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768. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the options that are available to older people who can no longer use the housing aid for older people grant to buy a new fossil fuel boiler, such as an oil or gas boiler, given the new grant amount will not cover air to water systems, and in many cases the house will not be suitable for these heating s…

694. Deputy George Lawlor asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the estimated yield if the stamp duty on the sale of residential properties on the portion where the value of the houses is between €1 million and €1.5 million increased to 4% and stamp duty on the portion of the value of houses valued at over €1.5 million increased to 8.5% based on 2025 figures; and if he will make a statement …

769. Deputy William Aird asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance to consider extending, expanding or introducing mortgage interest relief, renter tax relief or other housing-related tax measures in Budget 2027 to assist middle-income households facing high housing costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56731/26]

884. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the funding allocated to maintaining vacant properties owned by the OPW, broken down by property since they were originally vacated; the breakdown of the average cost to bring a vacant property owned by the OPW into use for social housing; the breakdown of the overall cost to bri…

247. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has considered legislation to allow social housing tenants whose joint tenant has been abusive to them and there is a safety or protection order in place, to separate their joint tenancy to allow local authorities to provide them with a transfer as a sole applicant; and if he will make a statement on th…

253. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if a qualified child Increase payment from the Department of Social Protection is reckonable as income when assessing for social housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53946/26]

254. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to confirm that HAP and RAS tenants will not be able to access the domestic, sexual and gender-based violence social housing transfer protocol. [53948/26]

257. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the date on which the amount of the allowance payable under the mortgage allowance scheme, currently €11,450, was last revised; if his Department has undertaken an assessment of the adequacy of the allowance having regard to the increase in house prices and mortgage costs since that date; and if he will make a …

258. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has compared the cost to the Exchequer of an allowance under the mortgage allowance scheme with the average cost of delivering one additional social home; if he will review the scheme, including the level of the allowance and the minimum mortgage requirement, with a view to increasing its effe…

265. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the social housing passport will be introduced. [54088/26]

266. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total number of affordable homes that have been built in Cork city in each of the past five years; the total amount planned for 2026; the total funding allocated each year to the local authority to supply affordable housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54147/26]

267. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total number of affordable homes that have been built in Cork county in each of the past five years; the total amount planned for 2026 ; the total funding allocated each year to the local authority to supply affordable housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54148/26]

278. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on a matter (details supplied); if his Department is planning to amend the enforcement of the Spatial Planning and National Roads Guidelines for Planning Authorities, which is prohibiting young couples from farming backgrounds building a house next to the family home along TII routes; and if he will mak…

8. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if he has assessed the potential impact of the draft national housing statement, particularly the proposed changes to occupancy requirements in multi-unit housing developments in Gaeltacht areas, on the implementation of the language planning process under the Gaeltacht Act 2012; and if he will make a …

420. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the key measures taken to expand affordable housing provision since January 2025; his priorities for same for the rest of 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53471/26]

387. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of supported housing units delivered for persons with intellectual disabilities in each local authority area in Dublin in the past five years, including Dublin City Council, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52667/26]

388. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of supported housing units for persons with intellectual disabilities currently planned or in development in each local authority area in Dublin, including expected delivery timelines, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52668/26]

394. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he plans to review the operation of the cost-rental scheme for tenants who suffer catastrophic, life-changing injuries after entering the scheme; the reason there is no legislative provision or policy within the cost-rental scheme to protect tenants whose circumstances change due to permanent disability or…

405. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of approvals on the mortgage allowance scheme by social housing tenants who are purchasing private homes, in 2023, 2024 and 2025. [53143/26]

406. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the schemes available that will allow a group of houses to connect to main sewerage schemes; the grants available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53229/26]

410. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of social housing units commenced and completed in County Carlow and in County Kilkenny between 1 January 2026 and 1 July 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53361/26]

419. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the key measures taken to expand social housing provision since January 2025; his priorities for same for the rest of 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53470/26]

928. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to provide a summary on the skills gaps identified in the construction sector; and the number of new construction workers needed to meet housing, social housing and infrastructure targets, by category of construction worker, in tabular form. [53381/26]

428. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the key measures taken to boost overall housing supply since January 2025; his priorities for same for the rest of 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53479/26]

429. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for a report on the work of the Housing Activation Office since January 2025; his priorities for same for the rest of 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53480/26]

I thank colleagues for their important contributions here today. I echo many of the comments made by the Minister, Deputy Browne, when he emphasised this Government's commitment and determination to tackle the challenges faced by homeowners living with the scourge of defective concrete blocks. I cannot imagine what it must be like for people to see the home they have built, and all the memories th…

I thank the Deputy. Addressing homelessness and in particular homeless families and children is a priority for me, the Department and the Government. Ireland signed the Lisbon declaration in June 2021 which committed all signatories to work towards ending homelessness by 2030. I will continue to work with the National Homeless Action Committee to ensure an all-of-government approach to drive the a…

Cork City Council has a target to deliver 592 new build social homes in 2025. The social housing construction status report, CSR, shows that there were 1,084 homes on site at various stages of design and procurement in Cork city at the end of Q1 of 2025. Cork county has a target of 683 new-build social homes this year. The CSR shows that there are 1,203 homes on site at various stages of design an…

It would feel wrong to rise to my feet and not take the opportunity to update the House on the ongoing illegal detention of five Irish citizens in Israel, including one of our own colleagues in this House, Deputy Heneghan. Overnight, a second flotilla was intercepted by the Israeli authorities. It was carrying five Irish citizens, including Deputy Heneghan. I want to inform the House that I have b…

-----because soaring house prices and rip-off rents are hard-wired into Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael's housing plan. It is not a bug in the system; it is a feature. Incompetence alone does not explain the housing crisis. It is not by accident that we are in this situation; it is by design. Over a decade into this housing crisis, and we have politicians in government wringing their hands, saying that …

The cost-of-living crisis did not end once the election was over last year. A recent report from Barnardos found that four out of ten parents skip meals or eat less to stop their children going hungry. This Government has forgotten about these families. This is a giveaway budget for property developers and owners of fast food chains. There are handouts for millionaires while ordinary families stru…

I thank the Deputies. This financial resolution provides for the reduction of the VAT rate applied to the sale of new apartments to 9% from 8 October 2025. It will apply to the 31 December 2030, that is, for the next five years. Its estimated cost for the first year is €250 million. The Government is committed to the delivery of more than 300,000 new homes by 2023. It is, of course, apparent that…

I am glad to have this opportunity to raise with the Minister the matter of young fellas, boys and girls, leaving our shores to go to Australia simply because they cannot buy or build a house in this country no matter how good a job they have. I attended an event in Barraduff in east Kerry a couple of weeks ago for ten local youngsters who are departing our shores. Some of them have already gone a…

I thank Deputy Gogarty for introducing this motion. The scourge of antisocial behaviour, as people who have served in politics at local and national levels know, has resulted in the ruination of communities, housing estates and neighbourhoods. That is the result of a small minority of people who are intent on creating havoc. This is a time when housing, for instance, is at a premium. This particul…

There are a lot of questions there. At the outset, I will say that Cork City Council has a good record generally in terms of regeneration. Particularly in one half of that Togher area, there was very successful early regeneration but, in fairness, it did not cover the Cherry Tree Road side or the Clashduv Road Flats. I would, of course, support the regeneration of those flats and, indeed, Noonan's…

I welcome young Olivia Nevin who is in the Gallery with her family. She is up from Cork for a birthday visit to Leinster House. The number of children in homelessness is hurtling towards the 5,000 mark. This would represent a truly shameful new record. The tenant in situ scheme can no longer keep families in their homes because the Department of housing has starved it of cash. Dublin City Council…

I would like to discuss the first home scheme price ceiling, particularly for County Tipperary. As a young Member, I will highlight yet again that housing is the number one issue affecting my generation. In Tipperary, we are really struggling with privately built housing, particularly affordable housing. The first home scheme is in place to help those of us who could get a mortgage but where the p…

Much of small-town Ireland has a shortage of housing yet no house building. House building would provide valuable employment. Currently, it is not viable to build houses as the cost to build exceeds the selling price. This is never mentioned in discussions on housing. However, it means that much of Ireland has no house building and yet there is a demand. We must look at strategies to allow house b…

I dtús báire, gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí Dála as páirt a ghlacadh sa díospóireacht. I thank all the Members for their interesting and informed contributions to the debate. I also want to welcome to the Public Gallery any people who are victims of the criminal activity that we have been discussing here today and the people who are supportive of them. I also want to put on the record my ackno…

I thank the Minister of State for his statement, although, unfortunately, I did not hear it. The Bill is not in the summer legislative programme. We have not had any pre-legislative scrutiny, which is a missed opportunity. We should have had more time to hear from the planning experts in this regard. Given that we are taking Second Stage of the Bill today and Committee and Remaining Stages tomorro…

I welcome the publication of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2025. I have listened to some of the Opposition speakers about it and wanting a longer time to discuss it but, in essence, this Bill is about extending the existing permissions and we should not want to take longer to do such a thing because if those permissions expire, it will be the same people who are objecting to the am…

I welcome the Bill. It makes good, necessary adjustments. It reflects some of the responsiveness to what has been a frustrating planning environment but we need to be clear that the issue is not primarily judicial review. I have been listening to every Member. There are so many good ideas in the House but we need the planning law that we are making now to drive delivery, not only manage delay. I …

The programme for Government commits to the introduction of a new, all-of-government national housing plan to follow Housing for All, underpinned by multi-annual funding. This plan will take a whole-of-government approach, as Housing for All did. My Department is engaging across government to agree the high-level measures to be included in the plan. They must be supported by the required funding i…

I thank Deputy O'Sullivan for raising this question about the encouragement of new technologies in the construction sector, including modular housing. I understand he has raised this issue on numerous occasions. The use of modern methods of construction, MMC, is a key policy measure to boost construction sector productivity and to support the scaling-up of delivery of new housing supply. MMC is a…

I read the Department's amendment this morning. There is nothing constructive about it. It is an absolute embarrassment because of what it says not just to Deputies in this Chamber but to the people experiencing the hard edge of the Government's failed housing policies, which is that nothing will change. It is more of the same failed policies into the future. Yesterday, the housing committee had a…

I really appreciate the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I can confirm the Government is of course not opposing this motion. From my time in this Chamber and before that in the Upper Chamber, I know we all share a long-standing desire to deepen the connections between Ireland and the global Irish, but especially on this island. I know there are very few of us in the Chamber who have not b…

It sometimes strikes me that if it was not for incompetence, there would be no competence at all with this Government. There are 15,500 people homeless. Of those, 5,000 are children. That is evidence for anyone with eyes to see that the Government’s policy is failing. They do not need us to tell them - Government members should be able to see that for themselves. I am sure they do not go home in t…

I am simply aghast to see how the Government conducts its business with arrogance and incompetence. I recall some months ago there being a discussion on the role of inconsistent policy in driving investment away. In his press release last week, the Minister said this legislation is intended to introduce certainty. It is railroaded legislation in which we have already seen holes. It is poor legisla…

For people who do not understand it, RPZs are rent pressure zones. Where do we go? How did we get here in the first place? We got here because of a lack of infrastructure. What have we done over the past six years? I have been asking our Government to look at development-led infrastructure but what we did was that we set up Irish Water. Irish Water was set up to collect money for existing water pr…

I welcome this legislation. As the Chair of the housing committee, I also thank its members from all parties for waiving pre-legislative scrutiny at a meeting yesterday so this Bill could be on the agenda here today and passed before the week is out. I just wanted to put that on the record. Ultimately, this Bill is about protecting tenancies and trying to create an environment to get inward inves…