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168. Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider reviewing the legislation around the approved housing bodies' ability to sell properties to tenants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38038/26]

169. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of times the working group established by his Department to review the code of practice for pets in social housing and AHBs has met. [38130/26]

170. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the progress of the working group established by his Department in reviewing the code of practice to allow pets in social housing and AHBs. [38131/26]

184. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether his Department operates a policy of acquiring or utilising standard residential housing stock within existing housing estates for international protection accommodation purposes. [37951/26]

139. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the regeneration of Oliver Bond House following his meeting with the regeneration forum. [37767/26]

141. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the voids programme review committed to in the Government's housing plan. [37768/26]

146. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will introduce regulations setting a minimum timeframe for local authorities to ensure that casual vacancies in social housing are re-let or occupied; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37529/26]

147. Deputy Catherine Ardagh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way in which his Department is supporting a holistic approach to a regeneration project (details supplied) to ensure it provides not only high-quality housing, but also the essential community infrastructure and public realm improvements required for the area; and if he will ensure that the funding mecha…

152. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has any plans to scrap development levies for one-off housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37318/26]

157. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a list of all social housing projects that have been completed in Kildare in the past year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37568/26]

159. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to outline any proposed new social housing developments for Kildare in the coming year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37569/26]

162. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on the provision of allocated housing for those that work in frontline public sector jobs including teachers, nurses and members of An Garda Síochána; if this is under review within his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37222/26]

164. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an updated timeline for the delivery of the retrofit scheme to all social housing units in County Louth and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37523/26]

166. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when updated rural housing guidelines will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37216/26]

167. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to outline a timeframe for the upward revision of social housing qualifying income limits. [37496/26]

169. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the up-to-date position on the review of the housing assistance payment scheme; when it will be concluded and the report published; how quickly the report’s recommendations will be implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37525/26]

177. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures he is taking to mitigate against the impact of the Iran war on the supply and price of housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37567/26]

178. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures he is taking to address the lack of affordable housing in County Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37326/26]

188. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the position regarding the tenant in situ scheme for Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council; if he can commit to multiannual funding of this scheme; if allowances for the increased cost of housing in Dublin can be considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37223/26]

189. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of affordable homes delivered by the LDA since June 2025; the efforts being made to enhance the delivery of affordable housing and rebalance the tenancy mix for LDA developments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37556/26]

196. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if it will be ensured that the current rezoning project being carried out by local authorities will result in the social and affordable housing that is needed across the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37550/26]

200. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on plans for housing options for older people properties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37522/26]

203. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the plans for social and/or affordable housing for Arklow, County Wicklow, with projected completion dates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37477/26]

205. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the work of the Housing Activation Office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37515/26]

207. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on when his Department will provide the funding to Donegal County Council to proceed with affordable housing projects in the county. [37484/26]

I do not dispute anything the Minister of State said. When deciding what level of a quota any given sector is having beyond the construction sector, he said that his Department takes into account housing need and housing availability. How does the Department take this into account? On the one hand, we need international workers to help us build the homes that we need but, on the other, we have a h…

I thank the Minister of State for his recent visit to Donegal and for meeting families who are affected face to face. I really appreciated that. We missed the Minister of State when he was out of the Dáil. I will be straight about that. I said it in front of the residents when we were in Donegal. He really cares about this issue. He has experienced it in his own community and seen it at first hand…

I was contacted by a lady this week. Her relationship broke down and she lost her job. She said: "I’m left there working 2 jobs while taking care of my 4yo full time and will have to resort to homelessness if I don’t get help." She does not get any tax breaks, yet the vulture funds, based abroad, come in here and buy up second-hand homes. They then go to rent a home back to this woman at huge rent…

As I said earlier, the motion is a simple proposition. At its core it asks the Government to do what it said it was going to do, namely fulfil its commitment given before the election in the form of the Minister, Deputy Harris, and what it put in the programme for Government in black and white for all of us to see. The Minister of State referred to many other aspects of housing we could get into d…

I thank Deputy Bacik very much. I take the point about having enough time in the Oireachtas to tease through things. I would also balance that point with the fact that there is a housing emergency and every day matters. Every day we do not take a decision is a day where progress is not being made at enough speed or enough pace in relation to housing supply. We have been very clear as a Government …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Hearne as an gceist. It should be noted that housing issues pertain to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The primary objective of Údarás na Gaeltachta is to ensure the Irish language endures as the main community language in Gaeltacht areas and is preserved for future generations. To that end, an t-údarás provides funding for a wide range of…

I cannot tell the Minister how many times I have marched in the streets protesting about housing. I have done it against what feels like every single one of the Minister's predecessors. A huge reason I have been so frustrated with Government parties and why I joined the Social Democrats was the utter failure in housing for my generation over multiple governments. Today, years after I first started…

While most people are handing over more and more of their wages in rent and mortgage payments, other people are making an absolute fortune out of the misery of the housing crisis. For those people, this is not a crisis; this is a cash cow. For the banks, corporate landlords, investment funds and large developers, the housing crisis is not something to fix; it is something to feed off. It is someth…

The Minister may not have noticed, and maybe Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have not noticed, that tenants in private rental accommodation are already under huge stress. In case things were not bad enough, the Government is now going to throw them to the mercy of rack-renting landlords from 1 March. Whatever limits and calming effect rent pressure zones had in slowing down rent increases will all be go…

I welcome the Minister to this House and the opportunity to discuss the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2025. I am very conscious that the main aim of this wide-ranging piece of legislation is to promote the welfare of children who may not receive adequate care and protection. No one in this House could ever disagree with that aim. As the Minister said herself in her opening remarks, this Act has been…

We all welcome any increase in the amount of money people can get. We all know that construction costs have gone through the roof. However, are they fit for purpose as regards the figures as they exist at the minute? No, they are not. Work needs to be done for those who have severe mobility issues, for example a child who gets older and has more specific needs. There needs to be a review not only …

All of us on the justice committee know this is a wide-ranging Bill. It is a fair reflection of how the Government is currently approaching the justice system. The Minister is often talked about in media circles as a Minister in a hurry. This Bill demonstrates that it is all hurry and very little pace because buried in these 33 sections are, admittedly, glimpses of what Ireland's judicial system c…

I live in the wonderful constituency of Dublin Mid-West, which has some fantastic people, but it is also the congestion capital of Ireland. That goes back to when Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, sometimes with dodgy backhanders, were rezoning land on greenfield sites left, right and centre. They built houses everywhere with no facilities and infrastructure. Then, when we had a chance with strategic dev…

I will follow on from Deputy O'Meara, with whom I entirely agree on the accountability of Uisce Éireann. Last July I tabled a parliamentary question to the Minister around the question of accountability of Uisce Éireann to these Houses. While his office responded that he does not have a say in the operational matters, it was indicated that Uisce Éireann could be called before some of the parliamen…

I thank Deputy Healy-Rae. I am sure he will be heard loud and clear. There is no fear about that. I thank all Deputies for their contributions. There are clear messages and themes coming across. It is around timelines of delivery of much-needed infrastructure. It is around communication, which is obviously coming across quite clearly. It is also around the fact that so many of our towns and villa…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am very pleased to introduce the Health (Amendment) (Home Support Providers) Bill 2025 to the House. I look forward to hearing the contributions of Deputies today, and to working with all Members of Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann to progress this important legislation through both Houses. Home support is a vital service that is delivered to th…

The Government has taken a number of actions across 2025 and into 2026 to try to speed up construction while ensuring that we are getting high quality housing into the marketplace. We have revised the national planning framework which ensures that we have the infrastructure matched with the zoned land to ensure that we are getting those high-quality houses. We have increased the amount of funding …

I thank the Chair. I will be taking the time of Deputy Gogarty as he is detained. I thank the Minister for his speech. He mentioned a minute and a half into it that Uisce Éireann has a dedicated service not only for elected representatives but also for the most vulnerable. I have attended many of the meetings with Uisce Éireann. As Members may be aware, I have raised in this House the appalling w…

I am glad to get this opportunity. I am delighted that the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, is taking the questions today. As he knows himself, we have not always agreed about everything, but he takes the question and he comes back and gives an answer. I hope that, on top of all the other times I have asked these same questions, something will happen now. We have a clause in Kerry known as the rural a…

The same happened in Limerick, Waterford and everywhere else. The local authorities built what were called council cottages. In many cases, they were on farms. You gave the council half an acre or an acre. That land was transferred to the council. In return, the council built the house and you rented it and later got the option to buy it back if you were a farmer. If you were not a farmer, the cou…

What we have in Donegal in terms of housing is a perfect storm. We have the same issues as everywhere else around the State. There was a period of ten or 11 years where virtually no social housing was built in Donegal. Therefore, the private rental sector took on that role through the rental accommodation scheme and the housing assistance payment. We are now playing catch up. All of those private …

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak. It beggars belief that we did not have pre-legislative scrutiny on this Bill, considering that it arose out of a Supreme Court judgment, which essentially struck down the investor court element of the CETA agreement. I do not think we need pre-legislative scrutiny of every Bill that comes before the House, although we should have it for most, but we cert…

The Minister does not understand the damage that he does and that Governments have done when they announce a new housing plan. It takes a year to deliver but what a Minister does when he announces a new housing plan is create hope. People are so desperate for housing they would do anything. They look at their Government as they wait for its plan. It has caused devastation to ordinary people becaus…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Government's housing plan, delivering homes, building communities. I thank the Minister for his opening remarks. As has been said, this is a very ambitious plan. We know the overall target is 300,000 houses between now and 2030, with 12,000 social homes and 15,000 starter homes. These are critically important. This is a plan of substance and actions. There…

Even I, as a socialist and somebody who critiques and challenges the market and the capitalist system, never thought I would be here, 11 years after first getting elected, and that the housing crisis would have been left to fester and become as rancid as it is. I want to ask about Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs. Where have they been? It has been like "The Silence of the Lambs" over the past 11 yea…