Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is a department of the Government of Ireland. It is led by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

Departmental team

The departmental team consists of the following:

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage: James Browne, TD
*Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage with special responsibility for local government and planning: John Cummins, TD
*Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage with special responsibility for nature, heritage and biodiversity: Christopher O'Sullivan, TD
*Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage with special responsibility for housing: Kieran O'Donnell, TD
Secretary General of the Department: Graham Doyle
Overview

The headquarters and ministerial offices of the department are in The Custom House, Dublin 1. The department also has offices in Wexford and Ballina, County Mayo, with the headquarters of Met Éireann, the weather forecasting service, in Glasnevin, Dublin.
The department has the following divisions:

Through its local government functions, it is responsible for the conduct of elections and referendums.

The following bodies are under the aegis of the department:

An Coimisiún Pleanála
An Fóram Uisce
Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority
Docklands Oversight and Consultative Forum
the Electoral Commission
Gas Networks Ireland
Heritage Council
Housing Agency
Housing Finance Agency
Land Development Agency
Local Government Management Agency
National Oversight and Audit Commission
National Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee
Pyrite Resolution Board
Residential Tenancies Board
Property Services Regulatory Authority
Property Services Appeal Board
Tailte Éireann, an agency for surveying, registering ownership, and valuing land.
Uisce Éireann
Valuation Tribunal
Waterways Ireland
History

In the Ministry of Dáil Éireann in the Irish Republic, a Ministry of Local Government was established on 2 April 1919. In the Irish Free State, there was a Minister for Local Government as part of the first Executive Council of the Irish Free State established in 1922. The Department of Local Government and Public Health was given a statutory basis by the Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924. This act provided it with:
It also assigned it with the following branches of administration:

The Local Government Board for Ireland, including appeals under the Old Age Pensions Acts.
The Inspectors of Lunatic Asylums in Ireland.
National Health Insurance Commission.
The Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages in Ireland.
Roads Department.
Clerk of the Crown and Hanaper so far as concerned with Elections.
General Nursing Council and Central Midwives Board.

Over the years the name and functions of the department have changed several times.