The Office of Public Works is to begin using the GPO as office space while plans to redevelop the landmark building get under way.
The cost of regenerating the historic building on Dublin’s O’Connell Street, which served as the headquarters of the 1916 Rising, is expected to come to between €200 million and €500 million, reports RTE.
The Government today agreed to transfer ownership of the building from the Department of Culture to the Office of Public Works, which is due to begin a public consultation about its future use.
Proposals for the redevelopment were outlined to Cabinet by Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers, reports RTE.
Some unused parts of the building will be made available for community events while the long-term plan is being drawn up.
The redevelopment is expected to once again include a public post office, reports RTE.
There is also likely to be a cultural centre, government offices and retail space.
Meanwhile, Minister for Children Norma Foley was due to update the Government on the development of the National Centre for Research and Remembrance on Seán MacDermott Street in Dublin 1, reports RTE.
This centre will serve as a site of conscience to honour equally all those who spent time in industrial schools, Magdalen laundries, mother and baby and county home institutions, and all those who experienced Ireland’s historical adoption and boarded-out systems.
The National Centre campus will include age-friendly and disability-friendly social housing units as well as further and higher educational facilities, reports RTE.
Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris was due to update the Cabinet on the latest mortgage arrears review, which shows mortgage arrears have fallen to their lowest level since 2009.
The review shows a fall in arrears of 17% to below 36,000 compared with over 42,000 at the end of 2024, reports RTE.
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The number in arrears for more than 90 days has decreased by 19% in the same period to under 22,000.
The number in long-term arrears fell by 16% to just over 16,000, reports RTE.
At the end of 2025, the proportion of primary dwelling home mortgages in arrears of over 90 days stood at 3.1%, the lowest level since 2009.
Minister for Housing James Browne was due to inform the Government that he will increase the Housing Finance Agency’s statutory borrowing limit from €13.5 billion to €15 billion, aimed at enabling the agency to continue funding social and affordable housing, reports RTE.
The HFA provides low-cost finance to approved housing bodies, local authorities and higher education institutions to support social, affordable and student housing.
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill was due to seek Government approval to publish legislation that will pave the way for the prescription of contraception in pharmacies, with the Department of Health having also prepared clinical protocols and training for the purpose, reports RTE.
Minister for Defence Helen McEntee was due to bring a new defence and Defence Forces strategy statement to the Government, setting out an increased focus on maritime security and strengthening Ireland’s ability to defend its sovereignty in an increasingly uncertain world.
The minister was also due to seek Government approval to continue Ireland’s participation in the NATO-led KFOR mission in Kosovo for a further 12 months, reports RTE.
Minister for Higher Education James Lawless was due to tell the Government of Ireland’s plan to participate in the EU’s AI gigafactories initiative, a major strategic investment designed to strengthen Europe’s capacity to develop and deploy advanced artificial intelligence models, reports RTE.
AI gigafactories are large-scale AI computing facilities that will provide access to the advanced processing power needed to train next-generation AI systems.
Given the scale of investment and the energy requirements involved, Ireland is not expected to host an AI gigafactory, and would instead participate through an investment in a French AI gigafactory, with the proposed Irish contribution amounting to approximately €10 million to €20 million during the first phase of the initiative, reports RTE.
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