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411. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if additional funding will be made available to Kilkenny County Council in 2026 for housing adaptation grants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5287/26]

412. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the initiatives being taken to support affordable housing in County Kilkenny; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5291/26]

413. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the initiatives being taken to support affordable housing in County Carlow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5292/26]

417. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of vacant properties in Carlow County Council housing stock at the moment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5296/26]

422. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when income eligibility limits for local authority housing in Carlow and Kilkenny will be increased; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5302/26]

423. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the proposals and associated targets to deliver age-friendly housing in counties Carlow and Kilkenny; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5303/26]

424. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the current status of the drafting of the regulations and statutory instruments required to implement the Government’s revised rent control and rental sector reforms due to commence on 1 March 2026; the number of such instruments required; the stage each has reached within his Department; the remaining steps nece…

149. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will review the eligibility criteria for the vacant property refurbishment grant, in light of concerns that limiting eligibility to individuals, is impeding town-centre housing delivery; his views on whether the exclusion of companies, developers and other delivery bodies is preventing the refurbishment of…

163. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to detail his plans to develop and support a co-operative housing sector in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5098/26]

164. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will commit to a referendum on the right to housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5099/26]

167. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to detail his plans to build public construction capacity to ensure Ireland has the workers needed to deliver a housing savings scheme in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5102/26]

169. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to detail the way in which affordable housing will be prioritised under Ireland’s EU Presidency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5104/26]

627. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the position regarding any review of the qualifying income thresholds for cost rental housing developments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3326/26]

628. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the position regarding the research and analysis that informed the decision regarding the qualifying income thresholds for cost rental housing developments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3327/26]

629. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to cases whereby an individual cannot qualify for cost rental housing due to being below the income threshold but if they apply with their partner, they are over the income threshold; the actions he will take to address cases like this; and if he will make a statement on the matter.…

639. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the additional funding that was provided to the Housing Agency in Budget 2026; if this will allow the agency to commence regulation of the owners' management company sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3485/26]

641. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of social rental housing units being provided in 2022, 2023, and 2024 under payment and availability agreement arrangements (P&A); the total cost of these agreements in these years; and the average P&A cost per unit in these years, in tabular form. [3544/26]

646. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way in which the 3,504 non-EEA persons referenced in his Department's homelessness statistics for November 2025 qualify for emergency accommodation; the legal duty the State owes to non-EEA nationals to provide them with housing; the criteria which non-EEA nationals must meet in order to qualify for emergency…

647. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to review the house price ceilings under the local authority home loan. [3745/26]

649. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the assistance available for a family who have received a notice of termination from their landlord and are over the income threshold for social housing support and who cannot avail of the cost rental tenant-in-situ scheme as the landlord requires the property back for a family member; and if he will make a statem…

659. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the 'owner occupier guarantee', as set out in the Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Act 2021, and on the number of houses and duplexes that have been covered by the relevant provision of the Act. [3963/26]

770. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the reason his Department transferred a question (details supplied) to the Minister for Housing; Local Government and Heritage for reply given his Department is engaging with the issue under discussion as noted in the response from the Minister for Housing; Local Government and Heritage; and if he will make a statem…

375. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the priority being given to native Irish speakers in application for planning permission and the purchase of houses in Gaeltacht areas. [2980/26]

377. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether an extension has been granted to the replacement of boilers under the housing aid for older people grant in exceptional circumstances. [2917/26]

378. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the supports available to a person who requires an urgent boiler replacement, who would previously have received this under the housing aid for older people grant and is not a suitable candidate for retrofitting given the urgency of the project. [2918/26]

Gabhaim buíochas as an deis labhartha ar an ábhar agus ar an reachtaíocht seo atá os comhair na Dála anocht agus muid ag plé le Céim an Choiste. Is mór an trua é, mar atá ráite ag mo chomhghleacaithe, go bhfuil seo á bhrú chun tosaigh agus nach bhfuil deis ag an gcoiste dlí agus cirt féin mionscrúdú a dhéanamh ar seo. Mar a dúirt daoine eile an tseachtain seo caite, tá sé soiléir nach mbeidh go le…

We all know that house prices are too high for too many but it is also important that we do not misunderstand what a median price is. A median price does not refer to every house or indeed a typical house, as the Deputy said, in Dublin. Anyone who searches online will see many homes available in Dublin for below €500,000. That is not to take away from the challenge in relation to affordability but…

With respect, the Tánaiste just dodged the complete question. The question I asked him was about affordability. He talked about the first home scheme, for example. He knows that if the typical home in Dublin is €500,000, the first home scheme does not even apply any more. You cannot get it for €500,000 or more. You cannot get it in Greystones or Bray for the median home because the prices are €575…

I thank the Minister of State for his statement and his work on this matter, in particular his commitment. The Minister of State has visited Carlow and Kilkenny but I have seen him and the Taoiseach go around the country to anywhere that was flooded, which is important. It is important that they see what is happening and are able to speak to everyone. It is safe to say that we have never seen rain…

I ask again about the tenant in situ scheme. The Minister of State said money has been allocated to it. Will he talk to Kerry County Council to see what is wrong and why it cannot operate the tenant in situ scheme? Elected members in Kerry have been asking the local authority to buy land banks to build local authority houses in small villages, such as Scotia's Glen, Gneeveguilla, Firies, Curragh,…

I thank colleagues for their contributions. I recognise this is a very considerable piece of legislation. As some other colleague as indicated, it is the most important reform of Ireland's asylum laws in the State's history. The criticism is that it is being rushed. I will inform Members about the history of this legislation and how we have got to today and take on board some of the criticisms th…

Earlier, the Minister spoke about the democratic process and how the EU migration and asylum pact was democratically voted through by the Houses of the Oireachtas and, therefore, there should be no question of it or the implications for Irish sovereignty. To be clear, when I say, “Irish sovereignty”, I mean the ability of the Irish Government to enact legislation relating to immigration, particula…

Tomorrow, the Committee of Public Accounts will return to its scrutiny of the extraordinary expenditure on IPAS accommodation last year of €1.2 billion. We return to this scrutiny on foot of a damning report carried out by the Comptroller and Auditor General who raised serious issues about governance, oversight and transparency. Contracts have been awarded to some of the largest criminals within t…

If you tried to create a housing crisis, you could not do a better job than this Government is doing. It has allowed investor funds to come in and purchase family homes - ordinary homes - from under the feet of families who need them. Big corporations and big multinationals are coming in to make money while families are looking for a roof over their heads and for their own homes. The Government ha…

In Limerick, the average price of a semi-detached three-bedroom home has reached more than €345,000. That is a €25,000 increase compared with the end of 2024. Over 16,000 people across the State are availing of emergency accommodation. At the same time, the Minister has cut the tenant in situ funding. He has also failed to increase funding to tackle voids, leaving more than 200 council home proper…

I thank the Sinn Féin Party for bringing this motion to the House. This is not about stopping funds but about building enough homes for Irish families to be able to afford to live in their own communities. It is well worth noting that. We know that 41% of people aged 18 to 34 are still living in their parents' box rooms. That is a fact. Since 2020, house prices are up by 40%. Rents increased by 8…

I will tell the Minister of State what madness is. It is repeating the same speech Ministers and Ministers of State have been making for the past ten years at a time it is blatantly evident that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael simply are not capable of dealing with the housing crisis. Many people chose to forget the two so-called opponents of Irish politics, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, were forced to dro…

I thank Deputy McGrath for his useful information. I will bring it back to the Minister. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is focused on ensuring that existing houses are utilised to their full extent. The Government’s new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, reinforces and expands the range of measures being implemented by the Government to work to end dere…

-----on a State construction company, which is about social housing, I think they would acknowledge, and would take a minimum of two years to establish. We already have the Land Development Agency, which is doing social housing and affordable housing and will also be doing private housing and doing that mix. The Social Democrats want to create a new agency on top of that just to do social housing,…

I thank all the Deputies who submitted amendments to this Bill. I have to agree it is a terrible Bill. The Minister said he is solving the housing crisis. I do not think anyone buys that. I do not think anyone out there buys that. I do not think the electorate buys that at all. The Minister and the Government are failing, like every Government before it. I find it scurrilous that he would accuse…

I thank the Deputies. We have been here for nearly three and a half hours debating the first amendment, but that is because there has hardly been a single discussion from the Opposition on the amendment. It has been referred to but most of the debate has not been on the amendment itself. Let us be honest: if the debate was simply on the amendment, we would have moved on a long time ago. I want to…

In the late 19th century, a young man left his native east Clare and climbed aboard a ship bound for the United States. When he arrived, he was unvetted and of military age but met no restrictions to his entry. He went on to become a butcher at Macy's in New York city and was naturalised as a citizen in Manhattan in 1899 at the age of 34. A copy of that certificate hangs in my office. That man was…

The policy every Minister for Finance undertakes is to review all taxation measures in the context of a budget. That is what we will do this year, as we do each year. We have already shown that we have a willingness to act and to take further policy measures to make sure the intervention was having more of the required effect. The Deputy calls them "vulture funds" because that is a loaded term. W…

I thank the Minister for his response. I welcome the engagement on housing. While housing comes under a different Department, we cannot separate the future of the Irish language from the housing crisis in Gaeltacht areas. As the Minister knows, there is a particular emergency there. This morning, there were ten properties to rent in Connemara on daft.ie, while Airbnb had 573. Young people are bein…

Saoirse and Darren are a couple in their 50s, both of whom are working. They have been renting for 15 years. They pay €2,000 a month in rent in a big residential development in Cherrywood. Incidentally, their rent may get hiked because of the Government’s Bill. They have enough for a deposit and want to buy a home – a one- or two-bedroom home – but the banks will not look at them because they are …

This Bill is deeply flawed. It says it is going to protect security of tenure, but it is like I am living in a parallel universe. I am hearing two sides. The Minister's story is one thing and the reality for our constituents is different. The suggestion is that the Bill will protect existing renters from rising rents. Apparently, it is going to protect renters and set rents at market rates. It pro…

I thank all the Deputies who spoke in relation to this question. Deputy Connolly raised the issue of affordable housing and the local authority affordable scheme in Galway. I will certainly engage with the county manager and the city manager there on the low progress in respect of the application of that scheme in the Galway context. Certainly, as part of the housing action plan, we want to do mor…

There is an old saying, "fail to prepare, prepare to fail". This legislation, with all its intentions of what the Government wants it to do, has not taken everything into account. Part of the legislation mentions short-term lets. What constitutes a short-term let? Is it a week, a month, two months or three months? The likes of Airbnb have been on about this to me and my colleague in Independent Ir…

Regeneration is not just a word. It is a lifeline for communities that have been neglected for years. In Cork, we have the north-west quarter regeneration. I attended the first meeting in September 2000, 26 years ago. Twenty-six years later, only 99 homes have been built and delivered. Less than €100 million has been spent, which is less than €4 million a year. At the same time, regeneration in Li…

I thank social workers and all the people working in the industry. The amendments to the Bill build on calls from Members of this House over several years. I welcome the work put into it. Also on a positive note, the changes to improve Tusla and childcare across the system are welcome. Foster parents who take children into their home have to be commended. To show someone love and give someone sup…