Search the Dáil record

373. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the lead authority performance reports for Quarter 3 and Quarter 4 2025 will be published; and to give a commitment to include new child presentations into homelessness in these reports including a cumulative figure for the period from 2016 to Quarter 4 2025. [15733/26]

374. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of properties and sites under the Derelict Sites Act 1990, by local authority for each of the years 2022 to 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15748/26]

375. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount outstanding in levies that were levied but not collected under the Derelict Sites Act 1990 between 2022 and 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15749/26]

376. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the implementation process and the exact timelines for the derelict property tax; the engagement he had with local authorities on the public of preliminary registers of derelict properties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15750/26]

377. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of derelict properties, by local authority area, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15752/26]

378. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has received the responses from the local authorities yet; when the derelict sites levy collection data for 2025 will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15753/26]

379. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount that was paid out in the vacant property refurbishment grant, by county, in 2022 to 2025 and to-date in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15754/26]

380. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of applications received for the vacant property refurbishment grant, by county, in 2022 to 2025 and to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15755/26]

381. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of applications refused for the vacant property refurbishment grant, by county, in 2022 to 2025 and to-date in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15756/26]

383. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of affordable homes delivered in Roscommon and Galway to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15761/26]

385. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage how many times he, or officials in his Department met with representatives of the CIF since the last general election, and to list those organisations and the dates on which meetings took place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15802/26]

386. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage how many times government ministers, or their Department representatives met with representatives of IBEC, or any employer representative body since the general election, and to list those organizations and the dates the meetings were held; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15803/26]

387. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a list of state-financed maintenance contracts where a particular company carry out works (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15804/26]

388. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage a list of current state-financed capital contracts where a particular company are listed as a contractor(details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15805/26]

389. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a list of future State-financed capital expenditure projects where a particular company have tendered for contract (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15806/26]

390. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount the State has paid a company (details supplied) for works carried out on behalf of the State since the general election; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15807/26]

391. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total number of applications received, approved and paid under the vacant property refurbishment grant scheme since its commencement; the total amount of public expenditure disbursed under the scheme to date. [15809/26]

392. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in respect of approved and paid applications under the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant Scheme the number and percentage of recipients who were Irish citizens; the number and percentage of recipients who were citizens of another EU Member State; the number and percentage of recipients who were non-EU citizens;…

393. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the planned new fire station for Bagenalstown, County Carlow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15946/26]

394. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the planned new fire station for Kilkenny city; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15950/26]

397. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has undertaken any formal governance review of the Room for a Student – Local Authority Tenancies Scheme since its commencement on 1 December 2023; whether any briefing was prepared by his Department regarding scheme performance relative to projected uptake; and whether any policy modificat…

398. Deputy Catherine Ardagh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his response to concerns in relation to planning reform and judicial review (details supplied). [16101/26]

399. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage given the recent confirmation that homes in Dublin Fingal west are now to be included in the defective concrete blocks grant scheme, the reason repeated representations, clear timelines and confirmed funding arrangements have not been provided to affected homeowners; when precisely applications from Dublin …

400. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on the most recent Local Democracy Taskforce meeting; if he can provide an update on the publication of its final report, including any emerging themes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16107/26]

401. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his response to concerns (details supplied) regarding changes in residential tenancy laws; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16128/26]

I thank the Deputies for their remarks. I will speak to the amendments first and then speak to some of the queries that were raised, which were dealt with on Committee Stage. Amendments Nos. 1 and 2, and 21 to 23, inclusive, are grouped together. As I said during the Committee Stage debate, it is not appropriate to include commitments to producing reports in primary legislation, particularly legi…

It is important we are clear on the budgetary context for budget 2026. Many of my Government colleagues have many priorities in their respective Departments and policy areas which they will commence negotiation on at the end of July and through August. The Minister, Deputy Lawless, has been clear that affordability for students is an important priority for him as part of his negotiation for budget…

What is the point of having the CSO provide figures and details regarding the population across the country if the Government keeps ignoring those figures when it comes to the delivery of key services? The CSO tells us how many older people we have, but we are not providing enough nursing home beds for them. The CSO tells us the number of younger people, but we are not providing enough school plac…

I welcome the publication of this report. However, there is nothing new in it and without political will to implement its recommendations, it will be another report that is left to sit on the shelf. The fact is that the issues and shortcomings in the provision of education for pupils with special educational needs have been identified in the past, and spoken about in this House on numerous occasio…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes: — the sacrifice of the men and women of 1916, who fought and died in the General Post Office (GPO), Moore Street, across Dublin and elsewhere in Ireland, so Ireland may be free; — the status of the GPO as a national monument, the headquarters of the 1916 Easter Rising, and the place where the Irish Republic was proclaimed on Easter Monday, 24th April, 1916, an…

I thank my colleague, Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh, not only for bringing this motion to the House, but for the battle he continuously fights to protect our rebel history and respect our patriot dead and their families. Sinn Féin has set out a clear vision in Aengus's Bill to develop the 1916 cultural quarter in line with the Moore Street Preservation Trust. The GPO and the surrounding lanes and house…

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing this timely, welcome and debate-worthy motion to the Chamber. The motion asks us to do something that successive governments have failed to do, namely, treat the GPO and Moore Street as if they matter. I am not just referring to this Government but the previous one and the one before that. Going back to the 50th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising, the GPO played v…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion. I commend Deputy Ó Snodaigh, who has not just introduced this proposal but over the years has done great work, as has his family, to make sure the cultural and historical heritage of Ireland and this city is maintained and enhanced. In the course of this debate we think about the sacrifices of those who fought in the GPO and the fact that Pearse …

I hear the Deputy saying he wants to trust the NGOs more but also to have more oversight of them. The NGOs here do phenomenally good work. We are providing record funding to address homelessness. What we want to do, though, is to prevent homelessness occurring in the first place and that is why we are making rapid decisions to significantly increase the supply of housing right across the country. …

3. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the development of the Government’s housing plan; if it will be published before the summer recess; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35894/25]

The Minister did not address the recommendation from the Housing Commission to increase social and affordable housing to 20% of all stock. This badly needs to be done. It is a key plank of the commission's recommendations. I hope the Minister might be able to give us an outline of when each section of the Planning and Development Act will be enacted, including timelines, and whether he intends to …

The Minister of State and I sat on the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage for four years. There are local authorities that will not put sites on the derelict sites register; some local authorities will not impose the levy, which is the law; and other local authorities will not collect the levy. Millions of euro are owed on derelict sites on the register but there …

5. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason he decided to withdraw funding for social housing PPP bundles shovel ready this week; and the measures he will take to ensure the 3,000 social homes planned as PPPs are going to be delivered in the original timeframe. [36246/25]

I understand people’s upset and frustration. My duty is to deliver the maximum number of homes we can but that means maximising the value so we can maximise the delivery of those homes. I will not blindly sign off at any price for social homes. These homes were frankly at an astronomical price. No doubt had I signed off on them, I would be before the Committee of Public Accounts answering question…

7. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has undertaken a review of utility infrastructure deficits in rural towns and villages; how these deficits are currently limiting the delivery of rural housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36137/25]

I thank Deputy Clendennen for raising this important issue. Unfortunately, it is still the case that some rural towns and villages across the country require investment in infrastructure, be it in my area of west Cork or the Deputy's area of Offaly. It is something the Government is committed to addressing. Under section 10 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, it is a statutory requirement f…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 30 together. I thank Deputy Cooney for raising this issue. Clearly the need for investment in infrastructure, particularly wastewater services in our towns and villages, is a priority and a recurring theme that we hear. It is a priority of the Minister, Deputy Browne, of the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, and of mine, in terms of delivering housing in th…

In the Minister of State's own words, the housing crisis is an emergency. The lack of a treatment system in towns and villages is one of the causes of this emergency, yet the money to develop such systems in towns and villages that are not serviced has been sitting in the Department's bank account for the past three years. The county council is clearly committed to delivering this scheme in two to…

I reassure the Deputy that there is absolutely no backtracking on the commitment to provide solutions for these rural villages. As I have said, the Minister, Deputy Browne, and the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, recently brought forward the national planning framework, which gives a clear commitment on regional growth and regional development and allowing people to live in rural parts of Irela…

11. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a date for when his revised housing plan will be completed and published. [35826/25]

Following the publication of the national planning framework, NPF, will the Minister of State advise when the local authorities will receive their revised population figures? It is important that these guidelines are rolled out to county councils as soon as possible to allow them to amend their county development plans and local area plans. Because of the delay, I have seen a planning application …

From a national point of view, councils must be closely involved in the delivery of housing. Delivery must be micromanaged. These county targets must be drilled down further, with monthly figures produced by all local authorities of actual homes built versus targets and explanations given. This is the only way to deliver large numbers of houses. The Minister must then meet the CEOs of the councils…

I thank the Minister. From my point of view and that of the local authority, this entire project is essentially being held up because of €5 million, which is a very small sum of money in the grand scale of things. This project has been in planning since last year and was first announced in May 2024. We have had the highest percentage increase in house prices in Limerick in the past year because we…

15. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the efforts he and his Department have made to encourage new technologies in the construction sector; the role he believes modular housing can play in the current crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35401/25]

I agree. It is simply taking too long to get certification for the use of modular builds in this country. The Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, is engaging with his counterpart in the Department of enterprise. We are determined to get to a situation where we can get certification done at a much quicker pace. We need it done. We have an ageing workforce. It is getting more difficult to replace the…