Fingal County Council has announced a significant overhaul of its organisational structure as it prepares to respond to the pressures and opportunities created by rapid population growth across the county, including sharply rising demand for housing, transport and supporting infrastructure.
The changes, announced today by Chief Executive AnnMarie Farrelly, include the appointment of a new Director of Service and the creation of standalone directorates for Housing, Planning, and Infrastructure. Council leaders say the revised structure is designed to strengthen delivery capacity, improve coordination and ensure that major development programmes can be executed at pace.
At the centre of the reorganisation is a sharper focus on accelerating housing delivery and land activation while maintaining Fingal’s strong record in planning and infrastructure provision. The Council said the changes are intended to continue its established delivery performance, provide dedicated resources for major transport and infrastructure schemes, and improve coordination across directorates to support more efficient project execution.
Senior Planner Róisín Burke has been appointed as Director of Planning and Development. She will lead a newly structured directorate responsible for planning policy, development management and identifying land activation priorities, as well as addressing infrastructure constraints that can delay delivery. The Council said the role will be central to maintaining robust planning processes while aligning them more closely with housing and economic priorities.
Ms Burke is a graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology and Queen’s University and has previously worked with Galway County Council and Dublin City Council. She joined Fingal County Council’s planning team in 2008 and, as Senior Planner, led the team responsible for producing the Fingal Development Plan 2023–2029, which sets the framework for growth and development across the county.
Meanwhile, the current Director of Planning and Strategic Infrastructure, Matthew McAleese, will move to lead a dedicated Infrastructure and Transport Directorate. The Council said this directorate will build on Fingal’s strong track record in infrastructure delivery and increase capacity to deliver critical infrastructure needed to unlock housing and economic lands. It will also play a key role in facilitating major public transport projects, including Metrolink and BusConnects, ensuring infrastructure provision keeps pace with housing growth and supports sustainable communities.
A standalone Housing Directorate is also being established and will be led by Paul Carroll, who currently serves as Director of Housing and Community Development. This directorate will continue Fingal’s housing delivery programme while overseeing the Council’s Housing Delivery Strategy and Plan, managing a larger scale of delivery and ensuring operational and financial efficiency.
As part of the restructuring, the Community Development Division, previously within the Housing directorate, will transfer to the Economic, Enterprise, Tourism and Cultural Development Department. The Council said this move will allow community development functions to align more closely with the Local Economic and Community Development Committee and broader economic objectives.
Announcing the changes, Ms Farrelly said the scale of Fingal’s growth required a more focused organisational response. “Fingal continues to grow at scale, presenting new challenges and opportunities for the Council. Under the revised National Planning Framework, the recently published Housing Growth Guidelines set Fingal a target of delivering 44,406 homes — private, affordable, cost rental, and social — over the next 15 years, with more than 70% required in the next decade.
“Building on the strong progress already achieved, delivering this level of housing will also require accelerated infrastructure delivery, including transport and utilities, to support sustainable communities. To continue this success and scale up for future growth, Fingal County Council is modifying its organisational structure with renewed focus on placemaking, delivering homes, supporting infrastructure, and driving economic development, while facilitating the delivery of major public transport projects.”
Local government analysts say the restructuring reflects the growing complexity facing fast-expanding urban regions, where housing delivery is increasingly constrained by infrastructure capacity and planning coordination. By separating housing, planning and infrastructure into distinct but closely aligned directorates, Fingal County Council is seeking to reduce bottlenecks and improve accountability across major capital programmes.
The reorganisation positions the Council to respond to national housing targets while supporting long-term economic development, signalling a more delivery-focused approach as Fingal prepares for sustained population and employment growth over the coming decade.
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