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379. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if in the instance of a social housing assistance income assessment being undertaken and that the decision is disputed by applicant after appeal with the local authority, the applicant has any recourse by way of appeal to his Department or other sources. [2936/26]

389. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the average cost of social homes delivered in 2025 broken down by delivery stream, including SHIP Construction, SHIP Turnkey, CALF Construction, CALF Turnkey, CAS Construction, CAS Turnkey, and social housing acquisitions. [3003/26]

392. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of new social housing homes delivered in County Waterford in each year from 2020 to 2025, and the pipeline for 2026, in tabular form, by funding stream and-or acquisition type. [3008/26]

426. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department has engaged with stakeholders in the housing sector to assess the potential implications of the proposed restrictions on investment options for self-directed PRSAs changes for housing supply and affordability. [2930/26]

96. Deputy Edward Timmins asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if, where a house commences a lease before 1 March 2026 for a period of 12 months, with the possibility of extending the lease after the 12 months, the lease will fall under the new legislation after the 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2700/26]

102. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has received an updated and or amended proposal from bodies in respect of a site for public housing (details supplied). [2845/26]

857. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance his plans to utilise State Savings products to support housing delivery; the expected level of funding to come through the ISS for housing delivery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1631/26]

1352. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update regarding the proposed exemptions for building a granny flat for a family member onto an existing house. [2719/26]

1361. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans for the delivery of social and affordable housing in county Louth in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74029/25]

1362. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the Tenants-in-Situ scheme will continue or has it been subsumed into the Second Hand Social Housing Acquisitions Programme; if it is to continue whether funding has been allocated to Councils; the funding which will be allocated for 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74090/25]

1364. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the Council has the authority to buy a property under 6.12 of the Second Hand Social Housing Acquisitions Programme, if the tenants-in-situ are at risk of becoming homeless, even if the property has not been in HAP for 2 years, in order to address 'tenancy sustainment'; and if he will make a statement on the…

1381. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department or the National Parks and Wildlife Service has issued any public notices that it is perfectly legal under the Wildlife Acts 1976 and 2000 (Amended) to remove nests from occupied buildings provided they do not contain eggs or hatched chicks; if no such public notice has been issued, and…

1383. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to increase the thresholds to qualify for social housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74354/25]

1389. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the Q3 affordable housing delivery figures will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74468/25]

1402. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if staffing, procurement or tendering issues within Kildare County Council are contributing to delays and cost overruns in delivering social housing in Newbridge, Kildare Town and Athy; and the corrective actions which are being taken; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74667/25]

1403. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of households currently on the social housing waiting list in Kildare south; the number of people who have been removed from the list since 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74668/25]

1404. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will approve exceptional funding measures to unlock stalled social and affordable housing developments in Newbridge, Kildare town and Athy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74670/25]

1405. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the actions he will take in 2026 to ensure that approved but delayed housing projects in Newbridge, Kildare town and Athy will proceed to construction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74671/25]

1406. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reasons construction costs for social and affordable housing developments in County Kildare are significantly higher than the national average; the specific factors contributing to these costs, including land prices, labour shortages, construction inflation, infrastructure requirements and complia…

1409. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to increase the income threshold eligibility criteria for social housing supports (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74874/25]

1418. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to significantly increase affordable housing targets for County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [75135/25]

1436. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the work of the housing delivery office including its current membership; the number of meetings it has had to date; the dates of those meetings; the actions that have been taken to date including inviting and accepting invitations for infrastructure funding; and to provide an update on …

1440. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total number of applicants on local authority housing waiting lists, including those receiving HAP and RAS payments, broken down by county council, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1327/26]

1443. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the interim remediation scheme for fire safety defects in apartments and duplexes will come back into effect having seemingly been suspended for procurement law reasons; the number of payments to date that have been made to OMCs via the scheme; whether the Housing Agency is actively contacting OMCs who hav…

1451. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the prohibition on pet bans in social and AHB housing will be extended to all rental accommodation, with normal wear and tear conditions such as RTB standard being applied to all occupiers such as specifically the wear and tear and anti-social behaviour clauses. [1606/26]

I thank Deputies Hayes and Quaide for bringing this motion before us and for their commitment in respect of this matter. Effective parliamentary exchange often involves a contest of beliefs. Some people hold certain values while others hold different values. That is an exchange. However, this motion also includes what are just facts. If I mention a fact that the Minister disputes or says is not tr…

I am thankful for the opportunity to speak on this important issue. There is a certain degree of scepticism in my attitude to the Government's new-found interest in critical infrastructure. I have been a Deputy for a decade. I am one of a number of people on this side of the House who have been talking about lack of investment, lack of reform and lack of ambition regarding critical infrastructure …

I thank the Deputies very much for their questions. Affordability is at the very heart of what I do. That is why we have so many schemes to help people to make homes more affordable for them, while also driving the delivery of social and affordable housing through our local authorities, and through schemes led by the Land Development Agency. In both of those counties we have seen a significant de…

I will start with accountability in Irish Water. As the Minister knows, Members of the House have the right to ask parliamentary questions to various Ministers, including to him. If I want to help someone with a driving test, I can write a parliamentary question to the Minister for Transport, and he will refer it to the RSA. With regard to health, if I am trying to help someone on a waiting list …

The Minister knows water is a human right. While it is good that the Government is committed to support Uisce Éireann as a public utility, there are still significant issues in relation to water and wastewater across this country. There are also significant issues in Dublin where there are still major issues with leakages from pipes. A significant amount of clean, treated water is escaping from pi…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins. for the excellent work he has been doing, in a very practical, down to earth and sensible way, in trying to help the housing situation. By his initiatives and his control of the situation, along with the senior Minister, Deputy Browne, whom I also thank publicly, he is certainly introducing changes that will be felt up and down the length and breadth …

We have water, water everywhere, except flowing through the pipes and down through the taps in County Louth. I fear I will be very repetitive, like many of my colleagues. As Deputy Barry Ward said about previous speakers, I am about to take the Minister of State on a whistle-stop tour, this time of County Louth. While I recognise that Uisce Éireann committed €28 million to Drogheda last year, the …

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this debate. The provision of water supply and wastewater infrastructure is critical for sustainable development. With housing being our number one priority, we must have the infrastructure to go with it. In County Laois, despite the best efforts of Laois County Council, there are major shortcomings that will hold back developments. The county is undergoing si…

I thank the Minister. We have challenges and we are very aware of that. Building houses is a priority for this Government. The more houses we deliver the better. This is about the families, communities and people who need housing. In my area of Carlow, for example, through our local authority, we are looking at land that has been serviced. We need to look at serviced sites. That is really importan…

Joan is 86 and she is facing homelessness and emergency accommodation because her landlord is selling up. Joe is 78 and sleeping on his sister's couch for over a year. Meanwhile, as I highlighted yesterday, there is an apartment block nearby in Cherrywood with 30 two-bedroom and one-bedroom apartments lying empty for 18 months. They are supposed to be for social housing to house people like Joe an…

The mission statement for the Department of the Taoiseach in its report says it is about ensuring a sustainable economy and a successful society. Neither of those things is possible unless we address the lack of social and affordable housing and the housing crisis that is faced in this country. Recently, in my area, an area called Old Connaught, on the border of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and Wicklow,…

I have read through the Bill entirely. When we look at the opening sections of this Bill, it is about people entering the home and the quality and standard of the type of person who comes in as a home carer. I find it amazing that we are now in 2026, and we are discussing that. This Bill should have been before this House 20 years. It is totally outdated. This Bill does not push for oversight. It …

As I have said and the Minister of State has acknowledged, Dublin local authorities continue to highlight the ongoing challenges in acquiring land for active recreation and sports facilities, not least of all because of the housing pressures that are in the capital and the pressure on them to deliver housing, as well as the fact that they often cannot compete with the premium that is on land that …

In relation to rent, the Department of Social Protection rent supplement as it exists today is seen as a short-term support paid to families and individuals as an initial payment where they first encounter difficulties in meeting rent costs. Longer-term support is given through the housing assistance payment. The rent limits applied on rent supplement are aligned with those on the housing assistan…

The programme for Government states: Local Government is the beating heart of our democracy. It is responsible for many of the essential services on which we depend – housing, local roads, planning [and many other things]." I wish to talk about my experience of over 20 years as a local councillor before I came here and how the powers of the councillor have been diminished. First is planning. In…

I thank the Minister of State for joining us in the House. I know she had a personal situation this morning but in fairness she and her office reached out to nearly every Member of this House to tell us why she would not be in the House and I appreciate that. I may be misquoting the Minister of State but when she took this Ministry role, I think I read somewhere that she said she did not have a h…

I thank the Deputies for bringing forward this motion. It is an extremely important one. I will focus on the small towns and villages programme. On 6 November last, Uisce Éireann appeared before the Committee of Public Accounts and stated that, in revenue control 3, €98 million was allocated to that programme. This began 243 projects across the country, seven of them in Cork. Does the Minister of …

I thank Independent Ireland for bringing forward the motion. Tá a lán rudaí sa tairiscint that I am go maith with and I think are good. It is important to highlight the issues that have been raised. I am not in agreement with a number of points towards the end of the motion, but broadly it is important. The fundamental questions we need to address are why Uisce Éireann is not working for people, …

I thank Independent Ireland for bringing forward this very important motion today. I want to talk about Kenmare first of all. Two housing applications have been held up for the past number of months. They were asked to get a letter from Irish Water to say that it would have water to supply the 170 houses to be built. They cannot get the letter from Irish Water. The time is running out and they wil…

I wish the Minister a happy new year. What a glamorous topic we have to kick off the new year here. We have lost our audience in the Gallery already. We might forgive our friends on the Sinn Féin benches for veering off topic slightly. This is a very technical Bill but we are talking about safety and this legislation deserves careful consideration and examination by all of us in the House. The ch…

I thank the Members of the House for their contributions to the debate today and I look forward to their support as this Bill is further considered on Committee Stage. The range of measures that we have developed to address the problems caused by vaping are the result of thorough consideration. This Bill has one purpose, which is to ban single-use vapes, but we are soon bringing in the legislatio…

I wish a happy Christmas to the Deputy, her family and her Labour Party colleagues. I too welcome the developments at an EU level this week. I acknowledge the contribution of her party colleague Aodhán Ó Ríordáin. She will also understand why I acknowledge the contribution of Regina Doherty, who is on that committee in the European Parliament. We now have a housing Commissioner and a committee of …

The banking and insurance focus group is doing tremendous work. In fairness to BPFI, it has really engaged with it and included other organisations such as Insurance Ireland, valuers and so on. The Department of housing has refused to engage with them, which is ridiculous, to tell the truth. They should be part of the working group, as should other Departments. These are very serious people who ar…

I also wish happy Christmas to all the staff, the Ceann Comhairle and the Ministers. Nollaig Shona. I look forward to continuing our engagement in the new year. I will refer to one case in particular in my constituency but I wish to raise the broader issue affecting people which we are being inundated about. It is the issue of people facing eviction. They are being evicted from the private rental…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. In the spirit of Christmas, I too have no particular issue with what is being proposed here. Broadly speaking, I support anything, within reason, that helps somebody to turn a vacant commercial property into a permanent home. I also support measures that would make it easier for people to increase the provision of animal housing and exemptions for stand-alone slurry …