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458. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to encourage purpose built housing for older adults by designating it as a specific use class or housing typology, as has been done for purpose built student accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56563/25]

463. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the progress of the new voids programme, as promised in the Programme for Government 2025, to improve the turnaround of vacant social housing units and if AHBs are now being provided with tenant nominations prior to housing completions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56597/25]

468. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider incorporating ‘EnergyCloud Ready’ standards into the design and specification of new social and affordable housing developments, ensuring that heat pumps, storage heaters, batteries, and smart water tanks installed in new builds can be remotely activated to make use of surplus renewable ene…

469. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is aware that local authorities are stalling applications to the social housing list by homeless individuals if they cannot provide a utility bill in their name or a sworn affidavit by people who are allowing them to couch surf, though this might include tenants in social housing who may be reluctant to prov…

593. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the full and final cost of a housing site (details supplied) including all site preparation, ancillary and constructions costs, security costs, landscaping etc; for a breakdown of these costs; the total cost per unit; the annual cost of operating these housing units by the approved housing body; and if he will ma…

104. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the specific measures in Budget 2026 will support the building of houses in Gaeltacht areas; when he will publish the Guidelines for Gaeltacht Housing; and if he will consider establishing a dedicated Housing Unit in Údarás na Gaeltachta; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55560…

254. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on if the office of the planning regulator is holding back housing supply in certain local authorities; if so, to detail which local authorities; when, and the way in which, the office of the planning regulators is impacting their housing supply in this way. [56322/25]

202. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there are plans for the National Housing Agency to purchase a housing estate (details supplied) where all the tenants have received eviction notices to leave between February and June of next year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55743/25]

579. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a breakdown of the revised estimate subhead A3, local government housing, by Social Housing Investment Programme, land acquisition fund, development levy waiver and any other category for the 2025 allocation and the out turn in each of the years 2020 to 2024, in tabular form. [54742/25]

586. Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider engaging with management of local authorities to examine the extent of uncompleted housing estates with infrastructural deficits beyond the resources of the local authority and available bonds; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there are people living in unfinished housing e…

598. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department is evaluating amendments to the housing needs and demand assessment process to assist with housing delivery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54818/25]

634. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the average construction costs incurred by local authorities, per house, in the construction of social houses. [55234/25]

236. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on the use of online bidding platforms and countdown clocks in house sales; his views on whether they are a positive innovation in the housing market; if he will seek to ban or regulate their use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54528/25]

30. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his Department’s plans to lower housing costs in Fingal; the way in which his Department plans to ensure that the first home scheme keeps up with the housing price increases that Fingal has seen year on year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53742/25]

49. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to the housing schemes in Ros a Mhíl and Eanach Mheáin currently owned by an organisation (details supplied); if funding will be given from his Department to ensure that these homes will be used for social and affordable housing for the Gaeltacht community; and if he will make a…

74. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will ensure that the new housing plan makes it possible for Donegal County Council to construct affordable housing projects across the county. [53700/25]

101. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on plans to dramatically increase the supply of housing under the affordable housing scheme. [53566/25]

110. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of homes delivered and approved in County Laois under both the affordable purchase scheme and the first home scheme from 2022 to 2024 and to date in 2025; the proposed numbers for 2026 and subsequent years; the measures being taken to expand affordable housing options for working households above the …

239. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason for the delays in having housing built on the OPW site on Jamestown Road, Inchicore and on the surplus lands of the CIÉ Works in Dublin 8, despite the site being identified for housing over a decade and a half ago. [54049/25]

251. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there are any funding plans, such as the previous Urban Regeneration and Development Fund, to support local authorities in developing amenities where there have been significant housing developments, to ensure that we are not just about delivering housing, but communities that families can thrive (details supp…

268. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether any of the properties bought by the Housing Agency under the cost-rental tenant in situ scheme have been sold on to approved housing boards and have been converted to cost-rental tenancies. [52968/25]

272. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has verified the claim by the chairperson of the Land Development Agency that 70% of income earners are priced out of the housing market in terms of both rents and house prices; and if he will publish his Department's own affordability analysis. [53109/25]

275. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his Department's projection of new housing completions for 2025, by local authority; and the way in which these compare with the underlying annual demand identified by the ESRI and the Housing Commission. [53112/25]

277. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of housing-market transactions recorded in the past 12 months; and his Department's assessment of whether transaction volumes are consistent with a healthy and functioning housing market. [53114/25]

279. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department tracks the gap between general consumer price inflation and housing price inflation; and if so, the steps being taken to bring housing inflation in line with wider economic inflation trends. [53116/25]

I wish to speak in support of these amendments from Deputy Ward. There is no doubt that we need greater oversight of the entire process. I spoke earlier on this issue, and I want to touch on it again. Sadly, we have an utterly deficient standard, IS 465. Basically, we have been diagnosed with the wrong cancer. Mica was not the main contributory factor to the crumbling of homes in Donegal. What has…

In the scheme of things, when you look at projections of what this will cost, it will be 43 houses and roughly €22,000 per house. Given the different-sized houses, it is an average of €22,000 per house. Going by the 29 March deadline, there is a price increase which is between €16 and €20 per square foot, with the inflationary costs that have been caused by different things, including budgetary ch…

I want to take the opportunity to discuss my experience from a housing perspective. As someone who has been a councillor in County Kildare for a number of years and, indeed, a town councillor before that, I have seen the different tranches. I have seen a housing boom and a housing bust, and now I have seen continuing price increases in housing. We have seen that a lot of those houses have become o…

I stand today not only as a TD, but as someone who is directly affected by this. This is a Government-created situation. It happened because of a lack of checks on quarries. If this had been done properly, we would not be facing this situation. I speak with the anger of a father who has watched his home crumble. I speak with the frustration of the people who contact me every day and who cannot tak…

In the first place, this amendment has nothing whatsoever to do with indexation. It is a proposal from the Sinn Féin Party that we should carry out a report on removing people from the universal social charge. We do not need any reports in relation to this. We need to follow very carefully the advice and analysis available to those of us in government and to those in this House about the volatile …

The Government finally published its long overdue housing plan last week. After all the anticipation, what it delivered was nothing more than old milk in new bottles. There was nothing new on affordable homeownership, no clarity on what new powers the Land Development Agency will have and no ambition on social housing. It is just an open door for speculators and land hoarders. Worse again, the Gov…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the budget. I welcome the increases for pensioners and people with disabilities. They probably need more, to be frank, but I have to at least acknowledge it. I welcome the increase in the carer's supports thresholds. The ideal scenario is that if someone packs up a job to mind another person, regardless of what their partner earns or has, it saves the State a …

I will focus on the tax break for developers in the budget. The reason I want to focus on it is that it is outrageous. It is a transfer of wealth from the public to those who are profiteering from the housing crisis. I heard the Taoiseach say the day after the budget during Leaders' Questions that this was not a tax break for developers. His saying it was not a tax break for developers reminded me…

Independent Ireland welcomes this Bill. It is a short and narrow Bill but it will be an important one if it keeps the wheel turning for social and affordable housing. Independent Ireland will always support a measure that lets councils and housing bodies keep building but, let us be honest, this is a technical fix, not a housing plan. What is the Minister of State's plan? Today, I do not see anyt…

It is important to set out that putting it into the Constitution is not going to deliver one more house. This Government has set out that housing is a priority. This is evidenced by the fact that almost one in three euro in our national development plan is going towards housing delivery. This is not even including the funding for grids and roads, which are all prioritised towards housing delivery …

I thank my colleagues in government for giving us the opportunity to participate in the formulation of budget 2026. I remember back in January, when my fellow TDs from the regional group took the courage to support the establishment of a Government, we did so on the basis of an agreed programme for Government, a blueprint for change, to be delivered over the course of five years. While in oppositi…

Introduction Táimid ag teacht i dtír le fada ar na buntáistí a bhaineann le geilleagar oscailte sofhreagrúil a bheith againn. Cé go bhfónann sé sin go maith dúinn mar thír, ní mór dúinn aghaidh a thabhairt ar an timpeallacht eacnamaíoch agus polaitiúil atá ag titim amach níos faide i gcéin. Tá uair na cinniúna buailte le hÉirinn. Beidh tionchar ag an mbealach a roghnaímid le hinfheistíocht a dhéa…

In the old days, housing figures came out and we took them to be public housing figures. I find it actually laughable in recent years the way the housing figures encompass everything that is built in the country and the Government takes the credit. I see this as the Government’s drive to reach the housing targets it missed by pumping money into private developers and construction companies in a de…

There exists a huge chasm between Government rhetoric on housing and the reality locally. I draw the Taoiseach's attention to the housing situation in Mayo. The first home scheme, introduced in 2022, has delivered, on average, just six houses each year across the county. The affordable housing scheme, introduced in 2019, has delivered just five units, which is less than one per year. The cost-rent…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am pleased to bring the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2025 before the House today. Members will recall the size of the Planning and Development Bill 2024, which was enacted last year. Many of us worked extensively on that legislation, both at the joint Oireachtas committee and in both Houses. While the implementation of this Act is …

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I do not doubt the sincerity of his reply, but in the amendment put forward by the Department, 28 parts are exactly the same, cut and pasted verbatim from a previous amendment to a recent Private Member's motion. Five to six are unique in relation to the application because of the structure of the motion, ten are unique to the local authority element…

I thank the Independent Technical Group for bringing this Private Member's motion to the House. I have to ask directly whether the Minister for Housing and this Government understand why all the Opposition parties are continually putting forward motions on housing so early in this new Dáil term. Why do the Government's amendments to those many motions on housing all say the same thing? Why do the …

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. I take issue with the term "released" from school. Children these days enjoy school and have very good experiences in our schools but they are going out to enjoy the summer holidays. Through many other avenues of government, we will endeavour to give supports to children throughout the summer holidays. More specifically, the issue of homele…

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Bill. For the avoidance of any doubt and as most people know, I am a landlord, but that should not preclude me from having the opportunity to contribute to debates on legislation. A previous speaker mentioned that he has been inundated with calls from renters in Limerick who are worried about the future. Current renters in the city of L…

For the people of my constituency of Cork North-Central, another property tax hike just represents an increased bill they have to pay in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. In County Cork, according to a daft.ie report, house prices have increased by more than €75,000. That is not the fault of Cork City Council, Cork County Council, the people buying those houses or the tenants themselves. Rath…

I have just come in from the protest outside the gates of the House. There is a huge crowd of people outside protesting about the Government's failed policies. We have nurses, students, young people, renters and representatives from all the political parties. They have one really clear message: it is that the Government's housing policies are failing. Things are getting worse and not better, yet t…

We will be sharing time. We will each have three and a half minutes. There is a housing crisis. We need to deliver houses. I am offering my services to the Minister, as I have offered them to other Ministers, to help to deliver houses. I do so in light of the experience I have and the knowledge I have that Irish Water is not providing value for money. It will not deliver the infrastructure needed…

The current housing crisis in this country can only be described as a catastrophic failure of leadership and policy, leaving countless families in despair and homelessness while developers and landlords profit from the misery. The Government's inaction and ineffective measures have turned the dream of so many of getting a social house or owning a home into a cruel joke. In my county of Wexford, as…

I am delighted to have this opportunity to speak in support of the revised national planning framework. I welcome the revision. It also acknowledges the changed context of the need to accelerate housing construction. It is important to emphasise the equal importance of infrastructure and all the associated services that need to be delivered. The revised framework represents the step-change that we…

What is very clear is that Trump does not care about working people in the US. He does not care about working people in Europe or anywhere. What he is doing to the world economy and the US economy is sending it into freefall. As my colleague said, Trump's new world order will require a shift in our economy and our economic model. This will result in a shift globally. The question is how do we resp…