I thank the Deputy for his question on derelict site levies. The introduction of a derelict property tax was announced in budget 2026 and it is intended to introduce legislation providing for the tax in the Finance Act in 2026. The tax will, when it comes into effect, replace the derelict site levy and be collected by the Revenue Commissioners. Action 4.1 of Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030 addresses …
TDs / James Browne
James Browne
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
0
questions asked
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them
145,875
words spoken in the chamber
145,131 as a minister, 744 as a TD
431
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
Members of the Government answer parliamentary questions rather than ask them, so this page lists none of theirs.
Month by month
Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Contributions to debates 670 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Contributions |
|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 13 |
| March 2025 | 36 |
| April 2025 | 15 |
| May 2025 | 46 |
| June 2025 | 41 |
| July 2025 | 60 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 32 |
| October 2025 | 59 |
| November 2025 | 46 |
| December 2025 | 20 |
| January 2026 | 51 |
| February 2026 | 43 |
| March 2026 | 43 |
| April 2026 | 3 |
| May 2026 | 70 |
| June 2026 | 27 |
| July 2026 | 22 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 2 |
| October 2026 | 41 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 394 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Wexford 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage 23 January 2025 to now
I am very familiar with the streets of Dublin and the streets of Cork. The Deputy might have noticed while walking the streets of Cork himself the extraordinary amount of money and regeneration going on in Cork city as a result of Government investment into it.
If it was the case that compulsory purchase orders were that difficult, we would see a consistent problem with them across the State. However, some local aut…
I thank the Deputy. I think he needs to work on his maths. Fianna Fáil has only been back in government since 2020, so they are-----
Name me a Fianna Fáil Minister from that period. The Deputy cannot.
The Deputy can have his spin and his guff - that is fine - but the reality is that we are taking very real action to challenge derelict sites across this country. They are a blight and they are antisocial behaviour. There is no more powerful statement to say we are tackling it than bringing in the Revenue Commissioners to ensure that anybody with a derelict property is going to face very real and serious charges. We …
Following on from a review of the private rental sector published by my Department in July 2024, the Housing Agency was commissioned to undertake a comprehensive review of the current system of rent controls using RPZs. The key focus of the review was to assess the operation of RPZs since their introduction and consider their impact on the market and relevant stakeholders, including the retention of landlords and new…
When the Deputy was quoting the statistics from the RTB he left out the fact that in the situation that prevailed in the country at the time around rent pressure zones, it was temporary and partial around the country. We have now created a national rent pressure zone with a view to a national rental control situation. Also, the reason I am bringing in these changes is to bring in, for the first time in this State, se…
What is crucial is that those who are currently renting and those who are living at home who need somewhere to rent have somewhere to rent. That means increasing supply. That is what-----
An increased supply of all tenures, including social, affordable and private houses and apartments.
We have to drive supply. That will in turn bring about the end of homelessness, so we have the properties that people will live in. It will also drive down rents by increasing supply.
We have seen that in the past when the supply increases.
That is what is crucial from my perspective, delivering the homes that are needed. While the Deputy has endless criticisms of everything that is being done across here-----
You have to have solutions as well, Deputy. This is the usual from Sinn Féin. When you are saying something-----
The Deputy is the only person embarrassing himself.
It is the usual tactic from Sinn Féin in the lifetime of this Government. When somebody is saying something and you do not want it heard-----
-----you talk them down and shout over them. You shout over them because you do not want anybody to hear. It is a really underhanded tactic.
You should respect people's democratic right to speak in this Chamber. I am elected the same as you.
I am elected the same as you and I have a right to speak.
You have to respect people's right. You do not have to like what I have to say but you should allow me to say it.
I thank Deputy McGrath for raising this important question about the key measures I and the Government will be taking to support first-time buyers under Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030. I thank the Deputy for his regular engagement on this important issue for his constituents. The Government’s new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030 sets out a broad range of measures which …
Scheme criteria and support levels for affordable purchase schemes are kept under regular review, taking account of developments in the housing market. It is a complex and dynamic situation to ensure that we can provide the necessary affordable supports for people to be able to purchase their homes without affecting the market and driving up the cost of delivery and affordability on people. I hear the Deputy's concer…
Again, I thank Deputy Séamus McGrath for raising the concerns around affordability, in particular around Cork city and Cork county. As I said, these schemes will continue to be kept under review to ensure that there are those affordability mechanisms in place and that people in Cork can afford to access the starter homes programme on an equal and equitable level with the rest of the country.
You do not want to listen to the answer.
I thank Deputy Séamus McGrath for taking this question on the increase in social housing availability on behalf of Deputy Willie O'Dea.
Since the beginning of 2022, Government has supported the delivery of 35,163 new social homes across thousands of individual projects funded through build, acquisition and leasing programmes. Building on progress made to date, delivering homes, building communities includes a wide r…
The absolute priority for me, the Department and the Government is to maximise new builds. That is where we want to be at and, after that, forward-funded schemes to deliver homes where perhaps there is planning permission but which may not otherwise be built. We need to move away from pure turnkey as much and as quickly as possible. A key part of this delivery is the local authority new-build teams. We will ensure th…