Louth TD ‘holding the Tánaiste to his promise’ on Living Cities expansion to Dundalk and Drogheda

By Olivia Ryan, The Drogheda Independent

The ‘Living Cities’ initiative, aimed at tackling dereliction in town centres, will be extended to Dundalk and Drogheda by June 2026, Tánaiste Simon Harris has confirmed.

The scheme, which provides targeted tax incentives to encourage investment and bring vacant or underused buildings back into use, has been extended until 2030.

It is currently in place in Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick and Waterford.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Simon Harris, announced this week that Dundalk and Drogheda will be part of the expansion in the coming months.

It is being introduced as part of the Finance Bill, which the Tánaiste is currently bringing through the Oireachtas.

The scheme has been expanded to cover properties built before 1975 and it will now also support the conversion of "over-the-shop" premises for residential use, helping to revitalise older urban areas.

The Tánaiste confirmed he would be writing to the local authorities, including Louth County Council, on the expansion of the scheme.

Speaking in the Dáil, he said: “The first step is to engage with the local authorities and I will write to them all this week or early next week. We will set a deadline of the end of January to revert to us with their proposals – a map - of where in the town should be covered.

“We will then engage directly with them and have that process concluded by end of Quarter 1 and open to applications as soon as possible after.”

“The Living City Initiative is a real opportunity to try and encourage people to come back into the towns and live in our towns. We know there are parts of our towns have suffered dereliction for quite a long time. This scheme can help stimulate investment in our towns.”

"It will bring new life and vibrancy into town centres, while also addressing the issue of housing. I am really excited about the impact it can have in the five towns. If successful, we can look at other areas too but the priority is getting this up and running as soon as possible and getting applications open too.”

Louth Labour TD, Ged Nash said that after years of campaigning on the issue, he “intends to hold the Tánaiste to his promise that the Living Cities Initiative will be up and running and making a difference on the streets of Drogheda and Dundalk, by the middle of next year.”

Deputy Nash said: “There can be no excuses for the government in implementing the scheme and Louth County Council have moved quickly and proactively to do their part in using the scheme to tackle areas of dereliction in Louth’s two biggest towns.

“As soon as the Budget was delivered and Drogheda and Dundalk’s inclusion in the scheme was signalled, I engaged with Louth County Council who immediately set about the task of preparing the maps that will set out the areas for attention, under the scheme.

“In the Dáil, this week, Tánaiste, Simon Harris said he would be looking for that information in the new year and I know that Louth have already provided it to the Department of Finance.”

Deputy Nash said: “Years of campaigning by Cllr. Pio Smith and I and community-based advocacy has finally come to fruition in the recent Budget as the government, at last, listened to my repeated calls and annual attempts to amend successive Finance Bills to have Drogheda and Dundalk added to the Living Cities Initiative.

Deputy Nash concluded: “With this new tool in our armoury, I look forward to real impact on the ground in Drogheda and Dundalk, breathing new life into our two largest towns.”

Louth TD Paula Butter welcomed the Tánaiste’s update, saying: “Tackling dereliction and breathing new life into our cities and towns is a vital approach in terms of us unlocking homes and increasing housing supply.

“I therefore want to strongly welcome this announcement by the Tánaiste, which will benefit our communities in both Drogheda and Dundalk.

“I will keep residents and businesses owners fully up to date with progress in rolling out this scheme in our county, which I believe will make a hugely positive difference to people’s lives.”

Meanwhile, the Cathaoirleach of Ardee Municipal District, Cllr. Dolores Minogue, has called for the Living Cities Initiative to be extended to the mid-Louth town.

Speaking at the December meeting of Louth County Council, she highlighted the Tánaiste’s comments, saying that Ardee could also benefit from inclusion in the scheme.

Thomas McEvoy, Deputy Chief Executive, Louth County Council, welcomed the Tánaiste’s comments, which laid out how the initiative would be included in the Finance Bill.

He added that the current phase, which includes Dundalk and Drogheda, is likely to be rolled out in the middle of 2026.

He said the council would welcome the addition of Ardee to the Living Cities Initiative.

“In any future phases we would be happy to put Ardee forward.”