Georgian Core’ can be an asset of great social value. The area contains a wealth of historic buildings which can be conserved and put to a wide range of productive uses to meet the diverse needs of people in the north inner city.

The Programme for Government includes commitments to review and expand the Living City Initiative, to incentivise conservation-led investment in Dublin’s North Georgian Core, and to ensure the new Towns and Cities Infrastructure Investment Fund promotes the regeneration of Dublin city centre. These are vital initiatives which, alongside the wider set of programmes and policy measures outlined in the Programme for Government, have the potential to deliver real improvements for those who live, work in, and visit the north inner city.

My Department is working already with Dublin City Council’s conservation section to survey historic buildings in the North Georgian Core in order to assess the extent of vacancy and dilapidation and the loss of historic fabric, and to identify priority areas for improvement. In addition to condition and use, the survey has been designed to capture data on the roofs, walls and openings of each structure to identify common issues which may be addressed by conservation grants or professional advice.

My Department is also supporting the Council to undertake research on the views of owners and potential investors in the area to understand the perceived barriers to successful investment in historic buildings. Informed by the evidence gathered through these initiatives, we will examine options and develop effective proposals to further support conservation works in the North Georgian Core.

Several large projects within this area have received funding from my Department's Urban Regeneration Development Fund (URDF), which will involve the regeneration and redevelopment of several areas of Dublin’s North Inner City that have suffered from dereliction and decline over a number of years. These projects are as follows:

Parnell Sq. Cultural Quarter Phase 1: URDF Allocation €60,443,467;

15/16 Henrietta Street - Na Píobairí Uilleann - URDF Allocation €9,834,899;

Mountjoy Square Conservation Plan - URDF Allocation €2,726,25041;

Parnell Square - URDF Allocation €665,056; and

11 Parnell Square - URDF Allocation €3,862,500.

Separate to this, my Department also assists individual custodians and owners in the care and repair of their historic structures by offering financial support and expert advice. Grants for owners are available under the Built Heritage Investment Scheme (BHIS) and the Historic Structures Fund (HSF), which are funded by the Department and administered in the main by the local authorities. As well as supporting conservation works, my Department funds the provision of expert conservation advice in respect of vacant traditional houses through the Conservation Advice Grants stream of the HSF. Historic structures in Blessington Street, Dominick Street Lower, Gardiner Street Lower, Gardiner Street Upper and North Great George's Street were among those awarded funding in 2025.