Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 November 2023
603. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason all housing circulars are not published on the gov.ie website as matter of routine; if he will give a commitment to ensuring that they are made publicly available in future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47421/23]
View answerMy Department uses a variety of media to support the dissemination of circulars, including emailing directly to relevant contacts and posting to the Department's website.
My Department regularly publishes circulars online. These are accessible on the government circulars database: www.gov.ie/en/circulars/. On this website, users can search for circulars in a number of ways: by department, year, keyword or circular id number.
Twenty eight Department circulars were published on the www.gov.ie/en/circulars site in 2022. So far this year, 17 circulars have been published on this site on a variety of topics including the Built Heritage Investment Scheme 2024, Exempted Developments Regulations and the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund.
In relation to the local government sector and state bodies under the aegis of my Department, an extranet facility known as 'eCirculars' is also used to disseminate relevant circulars.
My Department does not routinely publish these circulars as these are generally direct communications with local authorities on policy and operational matters for direct action.
My Department is committed to ongoing improvements to ensure that documentation is publicly available and reviews its procedures on an ongoing basis to ensure we publish as many circulars as deemed appropriate.
