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233. Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will introduce a statutory instrument requiring developers to provide essential amenities and infrastructure before new housing developments are occupied; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44868/26]

133. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to raise the rate paid out in housing adaptation grants scheme in the context of rising building costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44301/26]

147. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has assessed the impact of DION-related delays on delivery of social housing units, including those under mortgage to rent and CALF; the estimated number of units delayed as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44532/26]

372. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence when the refreshed Memorandum of Understanding signed between Ireland and the United Kingdom on 11 March 2026 is expected to be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas; the reasons it has not yet been laid before the Houses; whether any changes in policy, operational cooperation, training arrangements, information-sharing arrangements or defe…

1017. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will establish a joint working group to address the level of supports that should be provided to older people by local authorities in line with the Age Friendly Counties Programme and in the context of the Programme for Government identifying a social supports for approved housing bodies. [41466/26]

1020. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of social housing units delivered in Longford-Westmeath in each of the past five years, by local authority area and delivery mechanism; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41593/26]

1022. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of households currently on the social housing waiting list in Longford and Westmeath respectively; the average waiting time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41595/26]

1034. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the position regarding a housing exemption (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41780/26]

1041. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total expenditure on housing assistance payments for non-Irish nationals in each of the years 2022 to 2025 and to date in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41982/26]

1044. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to revise the first home scheme house value limits for Limerick; if he will consider allowing individuals to avail of the scheme to attain the 30% of the existing limit and fund the balance themselves; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41998/26]

1045. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the position regarding an application for funding from Louth County Council through the housing activation funding scheme to allow for the next phase of the Drogheda port access northern cross route to cross the Dublin- Belfast rail line; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42035/26]

1047. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of housing units owned by Cork City Council not in use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42051/26]

1049. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether LGBTQ+ inclusion and vulnerability are considered within homelessness prevention strategies and Housing First approaches; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42072/26]

1051. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the data that is available regarding households removed from social housing lists nationally; and to provide a breakdown, by year and by local authority of the number of people removed from the lists; and the reason, since the income thresholds for eligibility were last revised, in tabular form. [42101/…

1052. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether, in light of the NPF Implementation: Housing Growth Requirements Guidelines issued in July 2025 (details supplied) planning authorities are now permitted to expand settlement boundaries and zone land beyond existing built-up areas; whether this zoning headroom must be reconciled with, or takes precede…

1064. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage with regard to the planned winding up of the Pyrite Board, the number of houses remediated following a rating of ‘DCR1 with progression’; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42355/26]

1065. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage with regard to the planned winding up of the Pyrite Board the number of houses rated ‘DCR1 with progression’ which were refused remediation by the Pyrite Board; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42356/26]

1076. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on the fact that the majority of local authority housing maintenance expenditure nationally is reactive rather than planned; the steps he is taking to support local authorities to transition to a planned, cyclical maintenance model; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42549/26]

1077. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of local authority dwellings that have been the subject of a stock condition survey to date; the projected date by which such surveys will be completed across the entire social housing stock; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42550/26]

1078. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of the rollout of the national housing asset management system being delivered through the Local Government Management Agency; the number of local authorities currently using the system; and when it will be fully operational across all local authorities. [42551/26]

1085. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department collects data on the length of time that social housing units remain vacant; the number of local authority dwellings nationally that have been vacant for more than 24 months; and the specific measures available nationally to address dwellings that are long-term vacant due to the scale of refur…

1089. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to confirm if a “qualified child increase” is taken into account in the assessment of means for social housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42767/26]

1093. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will share analysis undertaken by his Department to quantify the level of concentration of ownership of Irish housing stock by foreign investors, or subsidiaries of foreign investors by country of origin over the last past years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42860/26]

1094. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will share analysis undertaken by his Department to quantify the level of concentration of ownership of Dublin housing stock by foreign investors, or subsidiaries of foreign investors by country of origin over the past ten years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42861/26]

1095. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to share analysis of the level of concentration of Canadian ownership of Irish housing stock over the past ten years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42862/26]

Decades of failures by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments to plan for the expansion of key water, wastewater and electricity infrastructure is part of the reason the same Governments have failed to get to grips with the housing crisis. I asked the then Minister for housing, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, about these issues in 2023. Typical to form, he denied there was a problem at all. He replied to m…

It has taken a long time to get the Government to accept that there is a housing crisis. The Minister of State's predecessors would not accept it, but I think it is now accepted. We have huge constraints when it comes to water, wastewater and electricity infrastructure. In County Laois, the county I am most familiar with, 13 towns and villages require improved capacity. I will name them. In Portar…

If we got a euro for every time we spoke about housing since I came to Dáil Éireann, we would have a hell of a lot of houses built. We have a massive problem. We know that. I cannot understand why Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats and Labour have thrown out figures for delivery of housing which they know they can never deliver. Go down to my patch in west Cork and you cannot …

Based on what you say, a Cheann Comhairle, I am not going to respond to the specific query Deputy Coppinger raises relating to the article in The Ditch. It is a matter for the individual to respond. I do not have the factual position on that case and I do not think it would be appropriate to make any assertions or allegations connected to it. We must respect the ruling of the House. The named indi…

I contributed to the previous debate on this issue. We were addressing what exactly happened to Grace. At the end of that debate, it was suggested that this House, as it represents the people, should insist on continuing to go back to the Grace case, to highlight the issues involved and to make sure that everything was dealt with. Since then, we have had various reports, including that which we ar…

I thank the Minister of State for his presence today. I am keen to make a contribution on the national planning framework, which is essentially the creation of an environment for accelerated housing development in Ireland, and other issues it concerns itself with. In no particular order I will just throw in a couple of ideas or issues close to my heart. I do not represent a Dublin city constituen…

People in Kerry are looking forward to the new planning framework and hoping it will deliver from them in a way previous plans have not done. I am talking about people who own land, not farmers' sons or daughters because they are being looked after. There are others who own an acre beside their parents' house, four or five miles outside Killorglin or seven or eight miles east of Killarney, but are…

I appreciate the Deputy raising this issue again. Some 7,100 affordable housing solutions were delivered in 2024, exceeding the delivery target of 6,400. Since we came into office in 2020, nearly 13,000 affordable housing options have been delivered by the various delivery partners. Help to buy has helped young people to afford to buy first time new-build houses. Bridge the gap has also helped fir…

I welcome the opportunity to reflect on the tremendous progress that has been made in water services in Ireland and the ongoing efforts of the Government and Uisce Éireann in this area. I assure the House that securing a safe and reliable water supply is a top priority for the Government, as is securing water services to facilitate housing development in all parts of the country. It is worth refle…

As we all know, water is the basic element of life. It is essential to all aspects of life. I welcome the commitment in the programme for Government to invest heavily in our water infrastructure, which is critical and needed to deliver additional new housing units across our capital city and the country. I welcome that the strategic funding has a multi-annual spend of €16.9 billion up to 2029, a h…

That answer is high level. What I am getting at here is that more micromanaging is required. In particular, each county has a target but I would suggest this should be monitored on a monthly basis, with an explanation sought if it is not reached. This should be done cumulatively as well. It should even go so far as having quarterly meetings with CEOs and the heads of planning and the Minister and …

I commend Deputy Healy on bringing this motion seeking to make housing an emergency. I am gobsmacked. Here we are again looking at a sole face over on the backbenches. Not only is housing not an emergency for the Government, it is not even a priority. The Minister did not even use his full time. He had three minutes left. None of the backbenchers who have been talking about wanting to speak even b…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I thank Deputy Seamus Healy and his colleagues for bringing forward this motion. I have been in the Dáil for nine years and have been listening to speeches from housing Ministers in that time. I listened to the Minister’s speech today and, unfortunately, I do not think he was even interested in delivering it. He did not seem to believe in what he was…

By every single metric and by every single part of the housing strategy, this Government has failed. It has failed because of its over-reliance on private developers and investments funds that undermine its ability to deliver genuinely affordable housing at scale. It is clear as can be stated that we need much more State-led investment. When will the Government admit that the private market has ze…

-----and we need to push in one direction. I want to work with everybody on all sides of this House. There is no monopoly on good ideas. We need constructive ideas and proposals. I firmly believe that every politician who puts his or her name on a ballot paper and got elected to this House deserves to have his or her voice heard. Deciding to enter public life is not easy; it means long hours, tim…

Figures for house prices came out yesterday. We are now seeing astronomical house prices and the highest rate of increase in inflation for eight years. The median price of a home is now €420,000. What nurse, garda or bus driver can afford these house prices? What is the Government doing by way of an emergency reaction to the housing crisis, particularly in the area of affordable housing delivery? …

The Government is fully committed to working with all stakeholders to deliver social, affordable and cost rental homes at scale, with a record level of investment being provided for the delivery of housing in 2025 - capital funding of €6.5 billion supplemented by current funding of €1.65 billion. The number of new-build social homes in the pipeline for delivery in the three-year period 2025 to 202…

I thank the Deputy for raising this question. I know housing delivery in particular is something he is very passionate about and that he has always been dedicated to. As part of the programme for Government, the Government committed to launching a new, comprehensive starter home programme across the public, private and approved housing body, AHB, sector. This promotes home ownership and secures l…

I agree that void houses are an issue, not just from an antisocial behaviour point of view. They are low-hanging fruit in terms of getting houses back into the social housing stock, where they are desperately needed. Some local authorities are better than others but, to be fair, a lot of progress has been made. More than 25,000 voids have been returned to the housing stock in recent years, which m…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important question on the role of accessibility officers in Dublin City Council and the oversight mechanisms that are in place to ensure future housing developments meet universal design standards. These are issues in respect of which he has long campaigned, even before he came to the Dáil. Under the Disability Act 2005, each local authority is required to hav…

Ní aontaím in aon chor leis an Teachta as ucht an méid a dúirt sí. Níl aon amhras ach gurb é an t-ábhar is tábhachtaí agus is práinní sa tír seo ná cúrsaí tithíochta. An phríomhaidhm atá againn mar Rialtas ná níos mó tithe a chruthú agus é sin a dhéanamh chomh tapa agus is féidir linn. Is é sin bun agus barr pholasaithe an Rialtais. In the first instance, housing is the number one issue in this co…

I want to talk to the Minister of State but the issue of defective concrete blocks, not just in my home county of Donegal but in the west of Ireland. As he knows, the National Standards Authority of Ireland is tasked with coming up with a standard we can trust. Why is this a crucial issue now? When we go to hospital and we have a cancer diagnosis, we trust the diagnosis and the prognosis is trust…

I am not going to take from the Minister's woes. There has been a lot of debate with regard to housing and the need for it within our country. Obviously, as some contributors have already indicated, housing supply and wastewater infrastructure go hand in hand. It has to be said that the lack of investment in wastewater treatment infrastructure is one of the greatest roadblocks in many ways in the …

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this timely and vital motion. It is deeply disappointing to see that the Government is not supporting it and has put forward an amendment that will take away from the point of the motion. I am deeply annoyed and frustrated by this Government's failure to act on homelessness and to treat it like an emergency. A home is one of the most fundamental needs that p…

Tá an díospóireacht seo an-tábhachtach agus is trua nach bhfuil níos mó ama againn chun díriú isteach uirthi mar tá sí chomh tábhachtach sin gur gá dúinn a rá go bhfuil éigeandáil ann. There is a housing crisis. There has been a housing crisis. There is an emergency, and that emergency did not begin today or yesterday. We on this side of the House have been calling on the Government to declare a …