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1048. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in light of the ongoing homelessness crisis and the Government's decision to restrict the tenant-in-situ scheme, the projected additional number of households expected to enter homelessness in 2026 as a direct consequence of the policy change if the scheme is not going to be restored; and if he will make a…

1053. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if an application for a person (details supplied) will be expedited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19320/26]

1054. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of social homes delivered in every county in each of the past five years, in tabular form. [19323/26]

1056. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the average annual cost to the State per household placed in emergency accommodation, including hotels, B and Bs and family hubs in the years 2020 to 2025 inclusive, in tabular from; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19336/26]

1057. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the average capital cost per dwelling acquired under the tenant-in-situ scheme, including purchase price, legal fees and refurbishment costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19337/26]

1058. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the estimated cost to the Exchequer over a five-year period of supporting a household in emergency accommodation compared with the cost of acquiring a property under the tenant-in-situ scheme for that household; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19338/26]

1059. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has conducted or commissioned value-for-money or cost-benefit analysis comparing, emergency accommodation expenditure, and, homelessness prevention measures such as tenant-in-situ purchases. [19339/26]

1060. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total expenditure on emergency accommodation in each of the years, 2023, 2024 and 2025; the total expenditure on tenant-in-situ acquisitions over the same period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19340/26]

1062. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the position regarding the interim apartment remediation scheme; if water ingress defects are being considered for inclusion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19371/26]

1066. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 191 on the 4 of March 2026, if he could provide the value of the sponsorship in cash terms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19394/26]

1067. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the sponsor of Ireland's participation in Marché International des Professionnels de l'Immobilier (MIPIM) Conference last year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19399/26]

1068. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage with regard to his recent announcement that over 11,000 social homes have been retrofitted since the introduction of the Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme; to provide a breakdown on a local authority basis of the number of social homes that have benefitted; the allocation to each local authority to the end…

1069. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the position regarding a pathfinder apartment defects remediation scheme (details supplied); the timeline, budget, and the way in which findings will be rolled out nationally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19467/26]

1071. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he can clarify whether all information collected by local authority officials when a person presents as homeless or at risk of homelessness is notified to his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19473/26]

1072. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if it is possible within current IT provisions for local authorities to collate and publish information on youth homelessness (18-24 years); including reasons for entering homelessness and exits from homelessness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19474/26]

1073. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 822 of 17 February 2026, if he could provide a county/local authority breakdown of the 9,175 cases where An Coimisiún Pleanála applied the planning condition prohibiting multiple sales. [19478/26]

1074. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department or any body under it’s aegis made a disclosure under Revenue's recent disclosure opportunity to regularise misclassification of self-employment; if so, to provide details of the numbers of workers affected and the amount paid to Revenue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19500/26]

1075. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department administers any funding schemes which can support provision of Christmas lights in rural towns and villages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19546/26]

1076. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if a residential development (details supplied) has been approved for funding and inclusion under the fire safety defects remediation scheme; the current status of any application in respect of the development; the timeline for assessment and decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19620/26]

1077. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of applications under the original defective concrete blocks grant scheme that reached the maximum grant payable under that scheme; the number of such cases in each local authority area administering the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19637/26]

1079. Deputy Ann Graves asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will ensure that the refund process for a location (details supplied) will commence as soon as possible to allow the residents repair the roofs in their apartment block. [19744/26]

1083. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason the working family payment is included as assessable income under the Household Means Policy 2026, of which he issued in February 2026, given that it is a payment for low income households; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19774/26]

1084. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department is considering legislative measures to provide greater clarity regarding the status of licence agreements in residential accommodation where occupants have exclusive use of a room and share common areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19789/26]

1085. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether he is aware of concerns that licence agreements are being used in some residential settings to exclude occupants from Rent Pressure Zone protections; whether his Department has assessed the impact of this practice on the operation of RPZ rent increase limits; and if he will make a statement on the mat…

1086. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department is considering any legislative clarification to ensure that residential arrangements which operate as tenancies in substance are treated as tenancies for the purposes of the Residential Tenancies Acts and Rent Pressure Zone rules, regardless of how they are labelled; and if he will make…

I welcome this debate to mark World Mental Health Day. The simple truth is still the strongest line: there is no health without mental health. Today is about removing stigma, yes, but also about showing that the services are there, close to home and getting stronger year-on-year. Since 2020, funding has risen sharply and budget 2026 builds again on that. I want to commend the Minister of State, D…

I am very appreciative of all the discussions I have heard, both in the Chamber and in my room today. There is a fantastic exchange of knowledge, diversity of debate and agreement on many subjects. I have edited out the bulk of my commentary rather than be repetitious. I will keep it with a community focus. I welcome the annually increased and increasing budget funding and the improving fiscal a…

This year's budget is about targeted investment to support those who need it most, while also ensuring that we plan wisely for the future. It is about looking after people today while securing the economic foundation for the generations ahead. I welcome the strong focus on social protection, particularly the increase in weekly core welfare rates, which will benefit 1.5 million people. The expansi…

Budget 2026 is about protecting and supporting jobs in the face of turbulent economic headwinds. As the first of five budgets that will be delivered over the lifetime of this Government, of course we cannot achieve everything we wish to at once and there will always be more that we can do. However, the permanent incremental measures that are outlined in this budget will go a long way towards provi…

I am taking this matter on the behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy McEntee. I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to outline to the House the position in respect of St Mary’s Boys National School, Blackrock, County Dublin. The Department is committed to offering all available and appropriate supports to schools. As the Deputy rightly pointed out, budget 2026 includes …

We are in agreement that we want to see as many cost rental and social homes as possible built in as quick a time as possible. I do not understand why it is coming out that there are these delays. The Minister says there are no delays. I am not satisfied that is the case because AHBs are saying there are issues of delays. The Minister also said at the housing committee that there is a finite amoun…

All of the details around the various tax breaks, which Minister Donohoe worked on with the Department of housing to ensure we can increase the viability of apartments and get them and housing in general delivered, will be worked out over the coming weeks and then announced. The purpose of the tax cuts is to bring about that viability so that we can get apartments that people need built. Off plan…

7. Deputy Seán Fleming asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the housing activation office and its work and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53635/25]

8. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures he is taking to increase the amount of affordable housing in County Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52989/25]

10. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to hold a referendum and legislate for a constitutional right to housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53899/25]

Will the Minister update us on the plans to deliver the social housing projects via public-private partnerships? I understand that there are legal issues in relation to those. Is there any progress on that, particularly around the projects in Ballymun and Whitehall in my own constituency and elsewhere in Dublin? What is the status of those social housing projects? When will they be delivered? The …

11. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on the delivery of affordable and social housing in Cork city and county, including the expected number of units to be completed in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53206/25]

If the answer is "zero", will the Minister just say it? Is he embarrassed or ashamed? I would be if I was sitting where he is but I do not think the Government knows any shame. The answer is "zero". As we are here this morning, the average rent in north County Dublin is €2,223. The Minister might tell me who is going to be able to afford that rent because people on an ordinary income simply canno…

I thank the Deputy. A commitment was included under Housing for All to develop a roadmap to implement minimum building energy rating, BER, standards where feasible for the private rental sector. This work supports the objectives set down in the Government's climate action plan. My Department is committed to improving energy efficiency in the rental market and our work in this area is being informe…

14. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures his Department is evaluating to promote the conversion of older buildings for housing delivery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53387/25]

112. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures his Department is evaluating to promote the conversion of older buildings for housing delivery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53283/25]

Where I disagree with her is, if we want to get to 50,000 houses, we will need the private sector involved. We will. There is a tendency in the Opposition to decry builders or people who will have to build the houses. The bottom line is we have a problem with the viability of apartments. That is well known. There are 40,000 apartments with planning permissions, but they are not being built because…

If we want to get to the level we want to get to, however, we absolutely have to have a combination of public sector investment in housing, along with private sector investment in housing.

Gabhaim buíochas leis na Baill as ucht an deis labhairt leo faoi cháinaisnéis 2026. Is cáinaisnéis thabháchtach í leis an infheistíocht is mó riamh in infreastruchtúr na tíre. The last number of years have shown us that we are living in times of great change and disruption, from Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic to inflationary pressures, the ongoing wars in Europe and the Middle East, deglobalisa…

Twelve years ago, Fine Gael rolled out the red carpet for the vulture funds with sweetheart tax arrangements, and nothing has changed. Today, its policy remains wedded to the interests of wealthy property funds, developers and big landlords over the housing needs of ordinary people. The Taoiseach today described this strategy as Government policy encouraging private investment to crowd in. What th…

I first want to thank the Tánaiste for updating the House on the situation with the five Irish citizens illegally detained by Israel on the flotilla. We all think of our colleague, Deputy Heneghan, but also the writer, Ms Naoise Dolan, and the other citizens who were detained. Israel must be held accountable for the breaches of international law. The Tánaiste might please keep us updated on the fa…

I preface my remarks by using a few seconds to talk about the four people who are outside here on the 18th day of their hunger strike. We have passed a budget in one of the richest economies in the world and we have four people who have been 18 days on hunger strike outside. They have survived the industrial schools. They are survivors and they are now surviving a hunger strike because they are ta…

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, as an am agus an deis a thabhairt dom labhairt ar bhuiséad 2026.. I welcome the opportunity to address the House this evening on the key elements of the budget 2026 allocation for the Department of Children, Disability and Equality. This is the first of five budgets where we begin the journey to achieve a number of key objectives. The first is to secur…

For years, the struggles faced by family carers have been raised here in the Dáil and in communities across Ireland. Family Carers Ireland has told us clearly that carers' situation needs to be treated like a house on fire. Budget 2026 was the Government's chance to take on that fire. Instead, this Government has arrived with little more than a water pistol. Last week in the Dáil, TD after TD from…

Many of my colleagues have already spoken about the cost-of-living crisis, in case anyone needed it pointed out to them, that exists out there. Whether we are talking about energy costs, rent and other housing costs, or insurance, we know all the issues. That is even before anybody goes to a till when he or she tries to do the shopping on a Friday, Saturday or whatever day he or she chooses. This …