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350. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason the deadline for postal vote and special vote applications for the two by- elections was set only one working/postal day after the moving of the writ; and his views that such deadlines, effectively disenfranchise persons who qualify, contrary to their constitutional rights under Art 16 of Bunreacht …

351. Deputy Micheál Carrigy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of civil and public servants employed by his Department in each of the past ten years, in tabular form. [33955/26]

375. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether formal national criteria have been defined for determining, medically vulnerable status, the absence of safe housing in Ukraine for the purposes of continued eligibility for State supports; if so, to provide those criteria; and if not, the basis on which such determinations are made. [33604/26]

376. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether any verification, audit or assurance mechanisms are in place to assess claims relating to lack of safe housing in Ukraine; the body responsible for such oversight; and whether any audits or reviews have been conducted to date. [33605/26]

377. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the current number of temporary protection beneficiaries accommodated in private accommodation supported by the Accommodation Recognition Payment, State-contracted commercial accommodation, the modular or rapid-build housing; and the average annual cost per person within each category. [33606/26]

378. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether his Department has conducted or commissioned any formal assessment of housing availability, safety conditions, or regional stability in Ukraine for the purpose of informing Irish Government policy on return; and if so, to provide details of such assessments. [33611/26]

551. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Health her views on the merits of the provision of emergency funding for housing and full-time care for the adult children of aging parents; if this is under consideration within her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33813/26]

282. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the assessment that has been undertaken regarding the impact of critical skills employment permit thresholds on wage levels, housing demand and labour market competition for younger workers. [31889/26]

297. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth to set out in full and itemised detail the specific entitlements available under each of the five pillars of the Government support package for survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse (Health, Education, Advocacy, Housing and Funeral Costs); including the supports that are currently accessible in practice and what remains pend…

467. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if his attention has been drawn to the concerns of residents in (details supplied) in relation to not being able to get access to fibre broadband due to their houses having direct buried leads, making the installation of fibre broadband more costly and difficult; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31902/26…

486. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the latest update on discussions his Department has had with Dublin City Council or the Land Development Agency in relation to the Ballymun Shopping Centre site; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31856/26]

488. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if consideration is being given to purchasing lands at Lugnaquilla to provide a new national park; if this is under review within his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31879/26]

489. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to the public campaign requesting the Government to purchase lands at Lugnaquilla with a view to providing a new national park; if this is under review within his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31880/26]

490. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether data is collected on residential property purchases by non-EEA nationals holding temporary immigration permissions; and if so, to provide relevant figures. [31891/26]

491. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department will consider the acquisition of the 1,527-acre land parcel, including the summit of Lugnaquilla, County Wicklow, due for auction on 1 May 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31929/26]

492. Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider amending Part L of the Building Regulations to introduce a mandatory requirement that all new-build residential properties be equipped with an on-site renewable energy system such as solar panels or other appropriate technologies together with integrated battery storage solutions (details s…

493. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he plans to amend the croí cónaithe grant process so that applicants may draw down funds on the basis of a completion certificate issued by a local qualified engineer, rather than being required to submit all receipts prior to payment; if his Department will carry out audits requiring applicants to retain all …

494. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is aware of the financial shortfall being experienced by applicants who do not have access to bridging finance under the defective concrete blocks scheme; if he is aware of the impact of the requirement to retain 10% of the approved grant, combined with the additional retrospective top-up (up to the €462,0…

495. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the budget for cost rental for 2026 will be increased to take account of inflation due to the Iran war and its impact on making cost rental viable; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32027/26]

496. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the secure tenancy affordable rental investment scheme will be put to the market as an available and viable option in regional growth centres outside of the cities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32028/26]

497. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the capital budget for cost rental is fully allocated for 2026; if additional resources will be made available to support AHBs with the purchase of additional cost rental apartments that will be delivered in the Dublin area in 2027; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32029/26]

502. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the assessments that have been carried out by his Department on the impact of current and proposed rent regulation measures on the supply of rental accommodation, including any available analysis of landlord exits or changes in rental listings; the steps being taken to maintain adequate rental supply; and if h…

503. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether carer's allowance can be included as income in assessing the amount of HAP a person can receive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32063/26]

504. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to respond to matters raised in correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32106/26]

505. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department, or any agency under its remit including the National Parks and Wildlife Service, has undertaken any ecological, biodiversity, or conservation assessment of the area known as Murphy's Rock in Cork; and if so, to provide details of such assessments, including dates, scope, and findings. [321…

I thank the Deputy very much for raising what is a very important issue for the area of Kanturk - an area that the Deputy is exceptionally passionate about. The operation of public wastewater treatment, together with the operational issues locally, are matters for Uisce Éireann, which has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services, planning, delivery and operational at national, r…

I thank the Minister of State for his correspondence and response on the issue with the wastewater treatment plant in Kanturk. I particularly welcome the opportunity of maybe having some bridging infrastructure which would take place. There are serious discussions ongoing with Cork County Council, the EPA and Uisce Éireann on this matter. I certainly hope that in his position as Minister of State …

I thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward the motion and allowing us the opportunity to speak about the people who have been left behind. The Minister is still not listening. He is certainly not listening to the people in rural Ireland. I will tell him about the plumber I met at the protest on Monday morning in Ballina. These are the same protests that the Government is trying to condemn, …

I thank the Deputies for raising very important issues and matters. I welcome the opportunity to discuss the pressures that households are facing as a result of high energy costs. It is important to say that the Government remains deeply concerned about the conflict in the Middle East, including the Gulf. Ireland has a long track record of support for international law and the UN and we continue t…

There is damp, mould, broken windows and doors and crumbling walls. Entire blocks of flats in this city are riddled with dampness. If the Taoiseach went to places like Sheriff Street, Seville Place, Ballybough or East Wall, or the flat complexes of Clarion Quay, Chancery House, Island Quay and Longboat Quay, he would find that out for himself. Families are crying out for very basic and long overd…

There is no question about that. Also, the number of social houses we are building that are of a very high quality is the highest since the 1970s. There were close to 12,000 social houses delivered last year.

The Government, before any blockade, was in discussions with the Irish Road Haulage Association, the IFA and farm contractors. In fact, we had introduced a €250 million package three or four weeks ago in the House. As I said earlier, we have been introducing cost-of-living packages on an ongoing basis. The budget had some significant measures, including the DEIS plus scheme, for example, to help …

Last week, the Taoiseach told Radio Teilifís Éireann that he was open to all forms of energy supply. He also acknowledged the fragility of Irish dependence on imported fuels. That admission is important - and it is important to the House - because Ireland imports approximately 86% of its energy, which is one of the highest dependence rates in Europe. At the same time, the Government made a deliber…

I commend the amazing Lelia Doolan, the long-time neutrality activist and human rights campaigner. She is outside the gates of Leinster House right now having completed a mammoth 220 km walk from Shannon Airport. Lelia is 91 years of age and has been walking in a gentle, peaceful protest for a fortnight. She is protesting the use of Shannon Airport by the US military. She has asked for a meeting w…

He will have an army of lawyers coming in. I jokingly suggested to the Minister before that he may prove to be the Manchurian candidate for the legal profession because, I will be honest with him, I do not think there is a hope in hell of this Bill working in the manner in which it has been presented. It is deeply confusing at times. Even with the some of current amendments, you could read through…

I will just make a couple of comments on that. The Minister's rationale for refusing to accept the amendment is, I believe, that there is no need for it. I would contest that. On the Minister's latter point, I do not think there is any suggestion that people do not appreciate the challenges that are involved. We have had quite an amount of discussion on this at the Oireachtas justice committee. F…

The proposed new Part 4 of the Bill gives effect to the reception conditions provisions of the reception conditions directive. Seanad amendment No. 63 provides for the definition section of Part 4 to include definitions of "accommodation centre", "clothing allowance", "daily expenses allowance", "family member", "house rules" and "material reception conditions". Seanad amendment No. 64 proposes t…

I thank the Minister of State for still being present. I join with the congratulations offered to the women's national team on their heroic victory this week. I wish them the very best. I join with my colleagues and friends in offering our full solidarity to Deputy Byrne this evening. I would like to speak to the Minister of State about Tadgh, Nathan, Cian, Jack, Sam, Morgan - bear with me - Dami…

It is worth clarifying that we know the difference between an ISDS system and an investor court system. There is not much of a difference. The investor court system really formalises the previous ISDS system, but in effect they do the same thing. We have had this at committee. It was an absolute disgrace that we did not have pre-legislative scrutiny on this. It was remiss of me to not commend Lynn…

With the malevolent Trump Administration, we need to closer links with Canada through the EU and this legislation is clearly facilitating what is essentially a trade-off with pluses and minuses. The question is not about whether we are losing sovereignty but whether sovereignty is worth giving up in certain situations, and I believe it is. We have agreed to pool sovereignty at EU level in multiple…

The nub of the issue is that the Bill is before the House because of a Supreme Court decision and the Costello judgment. We are going to have differences of opinion on it. There was a 4:3 split in the judgment but a 6:1 majority said that while it is unconstitutional, it does not require a referendum because the State can change Irish law to put in place strict safeguards to make sure Irish sovere…

This is a very important debate for the public looking in at proceedings. I will briefly outline how the debate will proceed for their benefit. Speaking times have been agreed by the House and are displayed on the clock. If the clock turns red, a Member's time is up. When a Member rises, their time begins. Where time is shared, the Chair will indicate this. All contributions must be made through t…

A Cheann Comhairle, Labour has no confidence in this Government. This Government has failed to tackle the cost-of-living crisis. Its members have shown a total disregard for the mounting pressures facing households and businesses across the country. The Labour Party warned in March when the first package of measures was announced that workers and families would continue to face impossible cost bur…

The reality is that people want us to govern. People are under pressure. That is why the Government has intervened twice. I have been a Member of the Houses of the Oireachtas for 19 years and I will make a comment to Members of both Houses. Our language and words matter. Deputy Cairns spoke about leadership but leadership is not about sticking your finger in the air and wondering what way the wind…

The Tánaiste and Taoiseach have left the Chamber. It is an insult to the Dáil and proof positive that not only will they not listen to the Irish people but they will not listen to TDs in this House. We have a cost-of-living crisis on top of a cost-of-living crisis, and that crisis has been deliberately worsened by Government policy, which favours the rich and powerful in our society and doubles do…

It has been excruciating listening to the Government talking about misery and missed hospital appointments. The housing Minister has left the House. There is a tsunami of evictions in my constituency. Two thirds of the under-35s are living with their parents. Need I go on? This Government leaves vast wealth untapped and untouched. Eleven billionaires own 85% of the wealth in Ireland. The protests…

This Government has let down those in plant hire, those farmers, taxi drivers, the hauliers, contractors and fishers, and the ordinary people who this Government says it represents and lives among. The reality is it has blamed Trump for absolutely everything. We have heard Government Members getting up and speaking about Trump. Donald Trump is not in charge of the National Oil Reserves Agency, NOR…

An Garda Síochána, which Member's opposite should appreciate, has a proud record and history of defending and securing the people or Ireland and their democratic institutions from harm against those who have tried to undermine them. They did so again on this occasion and that is to be commended by everyone in this House. I am, however, concerned about the unacceptable levels of hatred and vitriol…

If you did, you would understand that your measures simply do not go far enough. How could you stand up, understanding where people are at, and decide to say you are just doing nothing on home heating oil and you are just going to leave people to paddle their own canoe in relation to that issue? Simon, I stood in the homes of these people. They invited me in. They have shown me their tanks running…

In the six years I have been a TD and for much of the decade before that, there was a coalition in this House - a coalition that existed across Government and Opposition that supported the carbon tax. There was a coalition that recognised the arguments that a dedicated, predictable and increasing fund of money was necessary to fund the changes needed to transition our economy away from fossil fuel…