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146. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a breakdown of the average duration spent on a social housing waiting list in Kerry in each of the years 2020 to 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40084/25]

156. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will outline the rationale behind proposals to reduce minimum standards for apartment size, window dimensions, and green space provision in new housing developments; and how he intends to address concerns that such changes may negatively affect residents’ well-being and overall quality of life; and if he…

160. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the role credit unions play in supporting the delivery of social housing through the Credit Union Approved Housing Body Fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39014/25]

545. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the latest update on the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2022; when he expects the Bill to go before the Houses of the Oireachtas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38649/25]

551. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will increase the allocation to Laois County Council, for the housing adaptation grant scheme for older people and people with disabilities, in view of significant demand, increasing costs, and the essential role these grants plays in enabling people to live safely and independently in their homes; and if …

560. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will review the policy of using maximum parking space guidelines for residential developments in intermediate urban locations under the "Sustainable Urban Housing: Design Standards for New Apartments" guidelines; if he will consider moving instead to minimum parking requirements to ensure residents' needs a…

561. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider increasing the number of parking spaces afforded to developments in intermediate urban locations under the "Sustainable Urban Housing: Design Standards for New Apartments" guidelines due to overspill parking into other developments and negative impacts on apartment living under current guideli…

569. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the average processing time for stage 1 approvals for applications to the Social Housing Investment Programme received in the past 12 months. [38968/25]

573. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the average processing time for stage 1 approvals for applications to the affordable housing fund received in the past 12 months. [38972/25]

578. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to confirm if the setting of rents for local authority housing is an executive or a reserved function of local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39022/25]

587. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of social and affordable housing units planned for construction in Navan, County Meath, in 2025 and 2026; the current status of each project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39327/25]

588. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his officials have been made aware of alarming practices on the part of residential housing developers (details supplied); if he will outline the non-judicial remedies homeowners may seek in such cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39332/25]

589. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide a schedule of housing projects sanctioned and or funded in full and or in part to include number of units, by type, that have been paused and or rejected due to deviations from design, specification and or cost expectations did not represent value for money in 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025.…

592. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if it has been brought to his attention that pyrite has been found in some social housing; and the measures he intends to take to assist local authorities to deal with the problem. [39391/25]

242. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage what regulations there are for housing above shop and bar fronts to protect the residents from noise pollution. [38375/25]

249. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the extent to which Uisce Éireann is accountable to the Houses of the Oireachtas; if he plans to make it more accountable; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38500/25]

250. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of agencies that report to his Department where the objectives of said agencies include or do not include supporting the development of housing in the State, in tabular form. [38501/25]

251. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to outline his efforts to deliver age friendly accommodation for social housing applicants; the supports available to local authorities to deliver such accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38514/25]

87. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total amount of rent arrears (rent owed by housing tenants) in each local authority across the country, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37986/25]

95. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of households currently on social housing waiting lists by local authority; and the average waiting time, in tabular form. [38087/25]

96. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of applicants who have been on a social housing waiting list for more than five, ten and 15 years; and the breakdown of these figures by local authority, in tabular form. [38088/25]

97. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of people with a disability currently on the social housing list; and the average waiting time, in tabular form. [38089/25]

98. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of social housing tenants currently on transfer lists due to overcrowding or unsuitable accommodation; and the average time such transfer applicants are waiting. [38090/25]

99. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of those on the social housing list aged between 18 and 30; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38091/25]

508. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide the cost to the Exchequer of the housing assistance payment in each of the years since its creation in 2014, in tabular form; and an estimation of the cost for each year from the last year for which final numbers are available until 2030. [37194/25]

I will stay with the theme of housing and, in particular, the emergency task force that was set up in Galway in 2019. At the end of last year, during the last meeting for which I have minutes, the new chair said the delivery to date is "not a happy picture". This was referring to the failure to deliver housing in Galway city and county. Lots of issues and obstacles were raised. One is the lack of…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. At the outset I say that Sinn Féin recognises that return and readmission agreements are a crucial part of having a managed migration system. We have been clear that where any person is not entitled to be in Ireland, they should be returned safely, and deportation orders should be both enforced and tracked. Such return and readmission agreements can be done on a …

I extend a céad míle fáilte to Aran and Sophie Byrne who are recently married. They are here with their family - love's young dream in the Dáil. I also welcome the Moylagh Historical Society from the royal county. Fáilte romhaibh ar fad. The Taoiseach repeatedly tells us that fixing housing is his number one priority so people have waited for the big initiative for some idea that he might bring f…

I move: Tuesday's business shall be: - Motion re Referral of Government Bills to Select Committees (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately) - Statements on Housing (not to exceed 3 hours and 32 minutes) Tuesday's private members' business shall be Motion re Urgent action on Vacant Council Housing, selected by Sinn Féin. Wednesday's business shall be: - Motion re Prop…

Homelessness is well recognised as both a cause and a consequence of mental health difficulties. For the many thousands of children in this country who are caught up in the various forms of homelessness, whether that be conditions of extreme overcrowding, couch surfing, time spent in domestic violence shelters or emergency accommodation, mental health and developmental outcomes are likely to be ve…

I will start by thanking the housing Minister for bringing forward, in his first few months, a Bill that will address some of the changes needed to the defective concrete scheme. However, I have communicated to him there are a few issues that need changing. The decision, for example, to fix a cut-off date for the increased scheme cap and updated grant rate as 29 March 2024 is simply unfair. It fl…

I might say one thing, a Leas Cheann-Comhairle, about the provision of public housing. I have consistently found it frustrating that it takes 59 weeks - that is the Department's own estimate - to bring a public housing project from the initial concept to the signing of contracts to begin construction of that project. That is immensely frustrating. It is too long. There is currently a four-stage pr…

In the middle of a housing crisis, there are more than 2,600 houses boarded up across this State. Some 91 of them are in my own constituency of Clare and of those, 18 have been empty for more than 18 to 24 months. This is not down to a lack of work on the part of Clare County Council. It is being hampered by a lack of Government commitment, a lack of action and most of all a lack of funding. Can y…

There is general agreement that it is taking far too long for vacant houses to come back into service. Properties may lie idle for months or years. There are some in South Dublin County Council that are idle more than a year and others that have been vacant for years. I know of one building suitable for housing in Rossfield that has been lying idle for more than 20 years. In Mac Uilliam, two apart…

Having vacant homes in the middle of a housing crisis is a scandal, particularly when they are local authority houses. There are more than 2,700 vacant at the moment. A third have been vacant for more than a year. This is simply not on. Reletting times average more than eight months and are much more in many cases. The cost of preparing a home for reletting has increased in five years by almost €1…

I am widely supportive of the aims of the Sinn Féin Private Members' motion. We wish to do more to ensure that social housing stock is turned around and reallocated in a timely manner. I note in media reports over the weekend that Tiobraid Árann is one of the four biggest offenders in returning long-term voids. I acknowledge that large strides have been made by Tipperary County Council under Jonat…

I thank all Members for their contributions. I echo the comments made by the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, and reassert this Government's commitment to tackling the challenges in the housing sector. I will highlight the steps being taken by the Government to minimise vacancy and to ensure strategic and informed programmes of planned maintenance work for local authority housing are implement…

We have a bit of contradiction in that there are so many people without homes, yet there are so many homes without people. The vast majority of these are in private hands. However, there are more than 2,500 vacant council houses throughout the State. Of these, 834 have been vacant for more than a year. Each of these homes should have a local family living in it. Almost all councils have unacceptab…

Anybody who was in the House for any period earlier today will realise the priority and urgency afforded to the housing crisis. There are 15,580 people homeless. Then there is the rest, which Minister would have heard about, such as the average cost of rent being above €2,000. There is a housing emergency but instead of prioritising homes, this Government and those that preceded it have been reckl…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 20 together. The primary aim of the help to buy scheme is to encourage additional supply of new houses by supporting demand. It also assists first-time purchasers with the deposit they need to buy or build a new home. The scheme provides a refund of income tax and deposit interest retention tax paid in Ireland over the previous four years, subject to the lim…

Second-hand homes could be a more viable option for some first-time buyers but they are then excluded from financial assistance. An extension to the help to buy scheme to include buyers of second-hand homes would acknowledge the reality of our housing market. An extension would widen access, especially in rural and established urban areas where new builds are limited or priced outside of the thres…

There is currently a social media campaign entitled “Don’t stop talking about Palestine”. I fully support it. People, including the campaigners, are concerned that there is fatigue setting in among some, who are asking what exactly they can do. I urge people to keep talking about Palestine and to keep protesting about it, including on the streets and in the Houses of the Oireachtas. I express my s…

I understand the legislation, and I am an employer. For a political party to be the answer to everything, cause ruckuses and disturbances like that, it should have to pay the price, otherwise we would have bedlam in this House. If I bring in visitors, I am responsible for them, but Sinn Féin Members seem to have their own law. They decided after they lost the election to sulk, obstruct this House …

I have no difficulty with the technical amendments, but I will use my time now and at the end of the debate to say that I am most unhappy with the Bill. I cannot support it in its present form. The Minister said she is responding to the needs of survivors. We have a special advocate, and when that special advocate was appointed there was a press release which stated the Government would value and…

I would like to say a few brief words on behalf of the Government of Ireland in advance of the Minister for Justice’s, Deputy O'Callaghan, apology to Shane O’Farrell and his family for the failures of the criminal justice system in this case. In the first instance, it is incumbent on me, on behalf of the entire Government, to recognise the deep pain, trauma and sense of loss suffered by Shane’s m…

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing this Bill to the House. I refer to the legal opinion the party received. The Minister might have looked at it. It said there was a strong argument for putting forward this Private Members' Bill based on public policy. They see no difficulty in putting that forward based on public policy. "Public policy" is a phrase the Minister did not use. The Minister also did not …

We get a sense of the national planning framework now as local authorities are being invited to submit new proposals for housing in terms of rezoning land. I would also point to the vacant property refurbishment grant, which has opened up houses. The Deputy is a rural TD as well; he can see that houses that were closed for generations have been opened up. In Waterford City and County Council alone…

I will begin today by condemning the senseless antisemitic murder of Yaron and Sarah overnight. These were two young diplomats in Washington DC who were killed in the prime of their lives. They were a young couple, soon to be engaged. I think of them and their families, to whom I send our sympathies. I also think of all those present at the Jewish museum in Washington DC last night, who include on…

The Deputy is right to highlight housing, which is the biggest domestic challenge we face. There are many young people, both here in Ireland and Irish young people abroad, who want to see and need to see more progress made on housing. I would point out some progress has been made. The Deputy quotes headline figures which are perfectly acceptable to quote. However, of course we have put in place a …

As this is my first time speaking in the House, I want to start by thanking the Minister of State and the many Members of the House from all parties and none who have been so welcoming to me since the start of the Dáil term. While friendships may be tested through the course of political life, I hope I can earn and keep the respect of my colleagues, as I promise respect for them and for the mandat…