Local Government Reform

198. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to take into consideration the importance of Killarney town as an international tourist destination, the importance of the town to County Kerry's economy by re-establishing Killarney Town Council as a matter of priority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50280/26]

485. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the Local Government Task Force Report will be available to the public; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49227/26]

185. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he intends reforming local government to give more powers to democratically elected councillors as opposed to council management; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48202/26]

340. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has considered the review of local Government and that Ireland has fewer councillors per capita than any other European country; and his plans to increase the number of councillors prior to the next local elections. [48748/26]

444. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when he will publish the local Government Taskforce Report. [47267/26]

116. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the recommendations of final report of the Local Democracy Taskforce will be implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46387/26]

331. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the report of the Local Democracy Taskforce, which was presented to him on 4 March 2026, will be published; whether he accepts that withholding the report until an implementation plan is finalised is unreasonable given the public interest in its recommendations; if, in the event of further delays in finalisi…

1656. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the local government taskforce has submitted its report to Government; the number of recommendations this contains; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24071/26]

215. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to outline his approach and plans for local government reform; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16266/26]

250. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to confirm the date the Local Government Taskforce is expected to deliver its report to Government; and whether he will agree to publish this on receipt. [16728/26]

406. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to confirm whether the Department operates any formal or published criteria for the designation of city status; if not, to outline the objective benchmarks used in advising Government on such matters; and if he will publish the basis upon which existing cities were designated. [18202/26]

407. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the current population of each designated city in the State at the time of its most recent legislative confirmation; to specify the population threshold, if any, that would trigger consideration of city status for another urban area. [18203/26]

408. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to clarify whether the Government has considered the designation of Dundalk as a city in the context of its strategic role within the Dublin-Belfast economic corridor; and whether any cross-departmental discussions have taken place on this matter. [18204/26]

409. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the Department has examined the establishment of a Dundalk metropolitan district with enhanced urban governance powers; the legislative steps that would be required; and to confirm whether this has been considered as a precursor to city designation. [18205/26]

410. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a comparative analysis of Dundalk and the five designated cities in terms of population size, economic output, higher education provision and regional strategic role; and to indicate in which areas Dundalk falls short of city designation criteria, if any such criteria exist. [18206/26]

411. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the Government has any intention within the lifetime of the current National Planning Framework to designate additional cities; and if not, to state the policy rationale for maintaining the current structure. [18207/26]

412. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to outline whether a boundary review of Dundalk has been considered in light of sustained population growth; to state the mechanism by which such a review could be initiated; and whether the Minister will commit to examining this matter. [18208/26]

400. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on the most recent Local Democracy Taskforce meeting; if he can provide an update on the publication of its final report, including any emerging themes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16107/26]

648. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if, given the significant increase in population, he will increase the number of city and county councillors nationally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14320/26]

628. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the local democracy taskforce have reviewed the report of the expert advisory group on local government arrangements in Galway, published in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5765/26]

258. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the delivery of local democracy taskforce report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4888/26]

634. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the current status of the Local Democracy Taskforce; the dates of meetings held; which key milestones have been completed to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3376/26]

635. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the expected timeline for the publication of the Local Democracy Taskforce’s recommendations; if the recommendations will be provided to Government and published in the first half of 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3377/26]

636. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to list the stakeholder organisations that have submitted to the Local Democracy Taskforce consultation; to provide an outline of the key themes emerging from the consultation submissions date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3378/26]

96. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to re-introduce town councils; the way in which he will approach this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65158/25]