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1183. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will outline the current policy and guidelines for local authorities in prioritising housing allocations for individuals and families experiencing harassment or domestic abuse, including where the harassment involves repeated Garda welfare checks found to be unfounded; the measures in place to ensure such…

1189. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on a development (details supplied) which has been purchased by an approved housing body but is awaiting the release of payment and availability-capital advance leasing facility funding by his Department; when he expects that the funding will be released so that the sale will be finalised, allowin…

1201. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has received a report on the results of investigations that have taken place on a number of houses in Carlow that have or are suspected of having pyrite; if so, when the results will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45844/25]

1202. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if priority will be given to critical skills workers such as teachers, nurses and Gardaí in upcoming affordable housing schemes: the way in which such a priority would work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45845/25]

1203. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to respond to concerns that existing housing schemes functionally exclude many single individuals (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45856/25]

1210. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the Department accepts the position of an organisation (details supplied) that “given the research on a review of I.S. 465 has not yet been completed, that where a discrepancy exists between the recommendation of a member of the I.S. 465 Register and the Housing Agency, that the higher option of the two sho…

1215. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to clarify if there is only one funding stream for local authorities for the taking-in-charge of housing estates by local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45981/25]

1231. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage , when a review of the net income limits for social housing supports will next take place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46100/25]

1234. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the position regarding the number of registered derelict or vacant housing properties in the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46170/25]

1236. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to cases whereby single people cannot qualify for affordable housing schemes due to their lower income relative to couples; if he is conscious of the need to support all prospective homeowners, regardless of relationship status; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46174…

1254. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if legislation to underpin the defects remediation schemes for apartment defects will complete pre-legislative scrutiny before the end of 2025; and when he anticipates that the legislation will pass both Houses of the Oireachtas. [46455/25]

1260. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if a private landlord can be compelled to provide proof of ownership to a local authority when their tenant is applying for social housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46550/25]

1270. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of social and affordable houses that will be constructed or bought in County Kerry in 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46656/25]

1282. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will outline the monies spent on a project by a local authority for a housing scheme (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46977/25]

1291. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage what policy or infrastructural improvements have occurred since the introduction of the 2023 waiver that justify its expiration, and for details of any review undertaken to assess its impact on rural housing development. [47063/25]

1294. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for details of any review undertaken by his Department into the impact of development contribution fees on rural housing viability, and whether such fees have contributed to delays or cancellations of rural builds. [47066/25]

1314. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the income eligibility limits for social housing will be increased for applicants in areas such as Cavan and Monaghan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47499/25]

1316. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of occasions a local authority in the State has waived the requirement that an applicant for social housing either normally resides or has a local connection to that functional area; by local authority and year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47511/25]

1319. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in view of the CSO showing Ireland’s population reached 5.38 million, driven by net migration of 79,300 in a single year, the specific housing units, that will be delivered by the Government in 2026 to keep pace with this surge. [47968/25]

1684. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the proposals regarding accommodation for Ukrainian’s living in Ireland under the beneficiary of temporary protection post March-2026; if they will be eligible for housing supports; if his Department has undertaken research into the consequential demand this will place on the current housing delivery targets; and if…

2749. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the reason the Summary Report from the Rural Youth Assembly 2024 acknowledges housing as a challenge for young people living in rural areas, but housing recommendations were not included in the delegates' final list of recommendations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44723/25]

772. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Finance given that states generally have access to cheaper finance than the private sector, to outline the differences in financing costs for the delivery of large social housing projects compared to large private housing projects (details supplied). [44353/25]

1263. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Education and Youth her plans to address teacher recruitment shortages in Dublin; if her Department is engaging with the Department of Housing in respect of addressing housing-related issues in an effort to attract and retain teachers; to provide details of any such engagement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43907/25]

1388. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to outline the allocation of European Union and European Investment Bank funds available for the construction and refurbishment of social housing in the four Dublin counties within the last five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43575/25]

1390. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of the implementation of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024 to earmark certain cost-rental units for local key workers, including teachers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43908/25]

The State cannot sustainably finance on its own the building of 50,000 to 60,000 houses for the next decade, so strategy and policy must reflect the continuance of unprecedented Government investment but complemented and supplemented by private sector investment. That is the clear strategic approach of Government. It is not panic mode or anything of the sort but it is relentless and it is focused…

There are homeless prevention measures, tenancy sustainment measures and so on, and enabling people to exit emergency accommodation as quickly as possible. We will fund over 5,000 new homes under the social housing current expenditure programme. We continue to support over 40,000 existing homes under the scheme. There is €470 million to support an additional 7,000 new tenancies. At present there a…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. The Taoiseach will be familiar with the Baggot Street hospital. It is an iconic building in the middle of Baggot Street that, scandalously, has been left vacant for a number of years by the HSE. The HSE told us and local residents that it had been placed on the OPW disposal register, which, as it was explained to me, means every Government Department and State body wou…

I have another minute. Good. Men and women are trying to get a start in life but are being refused in their first steps. It is nothing short of scandalous and the reasons for the refusals leave me scratching the back of my head. To my sincere embarrassment, I can look at a site and see holiday homes at sky level behind the site where the house is proposed to be built and they are being refused be…

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion and the Government for not opposing it. All of us, on the doors and in our email inboxes, have heard and read the same stories time and again. It is a huge part of why I got involved in politics and I think that would resonate with a lot of people here. They are the shocking cases of families, young children and adults left behind by the system an…

In my first speech in this Chamber I highlighted the need for major upgrades in infrastructure in the State and I used many examples in my county of infrastructural deficiencies and issues that need to be resolved. As Vice Chair of the new infrastructure committee I focused extensively on obtaining an understanding of the blockages in the system and the difficulties we have throughout the State in…

I appreciate that. I am just not going to let the comment go unchallenged. I welcome the additional money allocated to the SEAI this year. It has a huge part to play in getting our housing stock retrofitted from a climate perspective, but there is something of an issue with heat pumps. Heat pumps appear to be the nirvana when it comes to retrofitting. For older citizens in particular, they are ex…

I will try not to do what the Deputy asked me not to do. We obviously need to look at the housing situation nationally but we also need to work locally, county by county, in relation to housing. That is what we are trying to do. It is what the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, and the Minister, Deputy Browne, are trying to do. The Taoiseach and I will be interacting with a number of local authori…

Tapaím an deis seo labhairt ar son na cáinaisnéise agus na sonraí atá leagtha síos mar chuid di. Ar an mórchuid, ceann de na teachtaireachtaí is mó a thugann an cháinaisnéis seo ná go bhfuil infheistíocht láidir á déanamh againn inár seirbhísí poiblí, ag cur le daonra atá ag fás ach ag déileáil le go leor de na gnéithe agus na fadhbanna sóisialta atá le feiceáil i sochaí an lae inniu. I thank the…

I have been heavily engaged with the LDA. I meet it regularly. It is anxious to have that direct delivery model, which is what it has been moving towards as quickly as possible. The key is that we get properties delivered. As I say, I much prefer the direct delivery model and to get the private market delivering on the private sector side of things. That is where we are heading and where much of m…

The housing activation office is just one piece of an important set of measures we will take to ensure we can unlock housing delivery. We have our State agencies, but the housing activation office will be able to work with those Stage agencies where they identify that land can be freed up very quickly for housing delivery to ensure that utilities are in place. The HAO itself has that fund where it…

It is good to see that those figures are quite high and strong, that Cork City Council has a target of 592 houses this year, and that Cork County Council has 683. This will bring in the bones of 1,200 new social houses into the system in Cork city and county for 2025. I very much welcome that almost 2,100 units are in the pipeline between Cork city and county. It is important that both local auth…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 14, 15, 21, 83, 105 and 112 together. As I said in my previous reply, this Government is committed to tackling the issue of vacancy and dereliction. The vacant homes action plan published in January 2023 sets out a range of measures and actions being pursued to return vacant and derelict properties to use as homes. In March, the Minister, Deputy Browne, and I publ…

Every year Government is faced with the challenge of balancing finite resources with infinite ambition to make things better for the people of Ireland. No single budget can deliver that in full but budget 2026 certainly rises to the challenge. I thank everyone involved in putting together this budget, in particular officials in my Department and the Department of Finance who worked around the cloc…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak on budget 2026 this evening. This budget is focused on protecting our economy, protecting our jobs and protecting future growth. The approach to the budget was one of prudence and being mindful of the headwinds which exist outside of our shores but have a significant impact within our shores. No one budget can address every issue we would li…

I will be sharing time with my colleague Deputy Sherlock. The story of Ireland over the past decade has been a story of missed opportunities. There was a catastrophic failure to build the homes we need when we could and should have done. The Government is so crippled by caution and conservatism that we are only now, a decade into a unprecedented spell of uninterrupted growth, facing up to the chro…

The month of October is associated with Halloween and children play trick or treat at Hallowe'en. However, the Government's budget is all trick and no treats. That is what we get from the Government. There was an election in the previous year and Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael literally went out and bought votes. There was money for everything, there were one-offs and there was helicopter money nearly …

I am glad to get the opportunity to talk on this budget, which has been awaited by many people around the country to see if they will benefit from it. All of us here might do it differently but we have to go by the amount of money the Government has to spend, and the choices it makes about how to spend it is what we have to go through. There are many things that are welcome and a good few things t…

I am conscious of the discussion we have just had. I want to put on the record of the House my support, the same as the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste today, for the fact that there was an attempted focus on humanitarian aid that is necessary for Gaza, and thank the Tánaiste and his officials for all the work they are doing in delivering consular assistance for Irish citizens and for drawing broader i…

I am disappointed to see that the senior Minister has left the House. Nobody ever gets rich from social welfare. Nobody ever makes a profit from social welfare. We can put that idea to rest in this House and put it on the record. When it comes to carer's allowance, €20 billion is being saved by the State from people caring. We have application forms as long as my arm in which people are meant to g…

I too want to compliment all of the people who contributed here today. We in this House have to remember that whether we are in opposition or the people in government, we all have the one aim and ambition. We never thought that in our lifetimes we would witness what is happening today. The advent of modern communication methods mean we can see these horrors unfolding before our eyes. We did not ev…

Daft.ie reports today that the asking price for a home is nearly 40% higher than pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, 5,145 children are in homelessness. Last Friday's figures again showed a new shameful record, with the creeping up of the numbers in homelessness and a new record being set every month. Every day, we all hear from people with good jobs, many of them couples with two incomes, who are giv…

House prices are very high, and too high for many young people. That said, since 2020, notwithstanding Covid, about 148,000 new houses have been delivered in this country. The percentage of first-time buyers has been steadily increasing from about 25% of all purchases in 2015 to just under 40% in July 2025, and the latest data indicate further increases. First-time buyers continue to make the larg…

I join with everyone in acknowledging the friends, family and supporters of those on the flotilla who join us in the Gallery. I thank them as representatives of their loved ones, but also for their own advocacy. In closing today’s session, I echo the sentiments expressed throughout the House in conveying my deep concern over reports of attacks on the flotilla and take this opportunity to reiterat…

I met a man during the week who married a woman from County Tipperary. This is actually laughable. When the woman he married moved from County Tipperary to County Limerick, and went to renew her car insurance premium with the same company she has been insured with for the past 20 years, they charged her €179 more because she had moved to County Limerick. Even though the same person is driving the …