James Browne

-----all proposals will be examined and given a fair assessment.

I thank the Deputy. He will be aware that dereliction is front and centre of what I am trying to tackle as Minister for housing. The introduction of a derelict property tax, DPT, was announced in budget 2026 and the collection of this new tax will be the responsibility of the Revenue Commissioners, as set out in action 4.1 of the Government's new national housing strategy, Delivering Homes, Buildi…

They do.

As usual, more mud to hide the lack of answers and solutions. It is the local authorities’ job to collect this money. The Deputy is right about the €32 million. Imagine that local authorities, some of which are complaining about not having enough money, are leaving €32 million uncollected. The Deputy is telling me they do not have the staff to collect it. They do and it is up to them. They are lea…

Collecting the levy is actually not my job; it is the local authorities’ job, and they have the staff and powers to do it. The Deputy is right that the situation is probably worse than it was 36 years ago, but that is because the local authorities, which have the power to levy and raise money, have not been levying. We should remember this is money that would become available to them to tackle der…

However, it is up to the local authorities to collect the money, and that is what they should be doing. It is up to the voters in the local authority areas to pull up their councillors and ask why levying has not been occurring, why properties are being left derelict and why we are giving up money that could be in the coffers for regeneration. It is not my job to go around to every local authority…

If any local authority in any other area fails to do its job, we will take the power off it.

Actually, they are independent. That is the way it is set up. It is the CEO’s job.

We have independent local authorities here.

I thank Deputy Brennan for raising this important issue around allowing developers to construct wastewater treatment facilities. I know it is a matter he has raised on a number of occasions. Following Government approval of this initiative, my Department is working closely with key stakeholders, including Uisce Éireann, to establish a framework allowing builders and private developers to construct…

It is the private sector, the developer, who will pay for it but, as I say, it must be done under the strict conditions set out by the EPA in collaboration with Uisce Éireann and oversight as Uisce Éireann will eventually take them over when they are completed. There will be very strict guidelines and rules of oversight in relation to the delivery of these. It will allow for 40 homes. We are doing…

We anticipate the guidelines will be ready by the end of February. It is what we anticipated a number of months ago and it is still on schedule for that. I fully agree with the Deputy’s sentiment around rural Ireland. We want our parishes to thrive. Uisce Éireann has record funding to deliver wastewater treatment plants across the country and to upgrade them. It has that role on environmental prot…

Affordability and the chance to own a home is at the heart of the Government’s housing policy, as embodied within the new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities. The new plan reinforces and expands the range of existing measures being implemented by the Government to tackle the issues of supply and affordability, thereby supporting the increased provision of new homes to purchase and…

I thank the Deputies very much for their questions. Affordability is at the very heart of what I do. That is why we have so many schemes to help people to make homes more affordable for them, while also driving the delivery of social and affordable housing through our local authorities, and through schemes led by the Land Development Agency. In both of those counties we have seen a significant de…

Every scheme is always kept under review. We have multiple schemes now for helping people to be able to get their home and to make schemes affordable. We always keep schemes under review and where we think we can make them more effective, we always do so. It is important that these schemes exist, and that people are aware of them and use them. As Deputy Byrne mentioned, we have some very successf…

I thank Deputy Byrne for raising the important issue of coastal erosion. It is a matter he has raised on numerous occasions. My Department recognises the significant risks that coastal erosion and flooding present to our coastlines in the context of climate change. It is clear that climate change is presenting significant challenges, with many areas experiencing more frequent extreme weather even…

Deputy Byrne has done an awful lot of work on what we can do to tackle coastal erosion which is a result of climate change and the climate crisis that we are in. The current position is that the interventions are local authority led through funding by the OPW. A national strategy is being developed by the interdepartmental group. As the Deputy points out, a lot of different strategies are being wo…

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. He is right. The Courtown and Riverchapel area is a good example of a wonderful community that is facing an awful lot. It is at the brunt of the changes as a result of our climate crisis and the impact that has on the local community. The current position is that it is the responsibility of the local authority with the OPW to carry out works, although the…

I thank the Deputy for raising what is an important question and can often have a profound effect on families, namely, the blanket ban that is often imposed on having pets. It was an important policy to get into our housing plan. For many people, especially those who live on their own but for all families, pets provide comfort and connection and can be an enormous source of emotional support and c…

I thank the Deputy. I would hope that my very clear statements would act as guidelines for local authorities and AHBs. We fund them. People should not be precluded from living with pets. A code will be required to ensure that a very tiny number of people cannot try to abuse the situation. We have to be conscious that people live next door to each other and it is about pets living with them. Again,…

I recognise Deputy O'Connell's concern in this area and her compassion for families who want to keep their pets. Their pets are now part of the family and they give some much comfort and support to people. Whether that is older people or children and their families, pets are very much part of it. That is the reason we were so anxious to ensure there was a very clear line of direction included in t…

I thank the Deputy. The Government's youth homelessness strategy commits to developing an annual information and awareness campaign on housing rights, as well as available supports specifically targeting young people. This is essential to do, particularly online where young people, who are most impacted, are most active. The Housing Agency was tasked with developing these information campaigns, an…

I thank the Deputy. I became aware when I saw the retweet the night before the committee meeting. That is the first time I became aware of it. Young people are interested in how we will solve the crisis, not going down the rabbit hole of who knew when a video may have had information contained in it or whatever the case may be. I do not really understand. My focus is maximising the number of homes…

This was the Housing Agency that funded SpunOut, which choose the topics itself. SpunOut does a fantastic job. An official in the housing Department retweeted it. I am not going after that official. They were well intentioned and they thought they were doing the right thing. These things happen.

Lessons have been learned.