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571. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide further details regarding the Housing Activation Office, including the number of people on its staff, the organisations to be represented, the names of those appointed/seconded to date in 2025, the powers and functions of the office and whether the head of office will be appointed through the Public A…

575. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the Pearse House regeneration scheme. [26054/25]

581. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide the figure for the number of people, adults and children, currently registered on social housing lists in Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26062/25]

583. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide the figure for the number of affordable housing units delivered in Dublin annually over the past ten years, as compared to the annual targets of those same years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26066/25]

584. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide the figure for the amount of social housing units delivered in Dublin annually over the past ten years, excluding vacant site grants, as compared to the annual targets of those same years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26067/25]

1. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the delayed Department approvals for social and affordable housing. [24903/25]

5. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for his expectations for the delivery of affordable housing this year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24902/25]

6. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the level of funding he has provided to housing authorities for the provision of emergency accommodation in 2024 and 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24777/25]

8. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his expectations for the delivery of affordable housing in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24661/25]

9. Deputy Edward Timmins asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage how quickly the new housing national planning framework targets will be given to the county councils so that they can amend their county development plans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24826/25]

11. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to expand the provision of modular housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24654/25]

13. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans for increasing the housing options available to older people to facilitate ageing in place with dignity and independence; if he will provide an update on the development of a policy on rightsizing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24643/25]

20. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if additional funding will be provided to local authorities in 2025 to cover the additional applications for housing adaptation grants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23493/25]

21. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the funding allocated for housing adaptation grants in Louth from 2020 to 2024, inclusive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24599/25]

22. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will increase funding for housing acquisitions, such as the tenant in situ scheme in Sligo and Leitrim; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24854/25]

27. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of new builds by approved housing bodies in 2024; the number expected in 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24835/25]

28. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on the progress made by the Land Development Agency to date in advancing affordable and social housing delivery; the pipeline now in place for further developments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24726/25]

30. Deputy Noel McCarthy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to increase the income limits for eligibility for social housing in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24839/25]

33. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to confirm that the €1 billion of funding for Uisce Éireann in budget 2025 was not additional money; and to set his response to the utility's request for an additional €2 billion in capital funding out to 2030, including €1.7 billion for urban capacity upgrades and €300 million for rural capacity upgrades, to fac…

34. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider introducing a streamlined planning framework to allow for the vertical extension of existing homes of up to four storeys where structurally feasible, particularly in cities and large towns; if he will examine this as a means of increasing housing density without requiring additional land pur…

39. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the means by which the newly established housing activation office will in practice work with the new infrastructure division within the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. [24541/25]

49. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there is any facility to transfer between local authority housing lists in cases of domestic abuse; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23727/25]

57. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures he is taking to increase the availability of affordable housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24734/25]

61. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will review the amount allocated to Galway County Council for social housing acquisitions for 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24030/25]

62. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider how funding is being provided for social housing acquisitions, given the small amount of funding provided to Donegal and the significant need in the county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24836/25]

I appreciate the issue here and the significant issue of people being excluded on the margins, or indeed being taken out of social housing lists, by virtue of income growth. I understand from the Minister, Deputy Browne, that a revised household means policy issued to all local authorities recently around income disregards, once-off income and other changes, but I understand the wider issue. We ar…

Like my colleague, I have always been supportive of the local post office. We recognise the importance of the local post office. I have told the story in this House of how I always believed that a visit to the post office took about two and a half hours because I remember my grandmother going to collect the pension and coming back two and a half hours later. I remember one of my first visits to th…

At the outset, I thank everyone across the House for their various contributions to this amendment legislation today, and for the broad support there is through the Houses of the Oireachtas for it to be passed. I thank the Dáil and the Seanad, where it will be later on this week, for their engagement in planning this. It is important that we pass this legislation before the Dáil and the Seanad go …

Let me say at the outset that I want to see our island united, I want to see our people united and I want to see a united Ireland. I want to work across party lines in this House, across this island North and South and, indeed, east-west, to build the durable consent that would make a new Ireland possible. I believe that is an aspiration shared in one form or another by an overwhelming majority of…

It is with great pleasure that I speak about this Bill. I congratulate Sinn Féin on the work it has done in putting the Bill forward. It is a very timely conversation. Preparations for a united Ireland need to start. It needs to be respectful, evidence-based and inclusive. The Social Democrats have called on the Government to establish formal structures to examine the practical implications for re…

I thank the Minister. It is right to say that huge progress is being seen on delivery of transport infrastructure across the country. The Liffey Valley to city centre bus corridor that he mentioned is the route I cycle to Leinster House most days. I see the active progress there. I am hopeful that it will be delivered on time, if not ahead of schedule. Like the Minister, I am a TD for a Dublin con…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 7, 8, 20, 38, 60 and 65 together. I thank the Deputies for tabling these questions. The Government approved the text of the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2026 on 26 May. The Bill was published on 29 May and was introduced in Dáil Éireann on 10 June. It is very much my intention that the legisla…

I welcome this Bill. It will ensure the planning code works effectively when the remaining provisions commence later this year. If we look at the tone and sentiment of this Dáil term, it has been all about delivery across all types of infrastructure while maintaining public confidence in the planning system. If we consider some of the representative bodies, there is a changing view regarding how t…

The Bill is another piece of omnibus legislation. It tidies up the 2024 Act and is designed to fast-track the judicial review changes, clarify and firm up the ten-year development plan timelines, look at the critical infrastructure and increase the Housing Finance Agency's borrowing capacity. There is a lot contained in the Bill, on one side, but nothing on the other, to be quite honest, because i…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for selecting this Topical Issue for debate this morning, and I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, to the Chamber. As he knows, I raised this matter in the Upper House on 18 March, and due to its importance for coastal communities, I wanted it to be the first issue that I raised as part of a debate in this House. This is, as the Minister of State kn…

When we discuss the cost-of-living crisis, we need to move beyond the headlines and focus on the reality facing households. The Government points to falling inflation rates as evidence the crisis is easing but inflation measures the speed at which prices are rising. It does not mean prices are returning to previous levels. According to analysis of CSO data, the reality is that overall consumer pri…

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that the Government: — remains deeply concerned about the conflict in the Middle East and Gulf region; — is acutely aware of the impact on households and businesses of the recent increases in the cost of living, and is actively monitoring the current geopolitical situation and its impact on co…

Let us not mislead the House here. It is important that we say that from the outset. The truth is that Ireland is an outlier in terms of the cost of living in the country at the moment. We are the most expensive country in Europe for housing, health, energy and alcohol. Is the Minister of State going to blame the Opposition for the disasters of health and the cost of housing? The Government has pr…

The cost of living is rising at an alarming rate right across the board. Middle- and low-income households cannot keep up, particularly households on below €75,000. Those on €50,000, €60,000 and €70,000 used to be counted as being well-off. They are not now. Rents, mortgages, electricity, gas, motor fuel, food, health insurance and much more have all increased, not by single figures, but by double…

I thank all of the Deputies for raising these important matters and for giving all of us an opportunity on all sides of the House to discuss the pressures households are facing regarding the cost of living and the actions the Government is taking. It is fair to say that some people on the far side of the House have been positive in their commentary in highlighting some of the issues that are faced…

I thank the Deputy for his question. He is referring to developments in Clonmel. The Deputy has spoken to me before about that. I know it is an issue of concern to him. The rapid build modular units, including those in Clonmel, were built to accommodate beneficiaries of temporary protection fleeing the war in Ukraine. In total, we have 654 units across 11 locations across the country, accommodati…

I welcome the publication today of the draft national planning statement on rural and Gaeltacht housing, which represents the most significant reform of rural housing policy in over 20 years. As a rural TD for Kerry, I know at first hand the frustration, inconsistency and uncertainty that many families have faced when trying to build a home where they were born and raised. I was glad to engage con…

I am glad to get the opportunity to welcome that Shannon Energy has got approval to bring in and store gas, and to give us another option. We have a duty to the taxpayers and the people in every county, including Kerry, to deliver energy to them at the cheapest rate possible. I have said here to the Minister of State on many occasions that since we closed Bord na Móna, the cost of electricity has …

It has already been said by others, but I am also struck by the pace at which this legislation has progressed and is progressing through the House to a point where it will reach completion this evening. It is fair to say that for the first 18 months of the lifetime of this Government, we have seen very little by way of legislation come through the House. Suddenly, however, we are under dramatic pr…

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I specifically support amendment No. 12 which, along with several other amendments, aims to tighten up this legislation. It is a very frustrating experience for those who are part of this process and who are trying to contribute positively to it and to influence, shape and improve Government legislation. Many people engaged in good faith, not…

Am I right that at one stage, there was a proposal that that Bill would be included in the Bill now before these House, and a decision was taken to split those Bills? Is it the Minister of State's position now that, when that Bill is brought before these Houses, it may also include amendments to this Bill, based on what was said in the pre-legislative scrutiny? I see lots of nodding going on, whic…

I thank Sinn Féin and Deputy Kerrane for bringing this important motion forward. For my generation and for young parents like me, or youngish parents anyway, childcare and housing are the crucial issues. Childcare and housing are both issues of accessibility and affordability. Both are also issues that have been left to the private sector for far too long and, in both cases, there is an urgent nee…

I believe we should separate the limit on the house from any other inheritance. The €40,000 cap in the case of a niece, nephew, brother or sister is absolutely ridiculous and discriminatory. In the upcoming budget, I propose that the Minister increase the €40,000 cap and we separate the house from the inheritance. The bands are less today than they were 15 or 16 years ago, as they were reduced dur…

Nobody is ignoring it. We are putting record funding into solving the housing crisis. Almost one third of all the capital being spent by the State is going to be spent on solving the housing crisis. It is reflected in the decisions we are making. We are treating this as an emergency and putting those measures in place. Instead of constantly coming in here using emotive language and pretending he h…

I thank the Deputy for the question. The Government's housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, aims to ensure that the activities and resources used to address vacancy and dereliction are co-ordinated and effective, and that legislative powers are used proactively to tackle dereliction and vacancy. The derelict property tax announced in budget 2026 is intended to introduce legislation…