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4. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will reverse the decision to cut funding for social housing acquisitions, including housing first and the tenant in situ schemes. [24905/25]

14. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to urgently review the cut in funding for the social housing acquisition programmes, given its negative impact on key homeless schemes like tenant in situ and housing first. [24433/25]

64. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will increase the income limits to qualify for social housing as the current limits exclude a large cohort of individuals and families from both social housing and mortgage approval; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24261/25]

77. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on a new housing activation fund to support the delivery of critical infrastructure that enables housing development; if he would consider making such a fund open for applications on a rolling basis; if it could be structured as a multi-annual fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [247…

80. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he plans to introduce a new local infrastructure housing activation fund, or similar scheme, to help unlock land for housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24801/25]

90. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of affordable housing units delivered in County Meath in 2024 and to date in 2025; how that compares with targets; the ambition he has in terms of the numbers of affordable houses for County Meath in the years ahead; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23595/25]

91. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will establish a State-sponsored housing infrastructure investment fund to provide finance for a major construction of social and affordable housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24260/25]

105. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will amend the local authority house purchase scheme to enable tenants to purchase "section 5" houses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24259/25]

107. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to confirm the number of housing completions in Cork in 2024; to specify the number completed by type of housing (private, social, affordable, cost rental); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24840/25]

108. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has met with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications in relation to the published review of connection policy for large energy users; if he is aware of concerns that housing targets are being placed at risk due to new capacity being used by growing data centre demand; if he is aware that th…

114. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of people on the housing waiting list; the number of those in receipt of social housing supports, by category; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24881/25]

689. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the average per-unit cost of construction under social and affordable housing schemes, by year and by project type (house or apartment), compared to private sector benchmarks. [23343/25]

700. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will establish a housing delivery acceleration unit within his Department, composed of public, private, and voluntary sector housing experts to audit stalled projects, eliminate waste, and publicly report on delivery performance each quarter. [23355/25]

347. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the progress to date in reviewing the income eligibility limits for social housing, with particular reference to the need to increase income levels for applicants for council housing in areas such as Cavan and Monaghan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23116/25]

243. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of the implementation of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions Act) 2024 to earmark certain cost rental units for local key workers; the number of units his Department intends to earmark for key workers per year; the location of the housing units; the cost per unit; the timeline for when these units wi…

258. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the progress of the affordable housing and social housing scheme in Ardmore, County Waterford, including expected timelines for delivery, number of homes and current status of planning and procurement. [21916/25]

263. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of affordable purchase units, social housing units, cost rental units and serviced sites delivered in Waterford over the past ten years, or for the duration of each relevant scheme where schemes have been in existence for less than ten years, by local electoral area and by whether delivery was …

1180. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total Exchequer expenditure on social housing acquisitions in 2024, by local authority area, acquisition schemes, that is, tenant-in-situ, the Housing First scheme, vacant acquisitions, and buy and renew; and number of units acquired under each scheme in each local authority area, in tabular form. [18978/25…

1192. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to the farm succession scheme promoted by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine; whether his Department has considered the impact that passing on farmland and properties to farmers' children has on access to housing schemes such as the housing adaptation grant; and i…

1208. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage with regard to Uisce Éireann refusing to take in charge housing developments with developer-provided water service infrastructure thereby causing many problems for homeowners; what plans he has in place to address this issue; if he is aware how many housing developments across the country are impacted by this; …

1211. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the actions his Department is taking to ensure that water and wastewater infrastructure can support the delivery of housing, particularly in the greater Dublin area where key projects face delays; if he will review whether the current mandate and funding model for Uisce Éireann are fit for purpose in meeting …

1214. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 178 of 2 April 2025, the amount of funding released in the first quarter of 2023, 2024 and 2025 to local authorities for the purchase or construction of social housing units by approved housing bodies, by county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the m…

1240. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will issue a circular to local authorities around updating a social housing applicant’s housing need in line with recommendations from medical professionals, particularly with regard to individuals with developmental disorders who may need a sensory room; and if he will make a statement on the matter. …

1241. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if a person who has been approved for remediation works on their house under the defective concrete blocks grant scheme may elect to have the house rebuilt using a modular model which would resemble the existing design and layout; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19772/25]

1251. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when affordable housing units for sale, will be made available to the general public in County Kerry (details supplied); the reason affordable housing has not been made available to persons in Kerry before now; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19945/25]

I support the Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026. This legislation is about two things that renters and would-be renters need more than anything else, which are security and certainty. It strengthens tenants' protection in a way we have not seen before while creating clearer and more stable conditions for investment so we can grow our rental supply. Put bluntly, a rental sy…

There are very serious and valid concerns regarding the amendment to the residential tenancies legislation and the impact, particularly on private property rights and small-scale property owners or landlords. I have met many of these small-scale property owners in my offices in Birr and Tullamore and they are telling me quite clearly that are leaving the rental market. I have also met tenants who …

I propose to take Questions Nos. 137, 138 and 140 together. I welcome the questions from the Deputies. On 10 June 2025, the Government approved policy measures, including modifications to rent controls to come into effect on 1 March 2026 to boost investment in the supply of homes available for rent, keep existing landlords in the market and protect renters. The changes agreed will also provide si…

I was sad to see the senior Minister leave but the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, knows full well what I will say. It is over for him and the senior Minister when it comes to providing housing and developing the level of housing required in this country. I refer to what I predicted on 27 April 2012 in this very House. I encourage the Minister of State to go back and look at the speech. It stil…

I want to deal with the fact that over a year ago we learned that the then Minister, Deputy O'Brien, was going to move on the report from the SCSI and increase the cap by 10%. Immediately, there was an issue that the early movers, namely that those who were already going through the scheme, were going to be left behind. It was made clear that this would apply retrospectively. However, it would re…

In the first instance, this video and the information campaign are not a direct Department of housing campaign. As the Deputy said himself, it is something that has been developed by SpunOut, Ireland's youth information and support platform, and the Housing Agency, who ran this campaign. It was developed by young people and it is based on their experiences. Like all of us in this House, I recogni…

Delivery of new apartments fell by nearly one quarter last year and completions for this year are expected to fall another 25%. It is no surprise. In the budget the Minister slashed tax for private developers but he did nothing to tackle land speculation, even as land hoarding runs rampant. In the greater Dublin area alone figures show that almost 41,000 permissions for apartments lie dormant. The…

I move amendment No. 24: In page 64, between lines 4 and 5, to insert the following: “Report on tax expenditures for property developers 42. The Minister shall, within 3 months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the fiscal and housing-market effects of tax reliefs and incentives available to property developers, and on alternative approaches to achieving…

I move amendment No. 1: To insert the following new paragraph after paragraph (3): "(4) The Minister shall, within one month of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann, a report on the very high level of deadweight associated with reducing the VAT rate to 9 per cent for apartments, making specific reference to the amount of public money that will be directed towards property…

As others have done, I wish to utter words of condemnation of Russia as we see its brutal escalation of its war on Ukraine. In last night's horrific attack there were 25 casualties, as we are hearing. This is yet another indication of Russia's brutality, following on from what is going to be four years next February since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. All of us stand in solidarit…

I always think phrases such as "donning hard hats" are a bit pejorative. People put on hard hats when they visit building sites because of health and safety. It is the law of the land. Ministers go out and about to meet people who build homes. I am proud to do that and to listen directly to the people who build homes, including at the LDA site I visited with the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, …

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "That Dáil Éireann notes that" and substitute the following: "— the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 underpins an enhanced Grant Scheme which provides grant funding to people whose homes have been affected by Defective Concrete Blocks (DCB) and replaced a previous scheme; — the DCB Scheme is neith…

I would like to thank Deputy Ward for all his work on this motion. It is very technical and I was proud to cosign it on behalf of Labour. I heard the response from the Minister for Housing, Deputy Browne, earlier and to be honest, I was shocked - even by my standards - at how bland and unresponsive his response was to the substantive issues raised in the motion. The Government has designed a sche…

The Social Democrats are happy to strongly support this motion. I thank Deputy Ward and the Independent and Parties Technical Group for bringing it forward. It is absolutely one of the most important motions that will be brought forward in this Dáil term because the issue that faces people across the country who are affected by defective blocks is twofold. It is State and market failure. It is mar…

The House gathers today less than a year since the last general election, as the Taoiseach reminds us, and just over 250 days since the Government was formed. The Thirty-fourth Dáil sits at a time of global uncertainty and geopolitical turbulence. It was in this context that the people made their choice at the last election and the resultant Dáil has very serious business to do on their behalf. We…

This Government is clearly in panic mode. Its new housing plan was supposed to be published in July and there is still no sign of it. Instead, what we have seen is a succession of measures that all have one common feature: throwing more public money at developers in the desperate hope that the market will deliver. We have been here before and we know how it ends - soaring house prices and rents a…

We need to see a major influx of funding and investment in housing and particularly in affordable, cost-rental and social housing. Right now, thousands of people are without secure, affordable housing and they are crying out for solutions. They are looking for the Minister and this Government to bring forward solutions. Cost rental is a good idea - it is one of the things we can all agree on - but…

In response to my colleague's last comment about common-sense thinking on planning, I think he will find in Ireland that common sense does not apply to planning agencies and planning permission being granted at the moment. He is 100% correct. It needs an entire overhaul. I will support this Bill on Second Stage to keep the Housing Finance Agency, HFA, operating without interruption. This is a mat…

I welcome the Housing Finance Agency (Amendment) Bill. The increases it will provide to local authorities and approved housing bodies is very welcome and we will support the Bill. While the HFA funding is a powerful tool in the housing crisis, I want to be clear that it is only as important as the hand which wields it. Unfortunately, I think this Government is a continuation of the previous one w…

I welcome the emphasis in the budget on capital investment in infrastructure and housing. There is a full allocation of €19.1 billion for infrastructure in budget 2026, which is an increase of more than €2 billion on the 2025 figure. I very much welcome this. When we have such quantities of money to spend, it is important that we do not allow it to become bogged down in red tape and bureaucracy, w…

Those opposite do not like when I compare what is happening here with the place where they are in government. We are also taking an important step towards removing the means tests for our carers. A big move was made yesterday in that regard. This is something that everybody in the House supports. Concrete action was taken yesterday in relation to that. We are reducing the rate of VAT relating to…

The Government talks about wanting to hear views and ideas from the Opposition, but its Ministers and TDs do not even bloody bother to turn up in the Dáil to listen. The Minister of State is the only one here. It is an absolute disgrace, but in some ways it is not surprising. It is just a continuation of the cynical and misleading actions of the Government during the election campaign. The Govern…

This is the tenth budget I have had the opportunity to respond to as the Sinn Féin spokesperson on housing. In every single year, the Minister for housing presents a budget and tells us it will address and improve the housing situation across the State. In the 12 months that follow, house prices, rents and homelessness rise, and social and affordable housing targets that are too low to begin with …

I welcome the opportunity to say a few words. I absolutely agree with the contribution of Deputy Charles Ward. Nothing would have prepared me for the extent of, and the damage done by, the defective blocks issue in Donegal. I thought I knew it from listening to colleagues speak on the issue, including my previous colleague, Thomas Pringle, as well as members of Sinn Féin. Nothing prepared me for t…

I, too, welcome the visitors in the Gallery. I congratulate my colleague Deputy Ahern on introducing his first of legislation in the House. It is a significant achievement and great to see. As we all know, housing is the biggest challenge facing the country. We need to consider all measures possible to address this challenge. Part of that involves increased transparency and accountability, better…