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342. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the rationale for reviewing the Memorandum of Understanding with an organisation (details supplied) and his Department, in light of the recommendations of the Independent Advisory Committee report published under Ireland's Nature Restoration Plan by Minister of State Christopher O'Sullivan, which emphasises the…

343. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has engaged with representative countryside, conservation and rural stakeholder organisations, farming organisations, hunting associations and game management groups, regarding proposed EU restrictions on lead ammunition; and if he will detail the engagement undertaken to date. [35920/26]

344. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason local authorities are no longer accepting properties under long-term leasing arrangements (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35932/26]

345. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to urgently examine a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35936/26]

346. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the final turnout for Vote 34, including capital and current expenditure and all subheads and programme level outturns, for each year from 2020 to 2025, in tabular form. [35946/26]

347. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his engagements with representatives countryside, conservation and rural stakeholder organisations, farming organisations, hunting associations and game management groups, regarding proposed EU restrictions on lead ammunition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35951/26]

348. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage which councils accept self-declarations in terms of owning properties abroad when a person from abroad applies for local authority homes. [35969/26]

349. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage how long immigrants must be habitually resident in Ireland before they can apply for local author homes. [35970/26]

350. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is aware of a case involving a family in County Kildare (details supplied ) whose applications under the cessation of turf cutting compensation scheme (CTCCS) were verbally confirmed as approved in November 2025 but subsequently reopened and reassessed; the reason for this reversal and the change in ev…

351. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to urgently consider a waiver in respect of planning permission for short-term lets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36088/26]

352. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the monthly breakdown, on a national basis, of adults in emergency accommodation categorised as Irish citizens, EEA/UK citizens, and Non-EEA citizens, for each month from April 2022 to the most recent date available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36231/26]

353. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether any assessment has been undertaken regarding the impact of inward migration and international protection trends on demand for emergency accommodation since 2022; and if so, to provide details of such assessments. [36233/26]

354. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has considered introducing a standardised national dataset recording the immigration status of persons accessing homeless services; and if not, the reason for same. [36234/26]

355. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of adults in emergency accommodation who previously resided in International Protection Accommodation Service accommodation before entering homeless services, for each of the past 24 months. [36235/26]

356. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the National Homeless Action Committee has discussed the impact of migration-related demand on homelessness services; and if so, to provide the dates and summary outcomes of those discussions. [36236/26]

357. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has examined the reasons why nationality data is not collected in respect of children in emergency accommodation; and whether any legal, GDPR or operational barriers have been identified. [36238/26]

358. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of homeless families in emergency accommodation where at least one adult is recorded as a Non-EEA citizen, for the latest period available. [36239/26]

359. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether local authorities receive guidance from his Department regarding the collection and reporting of citizenship data through PASS; and if so, to provide copies of any such guidance. [36240/26]

360. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the PASS system records the duration of time spent in emergency accommodation by citizenship category; and if so, to provide the average and median duration for Irish citizens, EEA/UK citizens and Non-EEA citizens for the most recent year available. [36241/26]

361. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has assessed the proportion of demand for emergency accommodation attributable to population growth arising from inward migration since 2022; and if so, to provide details of that assessment. [36243/26]

362. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether any analysis has been undertaken regarding repeat presentations to homelessness services by persons previously accommodated through IPAS or Temporary Protection accommodation schemes. [36244/26]

363. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether any guidance has been issued to local authorities regarding prioritisation, assessment or placement of persons transitioning from international protection accommodation into homeless services. [36246/26]

364. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of households entering emergency accommodation directly from private rental accommodation in each of the past 24 months, disaggregated by citizenship category where available. [36247/26]

365. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has undertaken any capacity stress-testing scenarios for emergency accommodation demand arising from future migration inflows or international protection pressures. [36248/26]

366. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether any cross-departmental forecasting framework exists between his Department, the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration and the Department of Public Expenditure in relation to future homelessness demand. [36249/26]

As my colleague the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, has done, I too acknowledge the women and families who have had heartbreaking personal circumstances in pregnancy and who have been the motivation behind this Bill. There are, of course, many perspectives involved in the issue of termination of pregnancy services. As legislators, it is important that we facilitate open and frank discussion and…

On Bertie Ahern, I will just say this. What people say when they do not think they are being recorded is actually more valuable than what they say when they know they are being recorded. It suggests a dirty game used on doorsteps by Fianna Fáil to divide and rule ordinary people, and to have them not blaming the people the Taoiseach represents - the developers, the landlords, the people who get ri…

I welcome the publication of the National Safety Camera Strategy. I do so not only as a TD but also as Chair of the Joint Committee on Transport, for which, as the Minister of State will be aware, road safety has become one of the most urgent and consistent issues for discussion. As the Minister of State will be aware, in recent months the committee has undertaken a focused programme of work in th…

The difficulty is that we know An Garda Síochána has purchased this type of equipment from companies that have close relationships with the Israeli regime. The current legal position is that this can continue. The Minister mentioned that we did not need to put this in primary legislation, but since Committee Stage up to now, I do not understand why the Minister did not cut this off at the pass by …

We are dealing with a Bill that would, for the first time, allow what we all hope would be the appropriate use of biometric recognition technology in order to assist our police force in tackling serious crime, security matters and missing persons cases. Most people in the House recognise that, for those serious issues, there is a need for the use of that type of technology. However, there is also …

I move amendment No. 7: In page 10, between lines 16 and 17, to insert the following: “(ba) clear and specific limits on the circumstances in which biometric analysis or biometric categorisation may be used, including prohibitions on use for general surveillance, population level monitoring, or speculative searches, (bb) objective thresholds and evidential standards that must be met before any …

I thank Deputy Carthy for tabling these three amendments. One of the things that is noticeable when looking at this type of legislation, which involves data, is that there is a huge amount of legislation in place at present outside of the recording devices Act of 2023. I am referring in particular to the Data Protection Acts. Those Acts contain prohibitions on mass surveillance, indiscriminate sea…

I move: That Standing Order 194 is modified in accordance with Standing Order 241(2) to provide that it be an instruction to the Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, in relation to the Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026, that the Committee has power to make amendments to the Bill which are outside the scope of the existing subject matter of the Bil…

Having been denied the opportunity to tease out some of the provisions of this legislation by the decision to waive pre-legislative scrutiny, giving a mere 60 minutes to the debate on Report Stage is entirely inappropriate. I have deep concerns about what the Government is doing tonight. It is seeking to undermine the climate action Act by the back door. More significantly, by the provision of se…

I will deal with amendments Nos. 1 and 2 in the first instance. Members have raised the climate Act, so it might be useful to address that specifically. I will not accept these two amendments. There is a clear process for the designation of individual projects and programmes set out in the Bill, as currently drafted. The process already includes a provision that allows Dáil Éireann to reverse any…

The intention of my amendment is that it could go through the Houses of the Oireachtas in a matter of hours. That is the amount of time that would be needed. It should not be causing any delays. It could happen within a matter of days. Indeed, if the Minister has made a designation, it is not as if the project just stalls in its entirety until the designation order is ratified by the Houses of the…

-----because of decisions that were made at the time. There is no comparison to the current day. We need to have a sense of perspective in how we debate things. Yet, young people do leave the country for different reasons. The housing issue is similar all over the world. It is far more difficult to buy a house in Canada or Australia, for example, than in Ireland.

This week is national bike week. As conveners of the all-party Oireachtas cycling group, Deputy Ciarán Ahern and I were delighted to host a cross-party cycle around Leinster House today, and thanks to all the colleagues who took part. We need to see the Government step up and provide proper investment for cycling infrastructure. I ask that colleagues commit not to buy into an anti-cycling narrativ…

Parent across the country are desperately trying to secure appropriate school places for their children. There is still huge uncertainty around the level and scale of unmet need. Transparency is really important. The Department of Education and Youth, working with the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, should be able to give us that data. I am suggesting that it publish that on a monthl…

I thank Deputy Timmins very much for his constructive proposals. I will certainly talk to the Minister for housing in regard to his suggestions around amendments to the national guidelines and developing a very pragmatic approach, given the severity of the housing crisis we are facing.

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the National Minimum Wage Act 2000 to provide for apprentices and young workers to be paid at least the National Minimum Wage. I will share time with Deputy Boyd Barrett. I am glad to be introducing this Bill. It is a Bill to end the super-exploitation of young workers and apprentices. We introduced a similar Bill in the …

I move: That leave be granted to introduce Bill entitled an Act to amend the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993 to require the Comptroller and Auditor General to conduct a due diligence review of the State’s relations with Israel in line with the legal analysis and recommendations of the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian T…

I am looking forward to opening the Fórsa conference as well, and we might allow them to hear my speech first. Perhaps it would be the best thing to do. In response to Deputy Hearne, we built about 36,000 houses last year. We need to do much more, and we need to go higher again. We are going to do everything we can to provide social and affordable houses to both buy and rent.

I join the Minister in welcoming the representatives of nursing who are in the Gallery. They are all very welcome to the House. I thank them for being here. It is important to hear the contributions being made today. I am sure they are not agreeing with everything that is being said, but they are all very welcome. I am very happy contribute to these statements as we mark International Nurses Day,…

On behalf of Independent Ireland and our TDs, I start by saying thanks to every nurse working across Ireland in the hospitals, nursing homes, community care, mental health services and emergency care. I thank every one of them for the tremendous work and their vocation in this State. Without them, we would be in a terrible situation. The irony is not lost on me as we are thanking nurses on this d…

Workers and families across this State are really struggling with the weight of the highest electricity prices in Europe. We have normalised these and it is not good enough. We all spoke earlier about nurses on International Nurses Day, and they are struggling too. This energy crisis is impacting everyone across the country. Parents and carers are cutting back on essentials, workers are rationing …

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this. People across Ireland are exhausted. They are exhausted by constant worry about bills. I welcome engagement with the Department, but it is not happening fast enough. I submitted a parliamentary question on the October 2024 consultation on EU Directive (EU) 2024/1711. There were five submissions from the ESB, Electric Ireland, Bord Gáis Éireann, Energia a…

We are doing that. This week or next week, we will pass the Finance Bill through the Houses to give effect to those measures we have already decided, as a Government, to take. We are doing exactly as the Deputy suggests. We are providing further subsidies on the cost of travel to students in two ways, namely, through direct intervention at the petrol pumps for those students who travel by car and …

I assure the Deputy and the House that I will make the case in the budget negotiations to secure the maximum possible package for my Department for the benefit of students, apprentices, researchers and all the people within and for all the good reasons the Deputy articulates. I expect the cost of college paper to be available in June or early summer, and certainly it will be with us before the su…

The Minister said that he does not like to see this happening in reply to me in committee. However, the RTB has said that if the rent is set out at the start with the services charged separately, the charge can stay separate. We have seen in institutions that the increase is around 7%, when we look at the rent rise and the rise of the service charges. I would like the Minister to sit down with the…