Search Results for 'James Browne'

The revival of Ireland’s towns and village centres has become one of the defining challenges of modern planning, as communities grapple with vacancy, dereliction, and a shortage of accessible housing. The enhanced “Living Over the Shop” initiative—delivered through the expanded Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant—offers a practical and imaginative response to these intertwined issues. Welcomed by Séamus McGrath, housing spokesperson for Fianna Fáil, the scheme reflects a growing recognition that the answers to Ireland’s housing crisis and town centre decline may lie, quite literally, above our heads.

Galway County Council has become the third local authority in the country to actively rezone land to accelerate housing delivery, following a directive from Minister for Housing James Browne, calling on councils to free up serviced land for development.

Deputy Mairéad Farrell has called on Galway city council to address the six-month backlog of grant applications to adapt houses for older people and people with disabilities.

Enabling works are due to begin in the coming weeks to prepare for the construction of the new Merlin Park Wastewater Pumping Station upgrade on Galway’s Dublin Road, which will support the development of essential new homes. The project is being carried out as part of Uisce Éireann’s Growth and Development Programme.

More than €330,000 in funding has been announced for a range of conservation projects on heritage buildings in Galway. 

Albert Dolan TD has warmly welcomed today’s announcement by James Browne TD, confirming the continuation of the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant to 2030 and the introduction of a new enhanced ‘Vacant above the Shop Grant’.

The delivery of social and affordable housing continues to gain momentum, with the latest quarterly statistics revealing strong growth and robust pipelines across both delivery streams. This progress is reflected in the Q2 delivery figures published by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne TD.

In Galway City and County, €5.84m has been paid out which has brought 109 disused homes into use under the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant. In total, since the grant was launched in July 2022 up to 30 September 2025, there have been 765 applications from Galway homeowners with 520 approvals.

The Housing Finance Agency (HFA) has announced €500,000 in funding for 19 community-focused initiatives across 10 counties, including three in Galway.

James Browne TD, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, officially broke ground on a €23.6 million mixed-tenure housing development in Baile Chláir (Claregalway).