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174. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures he is taking to ensure there is adequate public greenspace, playing pitches and playgrounds in growing communities in County Meath; the measures his Department is taking to support the delivery of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37327/26]

175. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of reported cases in each of the past five years where individuals or households were prevented, stopped, or directed to cease private domestic turf cutting; to provide a breakdown of these cases by county, land designation (including SAC, NHA, raised bog or undesignated land, and the legal basis inv…

176. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when will revised rural planning guidelines be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37501/26]

179. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he supports proposals to review local authority tenants’ rents every one-to-two years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37232/26]

180. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the Programme for Government commitment to establish a new procedure for large developments where developers can engage with Uisce Éireann and Local Authority Planners to ensure that services can be delivered in a timely manner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37229/26]

181. Deputy Edward Timmins asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage will he expedite revised Rural Planning Guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37564/26]

183. Deputy Brian Brennan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the review of the 2006 wind energy development guidelines; when new guidelines will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27608/26]

184. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the tenant-in-situ scheme in 2026; if there will be an increase in funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37544/26]

185. Deputy Edward Timmins asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the actions that will be taken to promote a site (details supplied) and the other extensive archaeological sites in the immediate area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37565/26]

187. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will carry out a review of the licensing system in relation to the Government’s plan to allow landlords to rent out modular units adjacent to the principal private residence under the proposed revised exempted development guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37482/26]

190. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will re-introduce a development levy waiver for new builds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37504/26]

191. Deputy Noel McCarthy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the work undertaken to date as part of the Developer-Led Wastewater Services Infrastructure Initiative since its implementation in March 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37560/26]

192. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the specific legislative, regulatory or planning barriers identified by his Department that continue to limit the delivery of higher density apartment and duplex developments in existing urban areas, particularly in Dublin city and suburban locations with access to high capacity public transport; whether consi…

194. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the status of planned reforms to the planning system to ensure that appropriate childcare facilities are planned for and delivered as part of new residential developments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37310/26]

195. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if consideration will be given to amending the provisions relating to Section 42 licences under the Wildlife Act 1976, issued by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, to allow for their use not only to prevent serious damage to crops, forestry, or property, but also to address public safety concerns arisi…

197. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a breakdown of the target of the 7,500 affordable purchase and cost rental homes for 2026; the reason only 935 affordable purchase homes were delivered in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37481/26]

198. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on a review of eligibility criteria and the identification of priority areas for grant aid schemes administered by local authorities to upgrade, repair or replace domestic wastewater treatment system/septic tank systems; when it is likely that these changes will come into effect; and if he wil…

199. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the local government task force report will to be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37309/26]

201. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to set out the total expenditure in 2025 on emergency homeless accommodation, with a breakdown for the amount paid out to private providers. [37508/26]

202. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether local authorities have adequate powers and flexibility to respond to parking pressures arising from new developments, particularly in suburban areas with high levels of car dependency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37540/26]

206. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of first-time buyers in Galway that have benefitted from the first home scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37340/26]

208. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when will the planning exemptions be introduced to allow for modular homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37502/26]

209. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the interim fire safety defects remediation scheme. [37506/26]

212. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to undertake a fundamental review of the Local Authority Home Loan to make it more widely accessible. [37497/26]

215. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the expanded role of the Land Development Agency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37518/26]

I want to acknowledge that the Deputy, in bringing this Bill before the House today, is motivated by public health concerns and reducing the impact of alcohol harms on our society. The Government shares that motivation. However, the Government is opposing this Private Members' Bill, which seeks to amend our Public Health (Alcohol) Act, because there is not enough evidence at this time to determine…

I wish the Minister of State a good morning. I want to speak about roads funding following Storm Chandra in counties Wexford and Wicklow, or, should I say, the lack of roads funding. It was literally this day four months ago, namely 27 January, that Storm Chandra arrived on our shores and caused absolute havoc for people, for their homes and for the roads of the south east. At the time, it was abs…

I also thank Independent Ireland for tabling this motion this morning. It is a well-intentioned motion that is designed to put forward some solutions to the real challenges households and business are facing at present. It provides us with another opportunity to tease out the respective positions of parties in this House in that regard. It would be remiss of me not to remind Government that just t…

I reference the children's hospital because the Taoiseach is saying the environment is being weaponised to delay infrastructure provision but there are plenty of delays in the Government's infrastructure projects which have no basis in climate considerations. The figures in the EPA report speak for themselves. The Taoiseach's climate Minister may spin a good spin and he sought to blag on housing f…

I was great to hear the Taoiseach mentioning No Mow May. If he would like a beehive, I will give him one. I have 17. I know the Department of justice has them on the roof; it would be great to see them on Government Buildings as well. Constantly in this House I have raised the issue of private wires and the current system of energy. I was elected to this House seven months after I finished my mas…

I want to raise the issue of the residential zoned land tax and how it applies to county councils. Councils were originally led to believe that they would not have to pay this tax. In Wicklow in the past year, the council paid €1 million in residential zoned land tax, which impacts on reducing services in County Wicklow. This does not work correctly because it penalises forward-looking councils li…

I admire the Minister’s suit. I recall it was a tradition for a while that the summer properly started in Leinster House when former Member Bernard Durkan broke out his cream and grey suit. Perhaps the Minister – another Kildare TD - is now taking up that mantle and is the tribune of summer in Leinster House.

That would be a fine record. On the research side of things, I back the calls by IFUT. We are talking about taking research seriously, and rightly so, but people undertaking PhDs in crucial areas of research in many instances still receive a stipend that is very low. It needs to be acknowledged that this is not some form of payment towards maintenance; it is their full-time job. They are not mean…

I thank all Deputies for their contributions today. This has been a thoughtful and wide-ranging discussion, and it also reflects the shared understanding across the House that the pace of change we are experiencing is both significant and accelerating. Ireland has transformed profoundly over recent decades. We have built a strong, dynamic and outward-looking economy, supported by a workforce that…

The 2021 Act introduced a change in the law to allow for the sale and consumption of alcohol in relevant outdoor seating areas where the use of those areas has been permitted by local authorities on public land or private land next to a licensed premise. This was emergency legislation that was brought in during Covid. Five years later, we are still dealing with six-month extensions of that legisla…

The population increase in the last ten years has been quite phenomenal as well and is having an impact on the housing situation. Migration - and I mean this in a general sense, not casting any aspersions - has had an impact on housing also. One only has to look at the figures now of the people who are non-European or non-Irish in emergency accommodation. It is well over 50%. That is where we are …

I am struck by the Taoiseach's boastful approach regarding the so-called metrics on housing. Those metrics are record and skyrocketing rents, record evictions and record homelessness. Last year, the State spent almost €500 million on emergency accommodation. Over the past decade, almost €5 billion has been spent on managing homelessness. All the while, homelessness continues to rise. Families are …

I said to the Deputy last week that the Minister for housing was considering this and would be coming back to the Government with proposals to increase the threshold. Three years ago, we did it. In 2023, it went up by approximately €5,000. I would support the increase in the threshold at which people would be entitled to social housing.

The run-up to the Residential Tenancies Act 2026 was overshadowed, as we debated, by a massive increase in evictions. We will see if the Act delivers stronger protections going forward. In the meantime, I will highlight again a loophole that becomes more attractive now. It concerns overcrowding and refurbishment. Overcrowding complaints still fall under the Housing Act 1966 and the 2019 housing st…

"This Budget builds up our resilience and will help us to adapt at a time of historic challenge for our economy." That was what the then Minister for Finance, Pascal Donohoe, told the House last October. That budget still raised day-to-day spending in 2026 by over 6%. That is lower than the 8% to 9% increase in the past few years, with a slower increase intended to protect the foreign investment-f…

That is a fair point except, but we all need to be honest about it. We need to understand the problem and the challenge. When I refer to migration, I am not blaming anyone. I am simply stating the fact that more than 50% - it is even higher in the Dublin area - are non-Irish citizens. That is just the reality. The composition of homelessness has changed. That is all I am saying. That realisation t…

I propose to take Question Nos. 1 to 24, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on infrastructure met last week on Monday, 18 May. The Cabinet committee works to drive infrastructure delivery and implementation of the national development plan. From the start, we have set out our ambition to deliver a step change in Ireland’s infrastructure. The revised national development plan sets out unpr…

Did 21 speak? I thank them all. Deputy McGrath began on Cork BusConnects. I am familiar with it and may have been responsible for some of the delays in terms of the consultation required with residents and communities. The initial preferred routes that the NTA produced created huge anxiety and stress for many families across the board and we all had to intervene to try to get common sense. Then, …

In response to Deputy Boyd Barrett, I presume that the 1,000 housing units are being sold on with a view to development for housing.

I want to talk about the delays in the roll-out of BusConnects in Limerick, a city the Minister knows well and that he has said a lot of positive things about previously. We were promised this in 2025, and 2025 became 2026, then 2027, and is now 2028. From what the departmental officials have said, we know that the NTA does not have enough funding when it comes to the roll-out of new services and …

The Minister and I will pose for a photograph after that. I will also mention that the Minister is also - I have spoken to him and the powers that be after he mentioned the need for more buses to get me into Leinster House early in the morning - looking at the N7. I spoke to the NTA last week about this and it is examining the issue. Perhaps the Minister can give us some more good news on the N7…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. It is a short and technical, but necessary, Bill. The purpose is straightforward, namely, to extend the powers the NTA exercises in the greater Dublin area to cities such as Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. It enables the NTA to deliver the infrastructural elements of BusConnects Cork and removes the statutory gap that has held up a major projec…

I looked at the Dáil's business for this week with interest and saw that we would be taking the Dublin Transport Authority (Amendment) Bill. It is somewhat ironic that the Bill will be of far more benefit to the Minister of State's constituents than it will to mine, because many of the amendments being brought forward relate to BusConnects in Cork. This shows the development of the NTA, which was …

This is a short Bill on paper, but one that carries significant consequences for how transport is planned and delivered across the country. Nobody on this side of the House is against better public transport. Far from it. For far too long, rural Ireland and regions like west Cork have been left behind when it comes to investment in transport infrastructure. People in our communities have been cryi…

There are two very straightforward asks in the motion. They are asks that deal with the reality that disabled people the length and breadth of our State are living. It is a reality that was shared with us by them when they came to the gates of Leinster House. It is difficult for people to come to the gates of Leinster House to tell strangers that they are rationing fuel or struggling to put food o…