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482. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to outline the high-level data on stock audits to date [51471/26]

483. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider amendments to apartment design guidelines to protect inhabitants from the adverse health consequences of extreme heat (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51553/26]

484. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide the web link to his Department’s Q2 2026 published report of purchase orders/payments over €20,000, in line with the FOI model publication scheme requirements; to confirm the date on which this report was published; and, if it has not yet been published, the planned publication date. [51567/26]

485. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to confirm that existing small landlords are excluded from the new RAS scheme launched recently; the rationale behind this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51581/26]

487. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the full funding provided to each local authority under the local government fund including whether the local authority was a beneficiary of the equalisation fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51698/26]

488. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has considered the provision of a specific funding allocation to Galway City and County Council to fund an office to direct the planning and development of the Galway Metropolitan Strategic plan, National Planning Objective NPO 67 directs that a MASP be prepared for Galway to guide its lo…

489. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will introduce a mink eradication programme in the Lough Derg area, similar to the initiative established in the midlands around Lough Ree; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51722/26]

490. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the Midlands Mink Eradication Programme; the criteria used to select this area for the pilot initiative; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51723/26]

491. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the area covered by the Midlands Mink Eradication Programme; the volunteer groups involved and the number of volunteers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51724/26]

492. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if further Mink Eradication Programmes are being considered for other regions across Ireland; if so, the areas being considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51725/26]

493. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will confirm if ranched Atlantic salmon will be added to the Third Schedule, Part 2A of the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 477 of 2011), in light of recent statements by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) confirming that ranched fish are a negative influence on …

494. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to clarify whether Men's and Women's Sheds as charitable organisations are exempt from commercial rates. [51746/26]

495. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if, when a commercial premises is being valued for the purposes of commercial rates by Tailte Éireann, if it is Government policy that solar panels installed on the premises will result in an increased valuation. [51758/26]

496. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total cost of engagement with a company (details supplied) in each of the years 2020 to 2025, across his Department, by project, year and value; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51770/26]

497. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total cost of engagement with a company (details supplied) in each of the years 2020 to 2025, across his Department, by project, year and value; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51788/26]

498. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total cost of engagement with a company (details supplied) in each of the years 2020 to 2025, across his Department, by project, year and value; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51806/26]

500. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to issue a directive to permanently abolish commercial rates for Men’s Sheds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51844/26]

576. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of Garda vetting applications received regarding social housing applications in 2026; the number of applications yet to be processed; and the average time it takes to return a vetting result. [51384/26]

577. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether, in line with the recommendation of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to Ireland in July 2025, in which it recommended the establishment of open prisons for women (details supplied), the Government has plans to establish an open prison for women, similar to Shelton Abbe…

602. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration for an update on the proposed General Scheme of Sale of Alcohol Bill 2022; whether the Government intends to progress the legislation during the current Dáil Éireann term; the engagement that has taken place with stakeholders regarding the Bill; when it is expected that the legislation will be brought before the Ho…

607. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if persons whose applications for International Protection are still being assessed, are being accommodated in social housing or in State supported private rental accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51837/26]

881. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to examine a written report on a scholarship programme, together with an independent auditor’s report, thus ensuring that this report is brought before the Houses of the Oireachtas (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50916/26]

207. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the engagement hi Department has had with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on the development of planning guidelines for anaerobic digestion and biomethane facilities, given the targets set out in the National Biomethane Strategy; whether he considers the absence of such guidelines to be a ba…

328. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a detailed breakdown of the funding provided for nature restoration. [50403/26]

329. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the estimated cost to double the funding for biodiversity officers, by cap ex and op ex, in tabular form. [50420/26]

Fair play to Deputy O'Shea for taking this opportunity to raise the issue. We cannot rest on our laurels. There is a lot more work to be done. There are still plenty of people in Cork county who need social homes. There is a huge demand for affordable homes so we absolutely need to accelerate that delivery. The Deputy is right in saying that when Cork County Council got the go ahead to deliver aff…

The Minister, Deputy Browne, sought that. The increase in allocation to enable 10,000 houses to be built, as opposed to any additional leases and so on, is also very significant. With respect, the Deputy cannot say it is about the market being king in terms of housing because the Government is the biggest single investor in housing at the moment.

Before I begin, I want to acknowledge that five Irish citizens have been kidnapped and detained by Israel today. If the Taoiseach and Tánaiste were here, I would appeal to them to do everything possible to secure their safe release and ensure Israel faced consequences for its actions. Instead, I appeal to the two Ministers of State present to relay that to the Taoiseach and Tánaiste. The real sur…

This budget is a budget for property developers and big American fast food conglomerates. In fact, the only PAYE worker who benefits from this is Ronald McDonald. Student fees are up by €500, with no commitment to €200 childcare or a public childcare scheme and no second tier of child benefit. In their speeches, neither the Minister for Finance nor the Minister for public expenditure cared to ment…

As the Minister, Deputy Browne, has outlined, there has been a very significant package of measures announced yesterday to accelerate the delivery of housing and this will be built upon further in the housing plan, which will be published in the coming weeks. I would like to take a few moments to talk through a few of the areas within my own delegated functions. These are local government and pla…

I will start my contribution on a constructive note, difficult as it is in the context of what was announced yesterday. I recognise the work the Minister, Deputy Foley, has done in keeping and growing the equal start programme and DEIS model for early years. This is a scheme I was proud to have initiated as Minister. It is already benefiting over 30,000 of the most vulnerable children in our count…

Yesterday evening I spoke about the macro situation and how the Fiscal Advisory Council had urged a cooling down, because the corporation tax receipts were not going to last forever and that this budget, in one sense because it came after a giveaway election budget, had shades of 2007. Now I want to move on to some of the specific measures in the budget. During the votes last night I got to talk a…

There is a lack of transparency around this budget. It is disgraceful. Despite having 15 Ministers and 23 Ministers of State, we have no costings of existing levels of service. How does the Government know what is going on within the Departments if it does not know the costings of the levels of services that are already in place? How does the Government know how much it has for new measures? It ma…

We have heard that housing is a priority, disability is a priority, child poverty is a priority and climate is a priority. They are all priorities until they are not. For this Government today, we have seen that, in fact, big business and protecting its profits are the Government's priority. The headlines in the run-up to this budget were consistent: an end to successive giveaway budgets. There is…

When the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, presented this budget, he said we were "making the best possible use of the resources available to invest in our future and to strengthen our foundations." I did not know whether to laugh or cry at that. As the House can imagine, coming from Donegal, we are living with foundations and houses that are crumbling down around us. We are totally abandoned. How can the…

Thank you, Deputy. Before I move to the next group, I ask all Deputies to be aware the office of President is beyond political debate; therefore, so are the candidates running in the upcoming election. I want everybody on both sides of the House to respect that. There is no mention of candidates or the President in this House; they are above political debate. Thank you. That is for everybody in th…

One of my constituents after seeing the budget today sent me this message: "Work, work, work, and at the end of the year you are back to where you started." After budget 2026 has been unveiled, many working families across the country are asking a simple question: where is the relief for us? Despite rising wages, soaring rents and relentless inflation, the Government has chosen not to adjust incom…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on budget 2026. In this contribution, I would like to mainly focus on the macro issues and some of the key measures announced, while in my slot tomorrow I hope to go more into individual measures in terms of what is welcome, what is unwelcome and what is a missed opportunity. There are plenty of missed opportunities both day to day and strategic. First, and I do …

It cannot be lost on us what we have done here today, in terms of adapting Leaders' Questions to deal with this issue. I commend the Government Chief Whip on allowing this today. I cannot remember a precedent for this, given all the crises we have had before. It was right to do it but it shows that this House can act, adapt and be flexible. I have to bring the Tánaiste back to the occupied territ…

I will answer the question but first, Deputy Bacik asked a question about the number of Irish citizens. I want to give the House the best information I have. When I came into this House, we had confirmed that 14 Irish citizens have been detained. I am aware that there are 16 Irish citizens in total but one of them may be a dual citizen so I think that might be where the 15-16 issue arises. I am r…

I am happy to update the House on the recently reached community pharmacy agreement and to take an opportunity in this House to recognise the very significant role that pharmacists play in delivering a more accessible and integrated health service across the country. Shortly after becoming Minister for Health in January, I began engaging with the Irish Pharmacy Union, IPU. It was the first repres…

Right across cities, towns and villages, there are empty, vacant, and derelict houses and buildings lying idle. They are being left to rot. These are properties and homes where people should be able to live, work and raise families, but instead they are left derelict and vacant. GeoDirectory has found record levels of commercial vacancy. It has also found that only 2,377 homes have been charged wi…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue and giving me this opportunity to update Members on the issue of vacancy and dereliction. I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne. Tackling vacancy and dereliction is a key priority for the Government. The reuse of vacant and derelict properties can provide much-nee…

I welcome this motion brought forward by the Social Democrats. It follows motions put before this House before. The Labour Party has raised this numerous times, particularly for young carers who are really discriminated against. If I may reach back into the annals, there was a Deputy, Willie Penrose, who raised this matter here for at least a decade if not longer. He argued that in real terms this…

I thank the Minister. The people I am talking about know about the help to buy scheme. Many of them do not qualify. The Minister referred to zoned land. We have zoned land in Kenmare. Johnny Healy-Rae raised this last week. There are two applications before Kerry County Council that have gone out for further information. Developers are supposed to provide their own water. They have been asked to …

I have just returned in recent days from the UN high-level week in New York, where the Middle East was a central focus of my agenda. This is a timely debate as we assess the horrendous situation in Gaza and the West Bank and as we look at the implications for wider regional security. I hope that this week's announcement of a proposed peace plan is a step towards a lasting peace that is so desperat…

The last two rounds of sports capital grants, delivered by Fianna Fáil Ministers in the Department, resulted in record levels of funding for north Tipperary. I was particularly delighted in the last round to have worked with Nenagh Hockey Club and BT Harps in Templemore, both of which got regional status for grants. BT Harps now have a full-size AstroTurf pitch in Templemore that is fully operatio…

It is a disgrace that we now face into October and legislation regarding retrospective payments for homeowners under the defective concrete scheme still has not been published despite the Taoiseach's housing Minister in June saying it would be. I expect the funds will be made available in the Government's budget next week, and if the Government fails to properly address this crisis yet again it wi…

Deputy Cleere was the first into the fray, regarding flood schemes in Kilkenny. He gave a very articulate presentation of the challenges and complexities of flood schemes. They take a lot of time and consultation. Given the frequency and ferocity of storms today, we need to move faster with some of these schemes, because the devastation of a flood on a household or on a town, or on shops and busin…

The motion is not unimportant but it is a symbol of support. The flotilla itself is also a symbol but it is much more; it is actual action. It is an action towards developing and delivering a humanitarian corridor into Gaza, something which the international community has failed to do. If successful, it would be a counterbalance to the abhorrent Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, as set up by Israel an…