Conor Sheehan

3. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the development of the Government’s housing plan; if it will be published before the summer recess; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35894/25]

The plan was supposed to be published in July. I understand from what the Minister said and what we have seen in the media that it will be delayed until September. We know the Government has a target to deliver 303,000 homes by 2030 and that the target will be missed again this year by around 10,000. Will the Minister give the House an outline of what measures to scale up delivery are being consid…

The Minister did not address the recommendation from the Housing Commission to increase social and affordable housing to 20% of all stock. This badly needs to be done. It is a key plank of the commission's recommendations. I hope the Minister might be able to give us an outline of when each section of the Planning and Development Act will be enacted, including timelines, and whether he intends to …

14. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when funding will be released for a project (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35898/25]

When will €5 million of funding be released for infrastructure at the Mungret site in Limerick? This is a partnership between Limerick City and County Council and the Land Development Agency, LDA. Essentially, it is funding for a plaza and a link road to allow them to proceed to tender and construction for 250-plus homes.

From the substance of the Minister's reply, it sounds like this funding is being delayed until the new infrastructure fund is active. Is there a way he can frontload the delivery of the infrastructure fund to release the funding? As far as I understand, there was a proposal from the LDA that the €5 million shortfall would be added to the purchase price of the affordable homes, which is totally una…

I thank the Minister. From my point of view and that of the local authority, this entire project is essentially being held up because of €5 million, which is a very small sum of money in the grand scale of things. This project has been in planning since last year and was first announced in May 2024. We have had the highest percentage increase in house prices in Limerick in the past year because we…

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Louise O'Reilly - To discuss the limitations of the supplementary welfare allowance. Deputy Michael Cahill - To discuss the need for improved respite services at St. Mary of the Angels and St. Francis Special School, Whitefield Beau…

Tomorrow will mark another dark day when the latest homeless figures are published. The figure will be over 15,000. This is the population of a town the size of Tullamore. There were 4,775 children homeless in the most recent figures, each an individual tragedy. "The impact of homelessness and unstable living conditions on children is catastrophic" were the words of the Ombudsman for Children on T…

While the measures that the Government announced last week relating to security of tenure are welcome, they were undermined completely by allowing landlords to reset rents to market rate. The Housing Commission was clear that social and affordable housing should form 20% of our housing stock. It currently forms less than 10% of all housing stock. If the Tánaiste has huge respect for the Ombudsman …

I thank the Independent Technical Group and Deputy Fitzmaurice for bringing forward this motion. We are six months into this new Government. There is no sight of the new housing plan until September. There are no new housing targets for local authorities. We expect that on Friday we will have record homelessness. There are no rural planning guidelines. They were apparently with the Attorney Genera…

I wish to ask about cancer services with specific reference to the NDP review that will be published in July and to make the case for a dedicated funding stream within that for cancer services. I wish to also ask about UHL and especially the cancer care outcomes. UHL has the worst outcomes in the January 2025 NCRI report. This is extremely concerning. There is no PET scanner, which means lung canc…

Eight years ago.

Both of us are united in our concern about the volatility of the situation in Limerick as it pertains to serious crime and the absence of an adequate and visible policing presence to tackle this. Limerick is a wonderful place and a city that has come far since the dark days of 20 years ago, yet the lack of an active and visible policing presence has become a defining feature of our city. In a rec…

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. First, regarding the LCSP, I sat on the joint policing committee. The joint policing committee has not sat since I was a member of it, which was in May 2024. It is simply not acceptable. What I am looking for is a commitment that the Minister of State will take up the substance of the issues I raised with the Commissioner. We need at least ten additiona…

They still have not started.

I raise the issue of policing, in particular in Limerick city. Recently, we have unfortunately had an escalation of violence in the Ballinacurra Weston area and a deterioration of the situation in King's Island following the very successful operations Capóg and Feabhsaigh. The continued refusal of a sanction for overtime, especially in King's Island, means the situation is getting worse. Last week…

-----and the approval of an application for CCTV that has been sent to the Department of justice.

The way this entire issue has been approached by the Government has been nothing short of shambolic. A series of measures were leaked to the media and subsequently announced. A press conference was going on while we were in the Dáil on Tuesday of last week. What the Minister said at that press conference was different from what was in his press release, which was different again from what the Taoi…

I am quite personally aggrieved and insulted that in his contribution the Minister compared me and the Labour Party to the far right. I certainly try to avoid making personal charges against individuals. I certainly do not go around the place whipping up hate. As a proud anti-racist, I genuinely urge the Minister to withdraw the remark. Amendment No. 2 is in my name and its purpose is to provide …

I move amendment No. 2: In page 3, to delete line 22 and substitute the following: “December 2025”, and (c) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (6): “(7) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, rent payable under the tenancy of a dwelling shall not be increased during the relevant period.”.”.

I support the amendment. This is something we have called for since my colleague Deputy Bacik introduced her renters' rights Bill in 2021. The provision of a three-year rent freeze is contained within that Bill. We believe that a three-year rent freeze is prudent and necessary in order to create space, particularly in view of how much rents have risen in the past decade.

The response of the Government to tonight's cross-party motion is extremely disappointing. The Labour Party has produced volumes of legislation on housing in the last couple of years, including, but not limited to the Housing (Homeless Families) Bill 2017, the renters' rights Bill and a Bill to give effect to the recommendations of the Kenny report to cap the cost of development land. Einstein's d…

Where is the protection?

While the Government says today that the measures announced aim to improve the circumstances of renters, in reality it will make life more difficult for many renters across the country who are not covered by the provisions, such as renters who voluntarily leave tenancies, renters who are near the end of the six-year expiry date or will come to that in 2032, students and those who will rent new-bui…