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471. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the local authority home loan funding model will be extended to allow for the purchase and installation of modular homes under the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47858/26]

472. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has examined the practice of other enforcement bodies, including An Garda Síochána, where staffing numbers without any identifying information are published by geographical area; whether any assessment has been carried out of whether comparable publication of NPWS staffing and vacancy data …

473. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the current staffing position for NPWS enforcement roles covering east Cork and Waterford, including conservation ranger, district conservation officer and regional manager roles; the length of any vacancies in those areas; the temporary cover arrangements in place; when each vacant post was last advertised; when…

474. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has carried out any analysis of the relationship between NPWS staffing levels, vacancy duration and enforcement outcomes, including inspections, Ministerial directions, warnings, prosecutions and other enforcement actions arising from reports of alleged unlawful habitat destruction; and if …

597. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of children aged 12 years or younger currently in special arrangement houses; the average length of their stay; and the way in which those figures compare to one year ago and two years ago. [46868/26]

23. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Social Protection for an update on the review carried out in his Department on the system of means tests for carer supports; if he will lay the report before the house; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46267/26]

245. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Transport if the National Transport Authority has examined traffic congestion at the Donaghmede roundabout and on the adjoining Clarehall road, particularly in light of the significant housing development that has taken place in the surrounding area in recent years; the changes to the layout of the junction, including the possible replacement of th…

295. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Education and Youth the plans to build a new primary or secondary school, or the current plans for the expansion of existing schools serving the Shankill/Woodbrook area of Dublin which has experienced significant housing development in recent years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46754/26]

318. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the price the Land Development Agency (LDA) paid for the acquisition of a site in the Jamestown Industrial Estate, Finglas, Dublin 11; the plans the Land Development Agency has for the site and could; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46412/26]

320. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason he repealed the requirement that election material display the name of the printer and the publisher of the material; the consultation he took in advance of this decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46434/26]

322. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to urgently examine a case (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46516/26]

327. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the SHCEP tables on his Department's website will be updated to include Q4 2025 data. [46542/26]

328. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the analysis that has been conducted within his Department or in consultation with the Office of Public Works on the estimated cost of purchasing the remaining ten properties on the historic Moore Street terrace adjacent to the State-owned properties at the National Monument. [46584/26]

329. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the cost to the Exchequer and the total cost, including borrowing and so on, for affordable cost rental and affordable purchase homes delivered in 2025, by delivery stream including, AHP local authority delivery, AHP turnkey, AHB cost rental direct delivery, AHB cost rental turnkey, LDA cost rental direct delive…

331. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when local authority, Dáil Éireann and European election boundaries will be revised; the timeline and approach to same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46679/26]

332. Deputy Joanna Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the details of updated costs for each local authority to employ an archaeologist; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46700/26]

333. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the estimated cost of increasing Heritage Council funding by 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and by the cost of inflation since Budget 2026. [46826/26]

334. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the estimated cost of recruiting one full-time professional archaeologist for every local authority area in the State. [46827/26]

379. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated impact on the at-risk-of-poverty rate after housing costs among children; the consistent poverty rate among children; and the enforced deprivation rate among children of replacing working family payment, one-parent family payment, jobseeker’s transitional payment and the child support payment with a supplementary ch…

44. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance in view of the planned transfer of responsibility for the collection of the derelict sites levies to the Revenue Commissioners, whether monies collected in respect of sites located within the Fingal County Council area will be returned directly to Fingal County Council; if not, the reason for same; whether consideration has b…

46. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance given the fact that residential zoned land tax liabilities of €24.1 million were declared in respect of lands within the Fingal County Council area in 2025 and a further €20.5 million in 2026 to date; whether any portion of the revenues collected from these lands is returned directly to the local authority; Fingal County Coun…

50. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance in view of the planned transfer of responsibility for the collection of derelict sites levies to the Revenue Commissioners, whether monies collected in respect of sites located within the Fingal County Council area will be returned directly to Fingal County Council; if not, the reason for same; whether consideration has been …

61. Deputy Gillian Toole asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the data gathering and forward planning associated with work permit applications that is carried out by his Departments and local authorities in order to co-ordinate geographical location of employers and local capacity availability in the areas of housing, school places, general practitioner availability and public…

111. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to a recent report (details supplied) that was published by University of Galway that analysed eight coastal local authorities and identified 2,279 properties and 570 km of roads at risk of coastal erosion; if his Department are working on a roadmap for an Irish Coastal Change …

112. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total amount of derelict sites levy assessed, collected and outstanding within the Fingal County Council administrative area in 2025 and 2026 to date; the number of sites liable for the levy in each year ahead of the planned transfer of responsibility for the collection of the derelict sites levy from l…

An awful lot of people, certainly in my constituency and rural areas, find it very difficult to deal with Uisce Éireann. We cannot get through to it. Nobody can get talking to it. People cannot get any reply to their queries and issues. Most of the water in many parts of the country is provided by group schemes. If the group schemes agree to be taken over, then Uisce Éireann will engage with them …

I am totally opposed to water charges. I was one of the people who protested very strongly against water charges at the time. The problem we have is that very little is recognised in this House regarding people who do pay for water. In agriculture, the farmers pay for water. I paid for three connections. My son is paying for it now because he is running the farm. It is a huge burden to farmers and…

Lack of water supply is an issue affecting residents across the country and my constituency of Meath West, particularly in Enfield, Clonard, Ballivor, Trim and surrounding areas. These communities face ongoing water outages that simply cannot be ignored. The Clonard Water Action Group has reached out to me highlighting that more than 300 residents are dealing with daily water shortages and outages…

There is a contradiction at the heart of the Minister's response to the debate. On the one hand, he said that he has no intention of introducing a charge for so-called excessive use but when we gave him the opportunity to demonstrate that by deed and by removing the relevant provisions of the legislation, he refused to do so. Here is the genuine problem. Many people watching this debate will reach…

My officials and I regularly engage with the Central Bank. However, I have not had any engagement recently with the Central Bank on the specific issue the Deputy has raised, which is the issue of tax-based support for housing. The issue in the Irish housing market and so many of the social and economic difficulties that it is now causing are caused by a shortfall in supply. For more than a decade…

I absolutely support all of the excellent work that the Minister for housing is doing in looking at what further measures can be put in place to lead to more homes being built. Regarding the Deputy's question, I support looking at ideas that will make more loans and more support available in our economy to lead to more homes being built. However, the Minister for housing and I do not want to see a…

In the context of the engagement with the Government Chief Whip and the Attorney General on the legislative programme, that is obviously legislation my Department has responsibility for. We have said we are going to engage in a review. Deputy Howlin was an excellent Member of this House. He did an excellent job in the role I am in. He brought forward the Bill in question, which has not made its wa…

The process is clearly not working because we are coming down with cost overruns left, right and centre. One of the reasons for this is that the Government is allergic to accountability and has been for a long time. Even when answering a simple question here on the actual cost overruns over the past five years, this level of accountability is refused. The Minister has not even answered the questio…

I thank the Deputies for the opportunity to discuss efforts to divert young people from criminal offences and criminal activities. This is an issue of fundamental importance. It is very clear from the contributions both today and yesterday that this issue moves and impassions many Deputies across the House. All of us will agree that we must continue to provide opportunities for young people to con…

I again thank the Deputy and echo what he said about Uisce Éireann staff on the ground. The rate at which they respond to leaks is extraordinary. They are on the ground straight away, repairing leaks and for some of them it is almost all they do. I guess that comes back to the Deputy's point about a proper strategy for replacing old pipes and longer lengths of old pipes. We mentioned a few areas w…

There is a growing need for low-cost sites. It will help in addressing the housing crisis. It might not be the only solution but it will give young people a chance to secure their first home in every part of the country, especially in my county of Kerry. The area is under significant pressure, including around towns such as Killarney, Cahirsiveen, Killorglin and Castleisland. We have huge issues w…

The Minister has a huge task ahead of him and I wish him the best of luck in his role. I urge everyone from all sides of this House to work together as we see in the committees. We are here for one reason, which is to work for the Irish people. As a newly elected TD, it is ridiculous what have seen in here for the last few months. There is something clearly wrong with regulations where developers…

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a key infrastructural issue in terms of facilitating the construction of thousands of houses but also in terms of the broader economy. The existing Uisce Éireann strategic funding plan, which was from 2025 to 2029, was approved last November. That committed over €10 billion in capital investment by Uisce Éireann in that period. There will be further additiona…

We are discussing diverting young people away from criminal activity today. The best way to do that is to offer our young people hope. It is the hope that, if they fulfil their social contract, then the Government will do the same. Imagine being a young person in Ireland today and having the ambition to have a safe and secure home. It is almost impossible due to Government failings in housing. Ima…

Ar dtús báire, ní féidir linn a rá cé chomh tábhachtach is atá an t-ábhar seo agus an luach a bhaineann le polasaí éifeachtach anseo ach an oiread. The importance of diverting young people away from crime cannot be overstated. It is a deeply important thing and the underlying principle has to be that prevention is better than cure. Although it does not mean that people are beyond the scope of poli…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to create specific offences for the misuse of an individual’s name, photograph, voice or likeness and to provide for related matters. I propose to share time with Deputy Ó Cearúil. The Protection of Voice and Image Bill sets out to make it an offence to publish, distribute or otherwise make public any manipulated or unauthorised …

I move: That Dáil Éireann has confidence in the Ceann Comhairle, Verona Murphy T.D. As we begin this debate, I hope members of the Opposition will allow others to be heard and will not engage in the systematic barracking we have seen in recent months. This is an extremely serious debate that goes to the heart of a range of fundamental issues about how this democratic Parliament operates. It is p…

-----and the attack on the Ceann Comhairle are very much part of a pattern where extreme parties have sought to undermine public faith in the idea that anything can be achieved. The one consistent message from every country is to stand firmly against this behaviour. If it is accepted as normal, it will be destructive of parliamentary democracy. This Dáil is still in its relatively early stages. O…

Instead, we have found ourselves in this never-ending debate on speaking rights which has been defined by vitriol, barracking, anger, obstruction and a complete disregard and disrespect for the Ceann Comhairle and her office. There has been blocking of the election of a Taoiseach and the attempt to obstruct votes and shut down business. The attempts to shout down the Ceann Comhairle which have tak…

A Government's majority is a mandate to govern, but it is not a mandate to dilute and make less effective the long-established principles and rules of how this House operates, the very basis for our democratic exchange functions. The Government is held to account by the Opposition. That accountability must be honest, rigorous and searching. It will work only if it is independent of the Government.…

I listened to the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, speak. He said that you cannot disrupt procedures and then talk about the value of order and procedure. I can speak to the value of order because in the five years I have been in this House, I have never disrupted anyone. I have never spoken over anyone and have never raised my voice. Even while listening to non-answers to questions I ask, I do not disru…

We are talking about a vote of confidence in the Ceann Comhairle. While circumstances have led us to this incredible situation, it is unfair that the Ceann Comhairle should share all the blame. I attended every business and Dáil reform meeting of the new Dáil. The antics of some leave a lot to be desired and it leaves a bad taste in this Dáil that will not be forgotten for a long time. The bottom …

I have two points to add to the comments made by my Government colleagues. The first is that we are temporary custodians of the processes and standards that were built before our time in the House. The Ceann Comhairle is a constitutional officeholder who was elected by the Dáil. It is disproportionate to have a motion of confidence if the only issue is the way in which she took a vote. She commenc…

I will be guided by the Clerk of the Dáil as to whether due process has been followed by the Ceann Comhairle since December 2024. The advice that was issued was that she did follow due process. For that reason, I support her in her office. I was elected to the House to work on behalf of the constituents of Meath East, to find and provide solutions to the serious challenges facing Ireland and her p…

Stop it, will you? Have respect. The Deputies are a disgrace. I spent too long with them. I will be voting in support of the Ceann Comhairle, Deputy Verona Murphy, from one female politician to another, and as one who has had more than her fair share of spite and political attacks to contend with, particularly from one party in here. I will not sit on the fence as others have done while attempts …