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539. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the details of the identified defects at the Oscar Traynor Road affordable housing project; and the actions his Department is taking to address this. [7819/25]

542. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his proposals to increase social housing stock; the measures put in place in this regard since 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7829/25]

543. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his proposals to increase the availability of affordable housing; the measures put in place in this regard since 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7830/25]

565. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on when the affordable housing units in the Oscar Traynor Woods development will be ready to be moved into; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8082/25]

633. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Minister for Justice given that the Courts Service in Roscommon has been temporarily relocated to Racecourse Road, County Roscommon, and considering that the main court house in the county buildings in Roscommon town centre was promised refurbishment, for an update on the refurbishment timeline, and specifically, when the Roscommon court house is likely to be refu…

95. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if his attention has been drawn to recent changes to the housing aid for older people scheme by the Department of Housing, whereby installation of fossil fuel boilers is no longer covered; and if he will examine a policy solution for the people affected. [6745/25]

231. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the Housing Agency has submitted its report in relation to the expansion of the defective blocks scheme to additional local authority areas to his Office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6867/25]

233. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the Housing Agency records the internal dimensions of rooms only and does not consider the areas occupied by internal partition walls under the enhanced defective concrete block scheme; if the entire floor area including floor area occupied by internal walls should be calculated for grant allocation; and if h…

236. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason for vacancies in private houses; the research that has been carried out to investigate the reasons for vacancies (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6898/25]

242. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for a list of all housing projects in Dublin west where Government funding programmes are involved, including the type of funding programme, for what purpose and the number of units involved. [6943/25]

244. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of social houses set to come on stream within the next five years in each electoral area in Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6945/25]

248. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to extend the eligibility of the tenant-in-situ scheme to all tenants in rented accommodation instead of tenants who already receive the housing assistance payment or the rented accommodation scheme, as this is a scheme that protects families from homelessness (details supplied). [6967/25]

249. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to detail the applications received by his Department from Waterford City and County Council for social, affordable and cost rental housing developments in each year since 2019, providing the year of application, type and quantity of each proposed development, current status, and where appropriate year of…

260. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when he will issue a statement to each local authority advising them of their budget for housing acquisitions in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7081/25]

263. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will detail the number, location and size of affordable cost rental units and the name of the housing provider in the pipeline to be delivered by 2030, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7084/25]

119. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if generators could be considered for inclusion in housing adaptation grants for people with disabilities and older people for the reason of medical necessity. [6551/25]

122. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of housing units applied for under both the CALF and CREL schemes, by county, in tabular form. [6559/25]

247. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the number of capital projects that consultancy houses are giving advice on currently; the spend per project to each consultancy house, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6737/25]

409. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider extending the temporary waiver in respect of local authority development contributions, in view of the fact it would greatly support annual housing targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6653/25]

413. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the commitment in the Housing for All policy to introducing minimum BERs in the private rental sector from 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5495/25]

414. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when he will provide local authorities with a direction about the purchase of tenant-in-situ properties where the tenant is on the council housing waiting list and their notice to quit is imminent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5496/25]

417. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he intends to extend the help to buy and new home schemes to include second hand houses or apartments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5512/25]

419. Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider reviewing the government criteria for the local authority affordable housing schemes, which stipulates that just 30% of new homes in such schemes are ring-fenced for local applicants, with a view to substantially increasing this figure; and if he will make a statement on the matter…

423. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he plans to raise the income threshold for social housing qualification in Tipperary from its current base of €30,000 per annum for a single person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5673/25]

434. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will extend the temporary waiver in respect of development contributions to local authorities for those building houses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5762/25]

The pretence that the Government cares about the rental crisis and the unaffordable and obscene rents that are contributing to the housing crisis and misery that many people are suffering this country is being dropped completely. We have a naked admission with this Bill that the Government is representing property speculators, investors and landlords. It is trying to justify it with the most perve…

I have heard some contributions in here in my time but the contribution from the Fianna Fáil TD, the lament for landlords we just heard, was quite incredible. Her whole contribution was about the difficulties of the landlords in this era, in 2026. This is at a time when teachers, therapists and building workers cannot find anywhere to rent, when the average rent, as we know, is now €2,500 in Dubli…

We are again being told that these are only technical amendments and that nothing is changing. However, in places like west Cork and in Killarney, County Kerry, next door to us, that reassurance rings hollow. These sections lock in a planning regime that was never designed with coastal rural communities in mind. They copper-fasten restrictions on short-term letting that hit family homes, small ope…

I want to be clear that I believe this motion to be premature, not because questions about Bord Bia are unimportant, because they are, but because we, as elected Members of the Oireachtas, have well-established processes for accountability. Those process are already under way. A motion such as the one before the House is hasty, risks politicising a statutory body and undermines the very scrutiny w…

The Minister of State mentioned the seed funding. The seed funding was actually a very good idea, although I will come in here and criticise, argue and disagree with the Government. However, there was a decision to cut it back last year. While €1 million was needed for community projects, only €450,000 was allocated, which was less than half. I think it was actually €1.2 million that was needed bu…

I intend to publish the national student accommodation strategy in the coming weeks. The strategy will support access to suitable housing for full-time students in publicly funded higher education institutions and aims to deliver additional student beds to meet projected demand out to 2035, without the need to have additional recourse to the private rental market. The aim behind the student accomm…

It is not planning objections that are the problem, as Mitchell McDermott said. We have 32,000 planning permissions that are being sat on. There are no judicial reviews, they have the planning permission, but they are not happening because of viability. What does that mean? It means profits - profits for your developer friends - or the lack of infrastructure, such as water infrastructure. We know …

Will the Tánaiste outline how proposed planning guidelines will take full account of the vital role short-term lets play in the Irish economy, supporting tourism, regional employment and supplementary housing needs? In many parts of the country, especially rural and seasonal areas, short-term letting provides essential accommodation for tourists, contract workers, students and families. These lets…

The recent Storm Chandra has caused chaos and disaster across the State. It shows the issues we are dealing with, and the need to make sure we have all the mitigations and flood protections in place that we possibly can have. I will deal with some specific issues in Dundalk and particular parts of Dundalk. I first want to commend the local authority staff, particularly those who were out dealing w…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I appreciate the Minister coming to the House to discuss the Bill. I am pleased to speak to my first Private Members' Bill. I note the Government has opted to delay the Bill using a timed amendment for 12 months. I am disappointed in that approach. I believe it would be better to allow the Bill to be debated in more in depth on Committee Stage. I…

Tairgim leasú Uimh. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "recognises that: — the Government acknowledges that disabled people face additional costs in their daily lives; — the Government's determination to address this issue is reflected in the Programme for Government commitment, to introduce a permanent Annual Cost of Disability Support Payment; — delive…

I will not move it then. As Labour Party spokesman on social protection and disability, I welcome the opportunity to speak on this very important motion. I sincerely thank colleagues in the Social Democrats for bringing forward this motion. It is very timely given the cold and unpredictable weather we have been experiencing over the past number of weeks. The Labour Party has an amendment to this…

I thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this motion, which is very important. We all know that people with a disability have the greatest need to be looked after. I honestly believe that people with a disability who are living on their own should be looked after more than anyone else because they face all the costs of keeping the house and trying to keep themselves warm. We all know that…

At the outset, I want to acknowledge the death of former Minister of State and Labour TD for Waterford, Brian O’Shea. My condolences and those of the Labour Party are with his wife, Eileen, their family and with his community. Let us talk about the Taoiseach’s so-called reforms to the rental sector. He has billed the Residential Tenancies Board amendment Bill as a reset of rental protections but …

I welcome the chance to speak on the Government infrastructure plan. I want to outline a number of issues that have arisen in my home county, Kildare. Last Monday, councillors in Kildare County Council discussed a variation of the current Kildare county development plan to cater for an additional 50,000 people in the county over the coming years. As everybody in this House knows, Kildare is a ver…

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail. I welcome anything that will help with infrastructure. The Government's failure is that it shoved people into the cities that had some infrastructure. What did it do then? It closed down every town and village around Ireland. What did that do? It drove up the price of houses because of a lack of supply. Askeaton has done without a sewerage system for 46 years. It…

I read the Government's plan. I read all 140 pages, plus the 17 pages of the Minister, Deputy Chambers's speech in which he called it an accelerated infrastructure plan. I have to say that if that is accelerated, I truly would hate to see the Government in reverse because this is a backward plan. That plan does nothing and delivers nothing. The Government's 140-page document barely talks about Cor…

This issue is critical, particularly in the context of our need to deliver housing across the State. If we are to deliver homes, we must ensure that we have in place critical energy infrastructure and water and wastewater infrastructure. The first question the person in charge of every State agency should be asking every morning is what is he or she doing to help to address the housing crisis. If …

I thank the Minister and am glad to have the opportunity to participate in the debate. This is a very serious and emotive issue. It matters to an awful lot of people. Sometimes there are debates when the political charges across the House add value but I was disappointed by Deputy Alan Kelly a short while ago. I was quite surprised by his character. It is not something I would expect from him. As …

First, I reject the spin the Deputy has put on the legislation the Cabinet approved today in respect of rent. Fundamentally, to summarise, what we are now looking at is national rent regulation and national rent control across the entire country. That is an outcome of this Bill. There will be strengthened protection for renters through the introduction of tenancies of minimum duration. That has n…

The Taoiseach saying that this is the most significant improvement for renters shows how low the bar is for renters in terms of improvements. Listening to him, it is easy to understand why people feel such despair about housing. The Government is out of ideas. We need a radical reset on housing and this Government just will not deliver that because that would mean admitting failure, and the Taoise…

That is an important point. I welcome the fact that the Deputy is at least the first person on the left to welcome the rent price register. Listening to everybody else, you would imagine Armageddon was about to befall us and there was nothing at all to be recommended. This Bill fundamentally strengthens rent protection and protects renters much more effectively than anything that has gone before t…

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion to which Article 20 of the Treaty on European Union relating to enhanced co-operation applies to establish enhanced co-operation as described in the draft Council Decision authorising enhanced co-operation on the establishment of a Loan for Ukraine, a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 21st January…

I thank the Deputy for her question. Before giving the specifics, I will outline the method by which we organise refuge spaces and safe houses. It is through Cuan, collaborating with various stakeholders. The Deputy will be aware that Cuan collaborates with domestic violence services, approved housing bodies, the Department of housing and local authorities to facilitate local action and support se…

Rents are directly linked to a lack of supply of homes. As usual, what we are not hearing from the Opposition parties at all is any alternative solution. Where are they getting their supply from? One in three euro of capital funding in this State is earmarked for housing and housing delivery. We hear calls from Opposition parties for more funding to go into it, but they will never say what they ar…