Search the Dáil record

482. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason the provision does not extend to applicants who were required to sell or leave a previous home due to it no longer being suitable for a family member with a disability or additional needs who plan to obtain a derelict home but do not have the funds to start the work and refused mortgages through the b…

484. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider reviewing or amending the eligibility criteria to ensure that such families are not excluded from accessing the scheme on this basis of disability or additional needs (details supplied) [49223/26]

485. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the Local Government Task Force Report will be available to the public; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49227/26]

486. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage following the passing of the Dáil motion extending the defective concrete block scheme to County Meath, if all or part of the county is included; if not which parts are included; when householders in County Meath can now apply for the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49277/26]

487. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing; Local Government and Heritage the number of wind energy projects currently within the planning system in the State; the total generating capacity in MW associated with these projects; to provide a breakdown by county, stage in the planning process including pre-application, application lodged, under assessment, and on appeal to An Coimisiú…

488. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing; Local Government and Heritage the number of wind energy projects that have received planning permission but have not yet commenced construction; the total generating capacity in MW represented by these projects; the length of time elapsed since permission was granted in each case; to provide a breakdown by county, project size, and stated …

489. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing; Local Government and Heritage the number of solar energy projects currently within the planning system in the State; the total generating capacity in MW associated with these projects; to provide a breakdown by county, stage in the planning process including pre-application, application lodged, under assessment, and on appeal to An Coimisi…

490. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing; Local Government and Heritage the number of solar energy projects that have received planning permission but have not yet commenced construction; the total generating capacity in MW represented by these projects; the length of time elapsed since permission was granted in each case; and if he will provide a breakdown by county, project size…

491. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the expenditure that has been incurred by the Electoral Commission and his Department in relation to constituency boundary reviews and local electoral area reviews during the past ten years, broken down by year. [49405/26]

492. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the public funding that has been provided since 2020 to programmes aimed at increasing participation by underrepresented groups in political and public life, including women, minority ethnic groups, disabled people and young people, broken down by programme and annual expenditure. [49409/26]

493. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the estimated cost of extending the retirement age for retained firefighters in line with the State pension age of 66; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49416/26]

494. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the 2014 European Commission infringement proceedings against the State for breaches of the Urban WasteWater Treatment Directive. [49441/26]

495. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the 2024 European Commission infringement proceedings against the State for breaches of the Urban WasteWater Treatment Directive. [49442/26]

496. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of developers who have applied to provide water and wastewater infrastructure under the November 2025 DPI initiative. [49443/26]

497. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the issue of legacy developer provided water and wastewater infrastructure schemes that have not been taken in charge by the local authorities or Uisce Eireann. [49444/26]

499. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of domestic wastewater treatment system inspections carried out in each local authority area in each of the years 2023, 2024, and to-date in 2026; and the failure rate identified in each year. [49452/26]

500. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of private wells identified as contaminated due to malfunctioning domestic wastewater treatment systems in the past five years. [49455/26]

501. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures in place to protect households relying on private wells from contamination caused by nearby septic tanks. [49456/26]

502. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total number of applications, approvals, and payments made under the domestic wastewater treatment systems grant scheme in each of the past five years. [49457/26]

503. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the current maximum grant of €12,000 adequately reflects the full cost of upgrading or replacing defective domestic wastewater treatment systems. [49458/26]

504. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if consideration is being given to increasing the grant ceiling or coverage rate beyond 85% in light of rising construction costs for wastewater treatment systems. [49459/26]

505. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the targeted interventions being undertaken in High Status Objective Catchment Areas to address risks from septic tanks. [49462/26]

506. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether a national strategy exists to transition older septic tanks to modern treatment systems over a defined timeframe. [49464/26]

507. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if updated building regulations or planning guidance are being considered to reduce future risks from domestic wastewater systems. [49465/26]

508. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of households currently reliant on septic tanks or similar systems; and the projected trends over the next decade. [49466/26]

The Deputy, unfortunately, and his party engage continually in the politics of slogans, not action. We are taking action. The Deputy mentioned two; we have taken about 15 actions since the beginning of this Government in relation to housing alone and will continue to take action on housing. There will be housing types of different size. By definition, that is okay. They will not be dark shoeboxes.

According to information we in Aontú have received, 49% of people in emergency accommodation in the State have come from outside Ireland. That is a significant figure and there is no doubt it is putting pressure on the housing sector. Currently, 80,000 people net are coming to Ireland each year. If we include the population growth of the State, that is the equivalent of adding the population of Ga…

I welcome and echo the Tánaiste's remarks. The small Jewish community in my constituency of Dublin South-West feels particularly vulnerable at times of protest. Outside our relationship with the UK and the European Union, we have a unique relationship with the United States. This issue provides an opportunity, not to review it but to move forward with a different kind of dynamic. Some people on t…

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Data Protection Act 2018 (Section 60(4)) (Data Protection Commission) Regulations 2025; Data Protection Act 2018 (Section 60(4)) (Information Commissioner) Regulations 2025; and Data Protection Act 2018 (Section 60(4)) (Comptroller and Auditor General) Regulations 2025; copies of which were laid in draft before Dáil Éirean…

Fáiltím roimh an deis labhairt sa díospóireacht seo. Prevention must be central to how these issues are tackled if we are to make their elimination a real possibility. That means tackling the underlying attitudes that allow such behaviour and crimes to flourish. It means education and speaking out. In particular, it is important for men to speak out to show that this behaviour does not represent m…

I thank the Minister for facilitating this debate. As many speakers have said, domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is a significant issue throughout our country. At the extreme end of it, 275 females have died violently in this country since 1996. That is a huge number. An Garda Síochána has said that in 2024, it dealt with 65,000 domestic abuse calls alone. The statistics are clear and whi…

I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to speak to the House about the important issue of aircraft noise and the aviation sector more generally. I am confident we can all agree, even though it is so often stated, that, as an island nation, aviation plays a crucial role in our economy and society. I welcome the opportunity to discuss the Government’s position on Second Stage of this Private Member’…

Sorry, the Social Democrats. They have given us an opportunity to have this discussion. If you talk to anybody in the real world, the cost of living is one of the biggest issues impacting workers and families. People are paying huge amounts of money on mortgages, rents, childcare and insurance costs. Almost everything is going up. That includes the price of groceries and food. It seems everybody i…

Amendments Nos. 10 and 12 to 14, inclusive, seek to amend the timelines in section 16, which amends section 42 of the Act of 2000. Amendments Nos. 10 and 12 seek to provide that applications for extension of duration of uncommenced housing developments may only be made in the last year of permission remaining, rather than the last two years, as set out in the Bill. Existing planning regulations s…

In the last budget, I itemised the issues. The free schoolbooks scheme is now part of the budget and of the base, which is very important. It is not once off or anything like that. It is the same with free transport for those aged between five and eight and the hot school meals programme. We did not extend VAT either. I have made it clear that in the next budget, for the Government and in the cont…

Since becoming a TD, I have raised the defective concrete crisis every single week in this Chamber. I have stood here 23 times outlining the many issues with the Government's scheme, and have highlighted the lived experience of the impacted homeowners. My message has been consistent. The scheme is not working for the families. They are struggling. Every week I am standing here pleading with the Go…

The scheme has been very effective. The targets were refined this year by the Ministers for housing and public expenditure with a view to making sure resources are targeted at those who are in immediate danger of homelessness. We do not want local authorities only doing acquisitions as part of their social housing programmes. We want local authorities building new social houses and to do more of t…

I would like to know whether the Taoiseach has a date of publication for the review of the national development plan and whether he knows the period to be covered by the updated plan. As Chair of the Joint Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery, I believe everybody in the House must accept the need for long-term investment in housing, transport, water, electricity and h…

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I am sharing time with Deputy Gould. When Deputy Darragh O'Brien was the Minister for housing and he launched a once-in-a-generation review on consolidation of the planning and development Acts, one of his main arguments was that the 2000 Act had been amended so many times that the legislation was unwieldy, too difficult to understand and overly complex and, the…

I thank the Minister for being present for the debate and I welcome the opportunity to speak on this provision. Picking up on the Minister of State, Deputy Healy Rae, I also welcome these proposals. They are very sensible. Keeping planning permission alive is a practical and simple measure but an essential one and I commend the Minister on bringing it forward. It is estimated in Dublin alone, the…

I thank the Deputy for the question and for the earlier debate. It is going to be a long evening and we are both here for the duration, which is right and proper given it is such an important topic. I want to put on record again my commitment to easing the financial burden on students and families, and my commitment to reducing the cost of education in a way that is sustainable, and not just temp…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 104, 105, 107, 110 and 112 together. I note that a number of Deputies have similar questions and that these have been grouped. We will probably go around the House to take supplementary questions. As I have said a number of times this evening and over recent months, I am acutely conscious of the financial challenges facing students and of the need for the progres…

An Teachta Heneghan spoke about student accommodation and backyard cabins and such like. Regardless of whether I comment on my own brief, it would probably be unhelpful if I were to start commenting on the Minister for housing's brief. I hear what the Deputy is saying, and I will mention those points to the Minister. I am not across that section so it would not be appropriate for me to get into co…

Planning regulations stipulate that new housing developments of up to 75 units must provide a childcare facility with up to 20 places. We are in a childcare crisis and this is simply not working in small, medium and large towns. In my own town of Westport, we recently saw separate developments of 50, 48 and 20 units, a total of 118 units, but no new childcare facility. There is a new housing plan …

I welcome the Minister to the House to deal with what is, at times, a divisive debate in the country at the moment. I have been listening to the previous speakers and, above all else, the one thing I would ask and expect of people in the House is that we would have an informed debate without the usual scaremongering and hyperbole. Let us just get down to discussing what is contained in the motion.…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am sharing time with Deputy Ciarán Ahern. I welcome the fact the Minister of State is here and I thank Deputy Ahern, who will speak alongside me. This is a Bill that we in the Labour Party introduced some time ago. It was drafted in the wake of the nursing home charges scandal. A key purpose of the Bill is to clarify and reform the role of the …

We need a fair deal for care. This means ending the privatisation of nursing home care and giving older people the choice to age in their own homes and communities, with a statutory right to home care. This right to home care has long been promised by successive Governments since 2017, but we have yet to see any real progress on this. Instead, the only option that older people and their families a…

I thank Deputy Healy-Rae for his comments on abolishing the means test for carers. We are systematically trying to get to the point where it has been abolished. I recognise the changes that have been made because what we want to see, as the Deputy said, is people staying in their own homes for as long as possible for their dignity, comfort and connection with their families and because that is the…

Of all the subjects and all the issues that we talk about here, when we see the horrific videos and images of people, and children in particular, starving and the inhumanity and the senselessness of it all, it really would make one think that man's inhumanity to man is beyond belief. We are all rightly outraged by what is going on. That being said, Ireland is a leader in the world on Palestine. Th…

Like many colleagues in the House, I rise today with a heavy heart. The situation in the Middle East, particularly in Gaza and the West Bank, is an ongoing humanitarian disaster that demands our attention, our compassion and, critically, our action. Let me begin by recalling the horrific events of 7 October, the appalling attacks and murders of innocent people. I reiterate what the Taoiseach and T…