Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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361. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if under the new rules introduced, and the section regarding the rights of landlords/ tenants, that from 1 March 2026 there can be no evictions for a period of six years with two exceptions only (details supplied); if his Department will confirm in all other situations any tenant in a home as of 1 March has no obligation to move from the home if asked subject to the current rules as administered by the RTB and if the landlord has to sell they can only do that with tenant in situ under the new regulations; if his Department accepts that these new regulations if correct may force landlords into selling their properties before March 2026. [40205/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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In June 2025, the Government approved policy proposals for stronger tenancy protections to apply to new tenancies created from 1 March 2026 which will significantly enhance the current provision of tenancies of unlimited duration with the introduction of tenancies of minimum duration (TMD), involving rolling 6-year tenancies by a smaller landlord (with three or fewer tenancies) with a new tenant.

In limited circumstances during a 6-year TMD, a smaller landlord will be allowed to end a tenancy. This would include where the landlord requires the property for a family member (spouse/civil partner/parent/child) or where the landlord is experiencing hardship and requires vacant possession. A smaller landlord will also be allowed to terminate a tenancy using the limited grounds under section 34 of the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 to 2025 (the RTA) at the end of each 6-year period while the tenancy continues to exist.

Larger landlords (with four or more tenancies) will not be permitted to terminate a new tenancy created (i.e. first time tenancies between parties) from 1 March 2026 on grounds of intention to sell, landlord/family member occupation or change of use.

All landlords will retain the right to terminate a tenancy where there is a breach of tenant obligations or where the dwelling is no longer suitable to the accommodation needs of the tenant household. A provision allowing for the necessary vacation of a rented dwelling (to protect tenants’ health and safety) during substantial refurbishment/renovation works will be considered.

For existing tenancies (i.e. those in place on 28 February 2026), landlords will continue to have the right to terminate a tenancy in line with the provisions of the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2025 as they apply on 28 February 2026.

Legislation to give effect to these policy proposals is being prepared and will be published later this year.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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362. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to review the 20-year claw back for owners who seek to remediate their properties that are not their primary home, under the defective concrete block grant scheme. [40233/25]

Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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363. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the status of a project in County Mayo (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40249/25]

Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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364. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if projects in Castlebar (details supplied) have moved beyond the detailed project briefs and procurement strategies stage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40250/25]

Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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365. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the timeline for the completion of a project (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40251/25]

Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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366. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to provide details on how subprojects fit into the timeline of a main project in Castlebar (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40252/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 363, 364, 365 and 366 together.

In 2021, following the second call for proposals under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF), a provisional allocation of €11,027,500 in URDF support was announced for Mayo County Council's two successful proposals – the Castlebar Historic Core Reactivation Initiative (€8,527,500) and works to Castlebar Military Barracks (€2,500,000).

This followed Mayo County Council's successful application for €141,391 in URDF support towards technical assistance for the advancement of the Castlebar Military Barracks proposal under the URDF's first call for proposals in 2018.

Launched in 2018 with committed Exchequer funding of €2 billion, the review of the NDP in 2021 extended the URDF to allow projects, such as those in Castlebar, to be delivered up until 2030.

While my Department works closely and communicates regularly with Mayo County Council in respect of project funding, responsibility for the advancement of these URDF-supported projects through the various stages of planning, development and completion is, in the first instance, a matter for the Sponsoring Agency, in this case Mayo County Council.

It is a condition of URDF support that advancement of proposals/projects and related funding arrangements must accord with the Department’s Guidance on applying the Infrastructure Guidelines (formerly the Public Spending Code) to URDF supported projects. Under this guidance, local authorities must ensure that, where required, a submission for each of the Approval Gates is submitted to my Department for approval prior to progressing to the next stage of the project lifecycle. These Approval Gates (AG) are;

• AG1 - Approval in Principle (Preliminary Business Case)
• AG2 - Pre Tender Approval (Project Design, Planning and Procurement Strategy)
• AG3 - Post Tender Approval (Final Business Case)

Pádraig Rice (Cork South-Central, Social Democrats)
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367. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 598 of 8 April 2025, to provide a full update on the Cork Events Centre project; the status of the appointments of individuals to the project management delivery team; the key next stages, and estimated timelines; and the exact amount of public funding, from all sources, spent on the project to date in 2025. [40271/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The Cork Events Centre (CEC), which will provide a venue for concerts, conferences, community events and contribute to the economic and social development of Cork and the Southern Region, was included as a Government commitment under the revised National Development Plan in 2021. This underlines the Government’s support for urban regeneration, enhanced amenity and heritage, associated quality of life, balanced regional development, and the regeneration and development of Cork City Centre.

The Government decision of 22 October 2024 re-affirms its commitment to and ongoing Exchequer funding support for an Events Centre in Cork City, given its strategic alignment with the growth ambition for Cork City as set out in the National Planning Framework and the National Development Plan. A commitment to “work towards the completion of the Cork Events Centre to enhance Cork’s cultural landscape and boost the city’s regeneration” has also been included in the Programme for Government.

The Government decision requires that the procurement process begins afresh and that a Project Development Board (PDB), led by Cork City Council, be established to expedite the process. It also notes that every effort will be made by the PDB to ensure that the new procurement process, State Aid clearance and planning compliance are completed within a 12 to 18 month period.

The first meeting of the PDB took place on 24 January. It is chaired by the Assistant Chief Executive of Cork City Council, Mr Brian Geaney, and has representation from relevant Government Departments and Agencies, as well as members with relevant experience and expertise from Cork. It has met a total of six times to date and is scheduled to meet monthly throughout 2025.

Following the completion of a public tender process, CCC has recently appointed AECOM to lead the Project Management Delivery Team (PMDT), a multidisciplinary team being appointed to manage all phases of project delivery. Its work has now commenced.

The key first tasks to be carried out by the PMDT will include:

• Preparing a new Preliminary Business Case. This will include a comprehensive options analysis as well as a detailed examination of the procurement strategy taking account of state aid requirements;
• Preparing a timeframe for completion of the project;
• Preparing a risk register for the project;
• Preparing tender documents for the main project tender.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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368. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the up-to-date position with a housing project (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40282/25]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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369. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if his Department is working on updating or rewriting the Wildlife Act 1976; if he will provide details of the stage this process is at; if there will be a public-consultation element to this process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40284/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The National Parks and Wildlife Service of my Department is currently undertaking an important project to update wildlife legislation. This includes the Wildlife Act 1976, the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000, the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011 and significant regulations made under these provisions. The project is examining closely the effectiveness of our legislation in protecting wildlife and regulating activities that adversely impact on wildlife and biodiversity.

This is a complex undertaking, and will be carried out in a number of phases. A first phase of public consultation was undertaken in 2024 and my Department is carefully considering all submissions received. As the project progresses, further phases of public consultation will be held.

Many aspects of wildlife legislation are being examined as part of this project. A key focus of the initial phase of the legislation update will be on strengthening the enforcement of wildlife crime and on addressing legislative anomalies.

In relation to the Wildlife Acts, it is anticipated that two new Wildlife Bills will be published arising from this work. I expect to finalise and submit the general scheme of the first Bill to Government for approval in the first half of 2026.

Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)
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370. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the current funding levels of the housing adaptation grant, the disabled persons grant and the improvements works in lieu schemes for 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025. [40287/25]

Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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371. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the State’s biennial land audit, conducted via the LDA’s 'Report on Relevant Public Land', is being leveraged to deliver affordable housing and community infrastructure and the steps his department is taking to accelerate land transfer and repurposing. [40204/25]

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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372. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of social and affordable homes that are currently being delivered or at planning stage in Dublin south-central, and what the expected completion dates are. [40317/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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My Department collects, collates and publishes data on social and affordable housing delivery on a local authority basis.

Under Housing for All, each local authority was required to prepare a Housing Delivery Action Plan. This Plan sets out details of both social and affordable housing delivery as appropriate over the period 2022-2026, in line with targets set under Housing for All. Dublin County Council's Plan has been published on their own website at the following link:

My Department publishes the Social Housing Construction Status Report (CSR), which 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 1 2025 and it shows that there were 6,799 social homes either on site or at various stages of design and procurement in Dublin City at the end of Quarter 1 2025. All CSRs are available at the following link:

A version of the CSR file can also be downloaded for analysis by local authority, location etc. at this link:

In relation to affordable housing, over 14,500 affordable housing solutions have been delivered since the launch of Housing for All to end Q1 2025, including 535 affordable housing options in Dublin City.

Dublin City Council (DCC) has funding approval in place for six schemes to deliver over 1,000 affordable purchase homes with the support of the Affordable Housing Fund. In addition, over 1,300 Approved Housing Body Cost Rental homes have been approved for delivery under the Cost Rental Equity Loan scheme in Dublin City.

Furthermore, the Land Development Agency (LDA), through its market engagement initiative, Project Tosaigh, has delivered 210 cost rental apartments in the Dublin City County Council area, at Parkside in Belmayne, Dublin 13. The LDA is also working in partnership with Dublin City Council to progress the development of housing on 4 key local authority owned sites at An tSrúill (Cromcastle, Coolock); Donore Project (formerly St. Theresa’s Garden), Cherry Orchard Point, and Bluebell Waterways, with the collective potential to deliver over 2,200 homes. In addition, the LDA is also currently progressing delivery of over 4,000 homes in the DCC area at two privately acquired adjacent sites at Clongriffin and Baldoyle.

Building on this progress, my Department will continue to engage with all delivery partners to further the development of the affordable housing delivery pipeline for 2025 and beyond, and to ensure that the affordable housing programme responds effectively to the affordable housing needs identified at a local level.

My Department publishes comprehensive programme-level statistics on a quarterly basis on social and affordable housing delivery activity by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) in each local authority. This data is available to the end of Q1 2025, and is published on the statistics page of my Department’s website, at the following link: