Eoin Ó Broin

2. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the review of section 10 funding for homelessness service providers; and the changes he intends to make to this funding stream, in light of the near financial collapse of an organisation (details supplied) in 2023. [36134/25]

6. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on the growing unaffordability of cost-rental schemes funded by his Department; the measures he intends to take to address this growing unaffordability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36136/25]

11. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a date for when his revised housing plan will be completed and published. [35826/25]

I read the Department's amendment this morning. There is nothing constructive about it. It is an absolute embarrassment because of what it says not just to Deputies in this Chamber but to the people experiencing the hard edge of the Government's failed housing policies, which is that nothing will change. It is more of the same failed policies into the future. Yesterday, the housing committee had a…

What an utter shambles. In my entire time in Dáil Éireann, I have never witnessed a more haphazard, ramshackle, back-of-the-envelope process for putting in place widespread reforms that are going to impact tens of thousands of people. While I understand Ministers and Ministers of State have to come here and defend this farce, privately they must be absolutely reeling. The credibility of the Govern…

In the best-case scenario, all this will do is create a modest increase in the levels of institutional investment in high-end, high-cost, private rental cost developments in the Google quarter, Sandyford and other high-income areas. Everyone else will be left behind. The industry reaction to this has ranged from the lukewarm to the hostile because the Government could not even get that bit right. …

I have heard the Minister and the Taoiseach say over and over again that they are going to protect all existing renters. Some 80% of current renters are in tenancies of six years or less. Long-term renters are in the minority. That is becoming increasingly evident through the constant levels of eviction notices. The idea that somehow existing renters are protected is simply not true. While there …

The Minister should go and talk to the journalists who raised these questions with his officials at the technical briefing. This was going to be in the legislation later this year. While the RPZs should have always applied to all renters back in 2016, no one should be facing rent increases right now. We need rent increases banned for an emergency period of three years for those renters paying the…

I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 19 of Principal Act 2. Section 19(4)(b) of the Principal Act is amended, in the definition of “relevant percentage”— (a) in paragraph (a), by the substitution of “0 per cent” for “2 per cent”, and (b) by the deletion of paragraph (b).”. One of the great things about the truth is that it…

I move amendment No. 3: In page 3, line 25, to delete "28 February 2026" and substitute "23 June 2028". The amendments in this group are straightforward. They are connected to amendment No. 1, the purpose of which was to ensure that rent could not be set above zero, effectively giving rise to a ban on rent increases. This was to change the principal Act and the amending legislation in order that…

One of the issues the Minister did not respond to at the closing of his Second Stage speech was raised by his Government colleague Deputy Carrigy and I. One of the consequences of extending the rent pressure zones to areas currently not designated is that, theoretically speaking, Eoghan Murphy's 2019 short-term letting regulations would apply. Obviously, the Government has decided to take a differ…

To be very clear, my view is that the Eoghan Murphy 2019 regulations should not be applied because, first, they are unenforceable and, second, the Government and the Opposition are currently working on a mechanism to do that. Therefore, I am inviting the Minister to say that they will not be applied.

That is factually not the case. In fact, in the original rent pressure zones of Dublin and Cork, and also in the successive waves of rent pressure zones, those short-term lets operating outside of planning law continue to operate outside of planning law. The reason for this - the Minister was not responsible for it - is that Eoghan Murphy did not put any effective enforcement mechanism into the 20…

That is not the proposal. I am asking for the Minister to clarify his position on it. That is all. It is a reasonable request. His own Government colleague from Fine Gael, Deputy Carrigy, the Chair of the housing committee, asked for the Minister to clarify and he ignored him as well as me.

That is not what I am calling for.

Just to be very clear, I am not calling for any legislative change. A set of regulations were introduced in 2019 that do not work and are completely unapplicable. That is why in Dublin, for example, where we need a very tough approach to unregulated short-term letting, we need new regulations. We have been calling for that for a long time. All I am asking the Minister to do is clarify his intentio…

I move amendment No. 4: In page 3, line 27, to delete “28 February 2026” and substitute “23 June 2028”.

I move amendment No. 5: In page 4, line 11, to delete “28 February 2026” and substitute “23 June 2028”.

I move amendment No. 8: In page 4, line 14, to delete “28 February 2026” and substitute “23 June 2028”.

I move amendment No. 9: In page 4, between lines 14 and 15, to insert the following: “Report on ban on rent increases 5. Within a week of the passing of this Bill the Minister for Housing will publish a report on the introduction of an emergency ban on rent increases for all private rental tenants, including existing tenancies, new tenancies in existing rental stock and new tenancies in new ren…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — the housing and homelessness crisis is getting worse; — house prices, rents, council waiting lists and homelessness are all rising; — the Government continue to miss their social and affordable housing target, targets that are too low to begin with; — tens of thousands of homes are lying vacant and derelict in every city and county; — the lack of aff…

That is not true.

You have not answered any of our questions.

Homelessness is increasing.

It is back of the envelope stuff.