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389. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider implementing regulations to ensure that no new-build housing will have electricity supplied through overhead wires; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4788/25]

128. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of the application by Waterford City and County Council for a mixed tenure development at Fairlane, Dungarvan to include affordable, cost-rental, and social housing units; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3636/25]

129. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of the application by Waterford City and County Council for a social housing development at An Sean Phobal, County Phort Láirge; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3637/25]

130. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of the application by Waterford City and County Council for a social housing development at Shandon, Dungarvan, County Waterford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3638/25]

134. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider enabling local authorities to acquire proportions greater than 20% for social and affordable housing under Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 - 2021 in certain circumstances, such as in Ardmore, County Waterford (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the ma…

145. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will engage with an association (details supplied) that are owed an outstanding payment from Cavan County Council in respect of social houses delivered in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3826/25]

323. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if there are any plans that housing organisations which are listed on the approved housing bodies register be prescribed as bodies which are subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2676/25]

563. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of people in receipt of the housing assistance payment in County Clare for each of the years from 2020 to 2024, inclusive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3374/25]

574. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of local authorities currently using choice-based letting to make social housing allocations. [2239/25]

575. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of social homes purchased from financing institutions by the Housing Agency with their rolling fund in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024; the number of these properties that were then sold onto AHBs and local authorities; and the current status of the fund. [2240/25]

576. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to detail the housing supports that are available to persons suffering from mental health issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2295/25]

595. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 710 of 22 January 2025, to confirm that no circular has been issued to local authorities with respect to housing assistance payment rates for separated parents with part access to their children, whereby the HAP rate is changed when the child turns 18. [2671/25]

596. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will expand the scope of the local authority energy efficiency retrofit scheme by including windows and doors, heat pumps and ventilation systems as they are outdated and faulty in many local authority houses and this will also extend the lifetime of these properties; and if he will make a statement on t…

599. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will introduce a scheme of affordable housing and low-cost sites for towns and villages with a population of less than 10,000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2746/25]

609. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of persons in receipt of housing assistance payment in County Clare for each of the years 2020 to 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3037/25]

614. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the short-, medium- and long-term future of the cost rental tenant-in-situ scheme and the social housing variation of same, given that the issue is causing a lot of anxiety among tenants in Dublin south west with South Dublin County Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3098/25]

623. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the supports available to urban communities in establishing group sewerage schemes to replace failed shared sewers in older housing estates, similar to the group sewerage scheme grant which is available rurally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3298/25]

626. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the review of the existing suite of engineering qualifications in the local government sector commenced by the previous Minister for Housing; Local Government and Heritage in April 2024 has concluded; and when he will publish the outcome and act on any recommendations made within. [3311/25]

712. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the Q3 social and affordable housing delivery report will be published. [46343/24]

720. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to examine the case of the Housing Finance Agency interest rate adjustments (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46536/24]

739. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there is currently a limit on the amount of surplus funds housing cooperatives may have at the end of a financial year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46738/24]

749. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he intends to increase the targets for affordable housing for Cork city and Cork County Council. [46844/24]

753. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the per unit cost provided to local authorities for retrofitting of local authority housing. [46848/24]

772. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he plans to provide for a new local infrastructure housing activation fund or similar measure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1232/25]

778. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the regeneration of Pearse House, Pearse Street, Dublin 2, will commence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1310/25]

I thank the Minister of State for the opportunity to speak on the Health (Amendment) (Home Support Providers) Bill 2025. It is long awaited. Initially, it was due before the House five years ago. Repeated delays in its publication have had a detrimental effect on carers and the people who require home care support. This Bill means that home support in Ireland will be independently regulated for th…

The Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor will move the amendment when she is closing. I will begin in the same way all the other speakers have begun, by commending Deputy Ward on the Bill he has put before the House this evening. It is important that we can have a debate on nitrous oxide. Regrettably, everyone in this House is aware of the prevalence of nitrous oxide being used throughout th…

It is a real challenge. I have met lots of Dublin clubs over the last period of time. Access to land is a real difficulty for them in meeting the needs of their local communities. Certainly, in order to develop thriving communities, if we are developing new houses, we have to make sure we are developing the recreation and sporting facilities to be able to match that as we go forward. It is somethi…

I appreciate that response from the Minister and I accept it. These payments come under exceptional needs, essentially. If I might take the opportunity in my second supplementary contribution to raise another issue under exceptional needs, albeit under the same sort of general heading, there is the moving-in payment for people when they are allocated a house. There is a problem with that. I will g…

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important matter. It is a priority of the Government to get as many rentals as possible, cost rental and indeed in the private rental market, particularly those mom and pop landlords who have one and two houses, of whom there are about 85% in terms of those who have the market share. It is critical for a functioning economy that we bring in further supply i…

I thank Deputy Timmins for his response. I am very much at one with him and the vision he is setting out. The Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, along with the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste, has brought in a number of local authorities and continues to do so with regard to housing and zoning. This is setting the trend that we need to be more ambitious to ensure we underwrite the infrastructure for th…

Is mór agam an deis an seans seo a thapú labhairt ar cheist na hintleachta saorga. It is a timely discussion. It is important to recognise that the recent surge in conversation has led us to an reset about how we think of AI, the potential it brings and the power it has as a technology. Oftentimes in this House, we have looked at the positive benefits and positive potential of AI as a new technolo…

I thank the Deputy very much for his question. I am quite disappointed at how the Deputy has presented the situation in Wexford. I think of all of those who are working in mental health services in Wexford today. They would be disappointed by the Deputy's statement that Wexford has been completely left behind in relation to mental health services. I will approach this issue in three different way…

This motion speaks of failings that are all too well known affecting communities in Donegal and other places. There has been a failure of the Government and Uisce Éireann to deliver basic infrastructure, including in parts of my own constituency in Donegal. In one community, 40 houses have no running water. There are people who rely on wells as a source of water this year. That is a disgrace in 20…

Uisce Éireann is out of control and appears to be answerable to nobody. If the public was made fully aware of the loss of water through leaks across the country, it would be astonished. As a councillor in the past and as a TD since I was elected to this august House, I have had to deal with Irish Water on a number of issues. One leak that comes to mind was where a pipe in Wexford town was losing 1…

I thank Deputy Collins for initiating this debate. He has pushed hard for it over the past number of weeks in the Business Committee. A number of things about Uisce Éireann need to change and change utterly. One is the culture of the organisation, which has shifted hugely in the past four years, and I will outline two examples to illustrate that. One relates to my constituency and the Swords wast…

I attended a meeting of the European Council on 18 December in Brussels. Substantial items for discussion included Ukraine; the EU’s next multi-annual financial framework, MFF; the situation in the Middle East; EU enlargement; and Europe’s competitiveness in a changing global context. Other items on the agenda were European security and defence; migration; the fight against antisemitism, racism an…

Thank you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I hear these comments about this being unusual and this being strange but we can look at record of this House from when Panama was invaded in 1989 and Noriega was removed. It was a very different story in this House, so we see precedent. I congratulate President Trump for what he is doing and send him my support because there are a lot of people who, because the…

I agree that this is largely technical. As the Minister said, it deals with issues such as the role and appointment of GEOs, their various powers to enter land, the 21-day waiting period, the determination of the form of a safety permit, and the transition or grandfathering provisions. I welcome the fact the Minister is committed to working with Deputies to progress the Bill because some more work…

Going through the Bill, we cannot argue. Improving safety is something that we really do need, especially in the operation and maintenance of our gas networks. I have heard other Deputies mention it. The improvements are important. Protecting our citizens is one of the main things that we in this Chamber do. As Deputy Gogarty has said, however, the measures are not grappling with the elephant in t…

I thank Deputies for their contributions to the debate. The Government welcomes the considerations and contributions on this Stage. I look forward to what I think, based on what I heard, will be the Deputies' support in progressing the Bill through the House. The Gas Safety (Amendment) Bill 2026 will make crucial and long-sought changes to our regulatory regime for natural gas and liquified petrol…

I thank Deputy Bacik for raising a very important issue and for wishing me a happy new year. I reciprocate and wish her a very happy new year also. The showdown at the moment has been Russia versus Europe. That is the real showdown of substance. I do not like using the word “showdown” – it is conflict. It is an illegal invasion of Ukraine, which has been going on for four years, an appalling atta…

It is not often in this House you feel like you are making any progress at all, but I wish to congratulate the Minister of State on bringing forward this Bill. I know it is something which she and many of us in Fianna Fáil have been working on for some time. I should probably also note the support of the former Minister, Stephen Donnelly, when he was in the House. In August 2023, a number of peop…

The ratification of the Mercosur trade deal represents the greatest failure of an Irish Government to protect Irish family farmers since we joined the EEC. It is a betrayal of Irish agriculture comparable to what the Common Fisheries Policy was to our fishing community. The roots of this betrayal, which is what it is, go way beyond the last week or so. The roots lie, in the first instance, in an …

I thank the Minister for the update but the information I have is that Liberty Street House will be out of staff by mid-January and is currently not recruiting. I understand it has not replaced the staff who have left, been redeployed or have retired. I want the Minister to be right, and I hope she is right, in what she has just said here. Liberty Street House has been operating very successfully …

I have two worries on foot of the Minister's comments. She is saying that the services are being integrated. Is Liberty Street House being closed down? Liberty Street House provides a service to young people who are at risk of homelessness and who enter homelessness. I am looking for a commitment now that this will not be closed down. The information I have is from people who are in the know. They…

The reality is that there are difficulties with our grid, which is very constrained. Investment in the grid must take place, which the Minister of State mentioned in response to the previous question. However, the cost of that should not be borne by ordinary householders but by the State and by larger energy consumers. A big part of the problem is that data centres are taking up almost one third o…

I would like to say fáilte to the British ambassador agus roimh na daltaí freisin. I want to begin by wishing the Tánaiste, his family, all Deputies, people watching at home and all the staff in the Oireachtas, who do very important work, a very happy and peaceful Christmas. I also want to take this opportunity to highlight the plight of Oireachtas broadcast workers who will now be laid off for th…

I corroborate the call to act on behalf of the Oireachtas TV workers. This issue has been raised with the Government on several occasions. It is shameful that the workers are laid off during the summer and at Christmas, particularly when they are responsible for broadcasting the proceedings in these Chambers. Christmas should be a happy time. For many, it will be a happy and joyful time. As has b…

One third of those who are homeless were evicted from the private rental sector. Quite simply, they would not be in emergency accommodation and the children to whom I refer would not be suffering this hardship if the Government had not lifted the no-fault eviction ban. We have an emergency. We have the highest level of child homelessness ever. If that is not an emergency, I honestly do not know w…