I thank the Deputy for raising this important topic. I will outline the ongoing initiatives for developing capacity in the electricity grid and relay the advice received from ESB Networks on the matter received. The Government does not have a role in the delivery of electricity infrastructure on the ground. This is in line with the 2012 Government policy statement on the strategic importance of transmission and other energy infrastructure, which states: "The Government does not seek to direct EirGrid and ESB Networks or other energy infrastructure developers to particular sites or routes or technologies." The Government, however, can assist and is assisting to ensure the right environment exists to enable the delivery of this critical piece of infrastructure. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, an independent regulator accountable to a committee of the Oireachtas, has responsibility for the economic regulation of the electricity system operators, EirGrid and ESB Networks. System operators are tasked with building, safely operating and maintaining a fit-for-purpose electricity system. Our electricity grid is made up of two interlinked networks, namely, the transmission network operated by EirGrid, which allows us to transport electricity around the country, and the distribution network operated by ESB Networks, which brings power to communities, businesses and homes. In December, the CRU published its final determination on price review 6, PR6, setting out the investment that will take place in our electricity system over the coming five years. PR6 represents the largest ever investment in our electricity grid and will see up to €18.9 billion invested by EirGrid and ESB Networks between 2026 and 2030, with a baseline of €13.8 billion guaranteed. PR6 will enable the delivery of major upgrades and developments to the electricity network across the country, facilitating housing growth and heat and transport electrification, all while enabling and driving industrial and economic growth in Ireland. The Government is committed to delivering electricity infrastructure. That is why we are investing €3.5 billion in equity in EirGrid and ESB Networks. The equity injection will support the ability to finance the unprecedented investment in our electricity system under PR6, with €1.5 billion transferred to ESB Networks last December to support the financing of our onshore electricity infrastructure. The remaining €2 billion will transfer to EirGrid over the next five years to support its investment in offshore transmission infrastructure. Now that the investment plans for the next five years have been published and funding for the grid secured, it is critical that, as a country, we deliver the infrastructure. That is why the Government has established numerous task forces to accelerate electricity generation and grid infrastructure. In 2024, under the accelerating renewable electricity task force, the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment established a future grid working group. The working group brings together key delivery staff from across the Department, the CRU, EirGrid and ESB Networks. It is tasked with accelerating delivery of the grid, identifying issues that are impeding grid delivery and potential solutions to same, along with identifying priority grid projects. The work of the future grid group has fed into and is supported by the work of the accelerating infrastructure task force under the Department of public expenditure, infrastructure and reform. In December, the Government published the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan to help deliver efficient delivery of infrastructure across Ireland. The action plan contains 30 time-bound measures to address 12 barriers to infrastructure development previously identified by the work of the task force. The national electricity grid must deliver connections locally and provide a quality electricity supply for new and existing customers.
Sentiment score: 0.24
I thank the Deputy for his contribution on the matter. I acknowledge that he has raised a serious and specific query regarding an issue in his constituency. As I said, the national electricity grid must deliver locally. That should mean providing quality electric supply for new and existing customers. Under the grid connection policy set by the CRU, connection applications are dealt with on a sequential, first-come, first-serve basis. As I outlined, the Government has invested heavily in acknowledgement that the grid is at capacity and that there is a need to improve and enhance it. I have already outlined just how much money the Government has put behind this investment. Under my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Chambers, we have also established the infrastructure delivery task force to ensure infrastructure is delivered effectively and in a timely manner and barriers that have been identified are removed. This is critically important for the development and maintenance of our economy going forward. The Deputy has raised a specific issue relating to Cappincur. I appreciate that businesses and projects in that area need certainty. I will bring back the message he has delivered this evening to my colleague, the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, to determine whether we can get certainty for the projects in question in Cappincur. We do and should expect ESB Networks to be able to identify, in a more timely fashion, exactly what is going to be needed. If a long lead-in time is needed for infrastructure improvements, it should be able to give the businesses in question the time to plan accordingly. As I said, the Government has invested heavily in acknowledgement that infrastructure improvements are needed. We want to see those rolled out in a timely fashion.
Sentiment score: 0.20
I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. I can confirm that I drive through her constituency probably every day getting to Leinster House and I have been in it many times. My brother lived down from the Iveagh Markets in Francis Street, so I know it well. The Iveagh Markets complex, a protected structure located on Francis Street, Dublin 8, was designed to provide accommodation for street traders. It opened in 1907 but, unfortunately, ceased operations in 1996 and has remained disused ever since. Today, the building is in a state of severe dereliction due to prolonged neglect and damaging interventions, with parts of the structure currently deemed unsafe. Dublin City Council has identified that the first step in resolving the issues with the building is to carry out essential stabilisation and repair works to prevent it from deteriorating any further. Dublin City Council has identified major works that will be required, to include the reconstruction of floor areas, roof and external wall repairs and the rebuilding of collapsed or demolished brickwork sections. Under urban regeneration and development fund, URDF, call 2, which was announced in 2021, Dublin City Council was allocated €179.7 million in URDF funding for two proposals across the north and south inner city, comprising 27 different projects. In 2023, almost €9.5 million of funding from the URDF was made available to Dublin City Counil for the Iveagh Markets project when it was substituted for another project from the south inner-city proposal. The proposal brought forward by Dublin City Council was to secure the fabric of the structure through a programme of essential works to be carried out to prevent this protected structure from further deterioration. Following the completion of essential stabilisation and repair work, this significant part of the city’s architectural heritage will be secured, allowing Dublin City Council to develop long-term sustainable proposals for its reuse. Initially the focus was on making the building safe for access, inspection, and survey work. Following a comprehensive dilapidation survey in 2019 and further assessments by the appointed integrated design team, it was determined that immediate interventions were required to facilitate safe entry and roof-level access. These stage 1 works included the installation of a crash deck, limited structural repairs and enabling surveys. They were procured through the Dublin City Council framework for building repair contractors and were substantially completed in October 2024. The current focus is on the main emergency stabilisation works, informed also by the 2019 dilapidation report and the extensive surveys and inspections completed by the internal integrated design team. These stage 2 essential stabilisation and repair works are required to safeguard the structure for the future and are expected to cost approximately €13.5 million. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage gave approval for the final business case for these works in August of last year. These works began last December and are expected to be completed over the next two years. The completion of these works will allow Dublin City Council to consider the viable options for the future use of the market.
Sentiment score: 0.12
I thank the Deputy for her kindness in her response in acknowledging that I was given the wrong answer to the question that was submitted. I appreciate that. My understanding from listening to her follow-up is that Newmarket was a community market that operated in an open space and subsequently ceased trading, and planning permission was approved for a development of a structure of some sort. I am not quite sure what the structure was but it was a building of some sort. As part of that planning permission there was a condition that a market would also be provided in the future for the community. The developer who got that planning permission is marketing the market at €66,000 per annum, which is in excess of €1,000 per week. That is excessive by any stretch of the imagination for someone to conduct a market. It is clear to me that what the developer is trying to do is to be able to go back to Dublin City Council and say there is no demand for a community market, but if you price something so high you will not get a demand. I hope the Deputy will use her good offices to identify to Dublin City Council what is potentially happening in this space. I am taking this all on what the Deputy is saying. I am not aware of it. If somebody is being granted planning permission to maintain a community space in an area, they should maintain the community space in the area, be it for a market, a playground or whatever. It is critically important in our communities that amenities for the communities are maintained. We need to see progress. We need to see commercial and residential buildings built and sometimes they have to be built on open spaces. However, when it is a condition of planning permission to maintain the community element and amenities in the space they must be protected, and Dublin City Council must ensure they are protected. That is its role as the authority that has given planning permission in the first instance.
Sentiment score: 0.19
On behalf of the Minister for Transport, I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to address this issue in the House. The proposal for the Cork northern distributor road, NDR, is set out in the Cork metropolitan area transport strategy 2040, CMATS, which was developed by the NTA in collaboration with Cork City Council, Cork County Council and Transport Infrastructure Ireland. During the preparation, the opportunity to thread together several upgrades of existing roads was identified. This would create a coherent orbital route on the north side of Cork city. This route, which was termed the northern distributor road, was considered to address several of the access issues that currently exist on the northside of the city and was included in the final CMATS document. As the Deputy is aware, the Department of Transport published its NDP review sectoral plan in November 2025. As is noted in the sectoral plan, procurement on the NDR is expected to occur over 2028 and 2029, with a view to construction commencing thereafter. The NTA has received all required documents and approved Cork City Council to proceed with the tender for consulting services for phase 3, the preliminary design, and phase 4, the statutory process, for the Cork northern distributor road project. Cork City Council published the consultants tender in December 2025 and has since received interest from 18 consultancy firms on the NTA’s framework. Cork City Council briefed councillors on this update in mid-December. Tender submissions are due by 13 March this year, and Cork City Council plans to appoint a consultant for phases 3 and 4 in May. Phases 3 and 4 are expected to take approximately 36 months to complete, which should then allow for the lodgement of a planning application for the project. Cork City Council plans to undertake another round of non-statutory public consultation after appointing a consultant, so draft designs are likely to be available to the public in quarter 3 of 2027. I look forward to seeing this project progress over the coming years and I thank the Deputy again for raising this matter and giving me an opportunity to update the House.
Sentiment score: 0.24
It is not in my gift to say that we can accelerate the timeframe for the delivery of-----
Sentiment score: -0.34
I will acknowledge that the Deputy makes a very valid case to ensure we have the right infrastructure in place to serve major companies that are contributing significantly in terms of corporation tax to our country and employment for Cork and across different regions in Ireland. I have been given a document this evening to outline on behalf of the Minister for Transport the current timelines in place. The Deputy will be aware that the Government and the Minister, Deputy Chambers, in the Department of public expenditure and reform, have published a document on accelerating the implementation of critical pieces of infrastructure. I honestly do not know if that will have an impact on the delivery of what the Deputy rightly identified as a critical infrastructure in relation to this northern distributor road. There was an acknowledgement on behalf of the Government that it was taking too long for infrastructural projects to be rolled out. As a consequence of that, a group was formed, an action plan has been published and those actions are there to be implemented to ensure we reduce the time it takes to put in critical infrastructure. I honestly do not know whether that will improve the situation the Deputy spoke about. I hope it will. I will bring back the points the Deputy has raised here to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. I am sure the Deputy will use the opportunity within his own parliamentary party, which is a member of this Government, to also articulate the points made here this evening.
Sentiment score: 0.22
I thank Deputy O'Hara for his question. I welcome the opportunity to discuss this important topic with members of the House today on behalf of the Minister for Transport. I understand that the Deputy’s question is in relation to the Athenry relief road in County Galway. As Deputy O’Hara is aware, and as outlined in the 2026 regional and local roads programme, the Government is strongly committed to protecting the existing road network. This network is fundamental in connecting people and places across the country. It facilitates business, education, tourism, healthcare, agriculture and the provision of critical services and activities. It is important to highlight that the improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of each local authority, in accordance with the provisions of section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on these roads are funded from county councils' own resources and supplemented by State road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is a matter for the local authority. Ireland's regional and local road network spans over 96,000 km and it requires significant funding to ensure it remains fit for purpose, safe and resilient. As such, on 17 February 2026, the Minister for Transport announced an Exchequer investment of €718 million for our regional and local roads across the State. This will facilitate an increase in funding allocation of €26 million this year for road protection and renewal works. The pressures on the regional and local road network mean that the primary focus for capital investment under the regional and local road grant programme is on the maintenance and renewal of the network; the implementation of the strategic regional and local road projects identified for development, subject to necessary approvals, in the national development plan; and targeted minor safety schemes across the regional and local road network. Any new road projects that seek State funding are assessed by the Department on a case-by-case basis. All projects proposed by local authorities for consideration must comply with the requirements of the infrastructure guidelines and the Department's transport appraisal framework. Given the limited funding available for regional and local road improvement works, it is important for local authorities to prioritise projects within their overall area of responsibility with these requirements in mind. To date, two of the four sections of the Athenry relief road have been constructed. Funding was provided in 2025 to facilitate the construction of the third section, which will connect the previous two sections already constructed. The contract was awarded in 2025 for the third section following the conclusion of the tender process, and the construction programme is under way. The implementation of this project is the responsibility of Galway County Council. In 2026, Galway County Council received an allocation of €2 million for the Athenry relief road to continue construction of the third section. The Department has provided funding to Galway County Council under the strategic regional and local road grant programme to undertake surveys to allow the development of the preliminary design, including aspects of the bridge works required to facilitate the final section of the relief road. This work has been progressed in conjunction with Irish Rail. The current proposal indicates that the existing bridge over the final road section may have to be raised and there may be additional impacts on another bridge. The cost implications are being assessed on the final section of the Athenry relief road and any possible impact on the business case for the scheme. In summary, the Minister for Transport recognises the importance of the funding provided to local authorities for the protection and renewal of the regional and local road network together with some targeted investment in road improvement projects. This funding helps to maintain a functioning, safe interconnected network that facilitates thousands of people in their day-to-day activities.
Sentiment score: 0.33
I thank the Deputy for raising forcefully the need for clarity and certainty in relation to when the next phase of works will happen for this relief road. I have outlined the current state of play and there is no point in outlining it again but I will undertake to raise what the Deputy has said this evening with the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, and ask him to come back to the Deputy with any further updates regarding the state of play of the road.
Sentiment score: 0.68
The Minister for Children, Equality and Disability would like me, on her behalf, to thank the Deputy for raising this important issue and offering her, through me, an opportunity to respond. She sends her genuine apologies that she cannot be here to take this debate. On 17 February, the board of Southside Traveller Action Group informed its public funders, including the Department of Children, Disability and Equality, that following an emergency meeting of the board and members, a resolution had been passed to place the company into voluntary liquidation on the grounds of insolvency. This was a deeply regrettable development as for more than 40 years, STAG played an important role in supporting members of the Traveller community and advocating for equality, inclusion and improved outcomes in areas such as accommodation support, education, training, employment, Traveller healthcare and youth services for local Traveller families. The main public funding organisations are the Health Service Executive, the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board and the Department of Social Protection, with an application also coming from the Department of Children, Equality and Disability to support and enable front-line service delivery. The Department of Children, Equality and Disability has contributed to State funding and supports to assist the organisation in delivering vital services for many years. However, over time, governance and financial challenges have been the focus of concern and attention of all State funders. Notwithstanding these concerns, and to ensure the organisation could continue to provide services, all funders continued to make funding available while allowing the identified issues to be addressed. All funders have a responsibility to ensure that public funds are used appropriately, transparently and in line with good governance standards. The effective stewardship of public resources is essentially not only for accountability, but also to maintain public trust, and safeguard the continuity of services for vulnerable communities. It was for that reason that public funders of STAG commissioned an independent finance and governance review of the organisation, which commenced in mid-October 2025. The review had not been completed at the time of the board's announcement. The Minister wishes to acknowledged the work of everyone involved with STAG over many years to represent and advocate for the local Traveller community in south County Dublin. Its contribution has made a real impact in the lives of many individuals and families who are among those in most need within society. At this point, each of the State funders will assess the implications of the board's decision and, in so doing, will be conscious of the need to ensure services are delivered for the community. In this regard, it is vital that services and advocacy support remain accessible, and the needs of Traveller communities continue to be prioritised and met.
Sentiment score: 0.33
Again, I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue, which is a priority for the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality and, indeed, for the whole of Government. The Minister acknowledges the staff, volunteers and community members who have worked with commitment and dedication over many years to advance the rights and well-being of Travellers in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area. Their efforts, often in challenging circumstances, have made a real difference to so many lives. This includes the significant contribution made by Southside Travellers Action Group in supporting local Traveller families after the tragic fire that occurred at a halting site in Carrickmines in October 2015, which the Deputy also acknowledged. The Minister and the Government are committed to working towards the effective inclusion of Travellers in all aspects of Irish life, most immediately through implementation of the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy II 2024-2028. Strong community organisations advocating for and representing local Traveller communities are essential elements in that strategy. In their response to the situation at the Southside Travellers Action Group, the public funding organisations, including the Department, will be very conscious of the need to ensure that services are delivered to the community. I will relay the messages the Deputy brought here this evening, particularly in relation to the lease of the existing premises. On a wider level, the Minister and her officials will continue to take steps under the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy II 2024-2028 to strengthen the supports available to local organisations to help them meet the governance and financial requirements that go hand in hand with public funding while at the same time, supporting their most necessary efforts to represent the genuine and authentic voice of local Traveller communities.
Sentiment score: 0.37