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1172. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to provide details of the main contractor and any subcontractors engaged in the Heather House, Community Nursing Unit refurbishment project; the procurement method used; the contract value awarded; and whether the contract includes specific provisions relating to fire safety compliance works. [32942/26]

35. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Social Protection in light of Louth County Council’s decision to pause housing grant applications from 1 May 2026, whether there is a Department of Social Protection scheme available for people whose oil or gas boilers have irretrievably broken, where they cannot afford to pay for a retrofit through SEAI, and do not have the means to pay for a new …

232. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Transport whether the periodic review of in-house aviation expertise recommended by the Air Accident Investigation Unit in Safety Recommendation IRLD2021029 of the Rescue 116 Final Report (Report No. 2021-008, published 5 November 2021) has ever been conducted; (details supplied); whether he considers it appropriate that his Department is promoti…

253. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if a review of the maximum payment ceiling under the help-to-buy scheme is planned in light of current house price levels; and if so, when this review will take place and whether consideration is being given to increasing the maximum relief available. [31723/26]

274. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether there is an agreed and widely used system that acts as a unique identifier for each non-Government organisation, charity, voluntary/community organisation or approved housing body to enable traceability of public funds; and if not, if plans are underway to develop …

330. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if a homeowner letting a room in their own principal private residence as a short-term holiday let, will be impacted by regulations (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31540/26]

331. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of Dublin City Council's application for funding under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund for works in the Clongriffin, Belmayne and surrounding areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31582/26]

332. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on the implementation of Part 3, Chapter 5, Section 48 of the Planning and Development Act 2024, which requires that local authorities prepare a strategy for allotments and community gardens in their area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31620/26]

334. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the new rural planning guidelines will be issued; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31674/26]

335. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the length of time it takes Tailte Éireann to process land registrations when all the relevant documents are submitted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31679/26]

336. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the Apartment and Duplex Defects Remediation Bill 2024; the results of the retrospective costs pathfinder exercise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31807/26]

403. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if an emergency funded plan will be introduced in the next budget to address the urgent housing and care needs of ageing parents caring for adult children with intellectual disabilities. [31597/26]

404. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the current level of funding allocated to disability housing supports; and whether additional ring-fenced funding will be committed to address the growing crisis in provision. [31598/26]

405. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if a statutory register of need for people with intellectual disabilities requiring supported housing will be established to ensure accurate identification, recording and forward planning of demand. [31599/26]

406. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether all young people with intellectual disabilities are provided with a personal transition plan for housing and care supports by age 18; and if not, the steps being taken to ensure this occurs from age 16. [31600/26]

411. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the measurable targets and key performance indicators that are currently in place for the delivery of housing and care supports for people with intellectual disabilities; and whether timelines for delivery will be published. [31610/26]

150. Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he would consider purchasing the land at Lugnaquilla, County Wicklow on behalf of the residents of County Wicklow, noting the importance of this land; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31063/26]

151. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when a successor to the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan 2021-2025 will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31419/26]

152. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reforms or changes that have been made on foot of the recommendations of the Oireachtas Committee on Future Funding of Domestic Water Services; if he plans any statutory changes or reforms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31420/26]

153. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the budget allocation for both the built heritage investment scheme and the historic structure fund in the years of 2025 and 2026, in tabular form; and the amount drawn down by approved project in 2024 and 2025 and 2026. [31036/26]

156. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when he will request local authorities to include a Traveller-ethnic identifier in their reporting of homelessness in order to establish the level of homelessness in the Traveller community. [31169/26]

159. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the procedure being put in place to provide for developer-built water and wastewater infrastructure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31261/26]

161. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if consideration will be given to introduce a temporary price stabilisation condition for developments participating in either the help-to-buy or first home scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31325/26]

162. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has prepared a business case for the purchase of 1,500 acres of land at Aghavannagh Mountain in Wicklow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31326/26]

163. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the position regarding the mechanisms in place to support agencies under his remit with the increased costs of employing staff; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31364/26]

149. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to ensure transparency in the home-buying process, to curb ghost bids and gazumping, and to curtail bidding wars that are leading to higher house prices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18166/26]

The Government has accepted there are issues. That is why it set up the expert group. The programme for Government committed to a broad package of measures to assist home buyers under the home buyers help package, many of which have already been progressed by the implementation group of the task force on conveyancing and probate, arising from the previous actions under Housing for All. The ESRI r…

I am very concerned because what we saw from the previous Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael Government was a commitment to address gazumping, ghost bids and the problems in the market. I am deeply concerned because the Minister is again making commitments to review it but I am not sure about the timeline for delivering changes and action on this. You can read article after article about this. We have examples…

150. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if plans by local councils to increase rents for council and HAP tenants reflect the commitment in the Delivering Homes, Building Communities plan to review the rents paid by social housing tenants, or if even more rent increases are planned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18049/26]

Can the Minister of State tell me whether, in the national framework the Government is going to work towards, rents are going to come down for any council tenants or are they just going to rise? That is the simple question. The Delivering Homes, Building Communities document is extremely worrying because it suggests moving away from a differential rent-based system in which people's rent is based …

We do have a lot to say to people. We have already delivered a record number of homes last year. Since Housing for All came in, we delivered 36,000 homes last year. We have provided tax breaks for renters as well. We know the only way we can address the homeless crisis, the rent crisis and the housing crisis is through increasing the supply. We cannot calcify the current situation forever. I know …

Short-term protectionism is only exacerbating this situation. I want to give people hope. We delivered over 36,000 new homes last year. That is the highest number of homes since Housing for All came in. We delivered an awful lot more homes 20 years ago. In my view, the kind of protectionism we brought in has undermined the supply of those homes. We need to get back to delivering at least 50,000 ho…

I recognise what the Minister of State and his Department are doing and that he is doing everything in his power to speed up housing delivery. The vacant property refurbishment grant and the croí cónaithe fund are important initiatives in that regard. Bringing vacant and derelict homes back into use in many respects should be the low-hanging fruit in tackling the housing crisis. These homes alread…

This issue relates to Elm Park in Buncrana. I thank the Minister for his engagement to date on the issue. He met with the families in Donegal. I thank the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Deputy Moran, and the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan. I welcome the announcement before Christmas that the Minister is agreeing to relocate the families. They have been waiting a long time…

This is where I perhaps need the guidance of the Leas-Cheann Comhairle or the Oireachtas. In my time in this House, I have never known that we would discuss the employment circumstances of any individual civil servant on the floor of Dáil Éireann. Frankly, without getting into the individual, I do not have any such information available to me today. It is a starting point anyway, but on whether it…

I am going to have to rule the question out of order. If Deputy O'Flynn accepts what the Tánaiste has said, he will check to determine what can be said to the House and will reply directly to the Deputy or the House, whatever is deemed legally correct to do. We will move on from there.

The Deputy has made a number of comments on the record of the House. Let us have the transcript of that and I will certainly seek guidance from the Oireachtas as to what parts of the question, if any, the Government should provide any information on to be helpful to the House.

I thank Deputy Lawlor. I know Alan Corcoran and I will listen back to his programme and the information the Deputy has just put on the record of the House. I am sure the Minister for housing will do so as well. My starting point in this conversation is that the new rules are not meant to affect existing tenants.

As the Minister has outlined, the Government's highest priority in the current conflict is the safety of Irish citizens in the region. This is a priority and concern shared by all here in this House. I am grateful to those Deputies and Senators who have been in contact with my office to raise individual cases. The profile of the Irish community in the region is diverse. It is a mixture of those wh…

I first and foremost send my solidarity to the innocent people in Iran and the broader Middle East who are caught in the middle of this illegal war between a brutal and repressive Iranian regime, a genocidal Israeli regime and an increasingly fascist and autocratic American regime. By the way, this is not a "situation" in the Middle East, which is the title the Government has put on this speaking …

To start, I agree entirely with the Minister that first and foremost in this debate our thoughts have to be with the 24,000 citizens of this country in the Middle East. I too commend the diplomatic teams working there to ensure their safety. This has to be our priority, and the Government is right in adopting that approach. Before I turn to the geopolitical situation, I will comment on a number o…

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. I can confirm that I drive through her constituency probably every day getting to Leinster House and I have been in it many times. My brother lived down from the Iveagh Markets in Francis Street, so I know it well. The Iveagh Markets complex, a protected structure located on Francis Street, Dublin 8, was designed to provide accommodation for street trade…

On behalf of the Minister for Transport, I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to address this issue in the House. The proposal for the Cork northern distributor road, NDR, is set out in the Cork metropolitan area transport strategy 2040, CMATS, which was developed by the NTA in collaboration with Cork City Council, Cork County Council and Transport Infrastructure Ireland. During the preparation,…

I am very grateful for the opportunity to raise the issue of the closure and liquidation of the Southside Traveller Action Group, STAG. STAG has provided support to the Traveller community in my constituency and neighbouring constituencies for four decades. It provides support for some of the most marginalised people in our country, through periods when Travellers have faced horrific racism and ab…

I really welcome the opportunity to address Dáil Éireann today regarding the Criminal Justice (Rehabilitative Periods) Bill 2018 on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan. Unfortunately he is in Brussels today and that is the only reason he is not here. At the outset, I acknowledge the work that has brought us to this point, some of which was so wel…

I thank the Minister of State for taking the time to debate this. I welcome the Government's support for the Bill and look forward to debating any amendments on Committee Stage. That is the proper way to do business with the Opposition when a Bill comes forward that the Government does not wholeheartedly agree with because it gives us a chance to discuss amendments. I thank Senator Ruane for the …

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Thomas Gould - To discuss the need to provide Leap cards to families experiencing homelessness outside of Dublin. Deputy Joe Cooney - To discuss the regular reporting of the defective concrete blocks appeals board. Deputy Michael C…

I thank Deputy Gould for raising this important issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne. Supporting individuals and families facing homelessness is a key Government priority, and the increase in homelessness figures is a concern for the Government. Budget 2026 allocated €513 million in current funding to ensure that indivi…

The Minister of State outlined what is happening. I sincerely hope he will take on board the submissions made during the consultation and the point I have made today because I have raised this previously. We will disagree on politics and fight and argue over the housing policy and how I believe a number of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael Governments have caused the housing emergency we are in. I hope th…

I again thank the Deputy for raising this important issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Browne. I reiterate that resources and funding are not an obstacle to the urgent efforts required. More than €563 million has been allocated to homeless services in 2021. On the specific point raised in respect of the Leap card, the Government's …