I am very conscious of every one of those children-----
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
-----and I will do absolutely everything to end child homelessness in this country-----
-----and I am going to get those children out of homelessness-----
-----and what will do that are decisive decisions that I am making-----
-----and not the rhetoric-----
----- from the likes of yourselves over there who do not want to engage in facts-----
-----and who want to-----
-----promise people rainbows-----
-----and do not actually want to provide practical solutions.
I move-----
That is more efficient.
I am not smirking or smiling.
The Deputy has enough to say without making stuff up.
We are making radical decisions to get people out of box rooms, to get viability and to get properties built across this country. We know we have a crisis. I am treating it as an emergency. If we do not take radical measures and do so quickly, we will not get the apartments in Dublin city and across this country. That is why we are bringing forward these measures to address the issue of viability in terms of these ap…
I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I have listened to about 40 minutes of hyperbole and lots of one-liners for social media-----
-----being put forward and no solutions, with the exception, in fairness, of Deputy Hearne. As I have stated before, the Department of housing has asked the Department of Finance to look at a Livret A-type scheme and I have read the Deputy's proposals.
There are challenges in this regard. It is not something that can be stepped up immediately but it is something we are looking at seriously.
We must get houses and a…
I move the following Revised Estimates:
Vote 1 - President's Establishment (Revised Estimate)
That a sum not exceeding €5,438,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2025, for the salaries and expenses of the Office of the Secretary General to the President, for certain other expenses of the President's Establishment and for certai…
I move:
That Dáil Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft:
Planning and Development (Street Furniture Fees) Regulations 2025,
a copy of which has been laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 4th July, 2025.
Amendment No. 1 seeks to provide for the zoning of land for the particular use of affordable housing. The amendment itself appears to amend a wrong section of the Bill, as section 4 of the Bill amends section 45 of the principal Act, which deals with the implementation and monitoring of regional spatial and economic strategies. In any event, I cannot accept this amendment as zoning requirements are already adequately…
Obviously, the amount of time given will be up to the Business Committee, but I have no difficulty with substantial time being given for it.
I will address amendments Nos. 2 and 9 as tabled. Amendment No. 2 seeks to reduce the standard duration of a permission in the Act of 2024 from five years down to three years, while amendment No. 9 seeks to make the same amendment in respect of the 2000 Act. I cannot accept these amendments. The purpose of having a specified period for a planning permission to act upon is to balance the operational and practical aspe…
I thank the Deputies for their contributions. I understand where both Deputies are coming from. Having examined it, there are some challenges around shortening the period. I understand the Deputies' intention. However, when we look at the necessity for bigger projects to secure finance, deal with compliance and complete the development, the five-year period is a more balanced approach to this. Then, obviously, with s…
The amendment seeks to amend section 13, which amends section 180 of the Act of 2024. In relation to the suspension of the duration of permission while a judicial review is ongoing, the current provisions provide that where a person is seeking a suspension of duration in respect of a concluded judicial review, they must submit a declaration that the development did not substantially commence before the conclusion of …
I will address amendments Nos. 5, 15 and 19 together. These amendments relate to the Bill's compliance with the Aarhus Convention.
Amendment No. 5 seeks to provide for third-party observations as part of the suspension of duration of a permission while it is subject to a judicial review by amending section 13. Amendment No. 15 seeks to make similar provisions for third-party observations as part of the extension of …
The rules and procedures of the High Court are set out in the rules of the superior courts and these are made by the Superior Courts Rules Committee in concurrence with the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. If by good practice guidelines the Deputy is talking about practice directions, it is my understanding that these are issued by the President of the High Court under section 11 of the Civil Law and…