Report No. 219/2026 presents the minutes of the Planning and Urban Regeneration Strategic Policy Committee meeting held on 24th June 2026, chaired by Councillor Cian Farrell.
Main issues
Strategic Policy Committees (SPCs) are council committees that advise on policy. Their task is to advise and assist the council in formulating, developing and reviewing policy. Their statutory basis is Section 48 of the Local Government Act 2001, as amended by the 2014 Act. The full Council remains the decision-making authority, and the final decision on strategic issues rests with it. The Planning and Urban Regeneration SPC has 10 councillors and 5 sectoral members. Its remit covers forward planning, development management, urban renewal, building control, heritage and property acquisition and disposal. All SPC meetings are broadcast live and recorded by Dublin City Council. Minutes of each meeting are brought to the full Council as a report, as in this case.
The Project Management Unit (PMU) comes from the national Dublin City Task Force. The Government set up the Task Force in May 2024 to make the city centre a thriving, attractive and safe place to live, work and visit. The PMU is being put in place on an interim basis, ahead of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). It sits within the Council's City Co-ordination Office. It is due to last until a legal entity is fully established.
Recent developments: Robert Watt is to be seconded to the Council as head of the PMU and CEO-Designate of the SPV. The PMU's work includes public realm projects such as College Green.
Why it matters: the PMU will oversee major city-centre capital projects. Councillors and residents therefore have an interest in how it is governed and how openly it reports. The SPC system is meant to give elected members a role in shaping policy.
