Minutes of the Economic, Enterprise & Tourism Development Strategic Policy Committee Meeting held on 11th June 2025 which had been circulated were considered.

It was PROPOSED by Councillor Tom O’Leary and seconded by Councillor Kieran Dennison “The minutes of the meetings of the 11th of June 2025 be ADOPTED.”

John Quinlivan, Director of Services, presented a report updating members on the various deliverables set out in the programme as well as key milestones and developments across numerous sections.

The report was NOTED.

Declan Power, Senior Executive Officer, following requests from the members’ provided a detailed programme and budget analysis with an extensive discussion covering a range of potential alternatives. John Quinlivan, Director of Services, undertook to consider members’ comments to explore the options further and proposed holding a Councillor briefing with a view to bring it forward to the Corporate Policy Group and to the Full Council.

The presentation was NOTED.

Aoife Sheridan, Senior Executive Officer presented the Future Fingal: Sustainable Fingal Strategy which outlined steps taken so far and a timeline for implementation of this initiative. As stated at the March 2025 Strategic Policy Committee meeting the project was due to commence in June 2025 with an initial assessment & Gap analysis taking place over the Summer, however this was unsuccessful. New consultants were appointed in August 2025 and have since commenced the work. It is anticipated to have this adopted by the Council in Q1 2026.

Declan Ryan, Senior Executive Officer, provided an update on the Urban Regeneration and Development Strategy. He highlighted the €10 million secured under Urban Regeneration and Development Funding for renewing derelict properties. The Our Balbriggan plan has been extended to 2030 to support ongoing regeneration. Progress continues with Town Centre First initiatives in Lusk, Rush and Skerries, with Town Centre

Health Checks set to within the next 6 – 8 weeks. The number of derelict property projects is expected to increase to 18 in 2026.

The presentation was NOTED

The below motion, in the name of Councillor J. Humphreys was proposed by Councillor J. Humphreys and seconded by Councillor K. Dennison.

“That the Chief Executive prepare a report on any actions taken or planned to be taken by the Council to leverage the two major American football events taking place in Dublin in 2025 — the Aer Lingus College Football Classic and the Pittsburgh Steelers game at Croke Park — in line with the Fingal Tourism Strategy 2024–2029, which commits to strengthening Fingal’s profile as a destination and increasing visibility through coordinated branding and promotion.”

Report: 

The Tourism Development team are in in regular consultation with both Failte and Tourism Ireland regarding such opportunities, and in parallel are developing a Fingal Tourism marketing plan to deliver on the referenced strategy objective.

This has led to the inclusion of Malahide Castle and Casino in the official Aer Lingus College Football Classic Game App. The App will launch in June and include a special offer which will feature prominently, targeting both international and domestic planning their trips. The inclusion of a Fingal site is something that can be built upon in future years.

For the 2025 event, a campaign is being devised to use the event to drive promotion and awareness of Fingal and Fingal sites.

The report was ACCEPTED.