James Browne

The Deputy is very fond of referring to the Famine. The Famine was a genocide in this country. A million people died and a million people had to leave the country yet the Deputy makes a political football out of it and uses it to come in here to engage in cheap political point scoring. It is very hard to take him seriously when that is the level to which he descends in order to make a political po…

There will be much stronger tenant protections as well. For those who are in tenancies at the moment, both tenant and landlord entered into an agreement under what was the law at the time. They understood the law on both sides and they entered into a contract on that basis. That is the reason we are not making those changes. The Deputy tries to have it both ways when he comes in here. He criticis…

I am not going to speak to an individual case but I am happy to look into the details of the case if the Deputy wants to provide me with them. We had an eviction ban in this country before and supply just dropped off a cliff. An eviction ban sounds very favourable to those who are currently renting but it creates a cliff edge. What is the Deputy going to do in two or three years’ time when he bri…

Nobody is ignoring it. We are putting record funding into solving the housing crisis. Almost one third of all the capital being spent by the State is going to be spent on solving the housing crisis. It is reflected in the decisions we are making. We are treating this as an emergency and putting those measures in place. Instead of constantly coming in here using emotive language and pretending he h…

I thank the Deputy for this question about income eligibility thresholds for social housing support. Applications for social housing support are assessed by the relevant local authority in accordance with the eligibility and needs criteria set down in section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, as amended. The 2011 re…

I agree with the Deputy. The situation for a long time has been that as social welfare or other family support payments increase, average household incomes increase, and the Department of housing rightly faces calls to increase the limits. We go through this process and there is the opposite of a cliff edge where the numbers all go up. I want to not only increase the limits but bring an end to tha…

I think we are very much in agreement on the general direction of where we need to go in relation to social housing threshold limits. The way I look at this is that there is a spectrum. Everybody needs to be able to get a home in their local community based on their needs. Whether that is purely private or with supports, affordable purchase, cost rental or social housing, it is about ensuring on t…

I appreciate the Deputy’s question on water supply, wastewater systems and Uisce Éireann. Both our water and wastewater systems require substantial and sustained investment over a number of investment cycles to bring them up to the standard and quality required of a modern service to provide people with the necessary supports, ensure growth and build resilience in the face of climate change. My D…

Deputy Stanley makes an important point. We are asking local authorities to rezone a significant amount of land to deliver additional housing. I encourage local authorities to complete this process. I am not happy with the time that many local authorities are taking in what is a housing crisis. I do not believe many local authorities have been treating it as such with the delays in delivering addi…

In terms of developer-led infrastructure, in any new process it will always be about who is going to be the first mover. When the first couple are delivered, others will see the pathway and move an awful lot more quickly. What we have said to Uisce Éireann, and it is doing this, is to work with local authorities and developers to try to get those first movers across the line as quickly as possible…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 83, 106 and 169 together. I thank Deputy Neville for raising an important question on housing projects currently under construction in Kildare North and those expected to commence before the end of 2026. My Department publishes data on residential commencement notices in each local authority every month. Commencement data shows commencement notices were lodged in …

I agree with the Deputy. I thank him and all his Government colleagues for ensuring that County Kildare got a substantial amount of funding under the housing infrastructure investment fund that will, critically from the perspective of my Department and that of the Government, unlock housing. It will also, no doubt, help to unlock key community services as well. As the Deputy will be aware six proj…

Again, I thank Deputy Neville for raising important issues in County Kildare, particularly north Kildare, with which he is most familiar. The key infrastructure projects announced under the housing infrastructure fund are critical. It is also about working with ESB Networks and Uisce Éireann to ensure all the required additional capacity is put in place so the community facilities raised by the De…

I thank Deputy Sheehan for raising what is an important issue, namely, measures to reduce cost-rental rents. The cost-rental model was first introduced under the plan Housing for All and it has been continued and significantly expanded under the new plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities. It is designed to provide secure, long-term homes for households on moderate incomes at rents that are s…

I thank the Deputy again for his question on cost rental. As I have already pointed out, approximately €2.25 billion in departmental funding has been approved for cost-rental projects since 2021. In addition, significant loan financing is being made available through the State's Housing Finance Agency. Also, the reduction of VAT on new apartments to 9% under budget 2026 is playing an important rol…

Again, I thank the Deputy for his question. If you have a pure cost model, you will have very significant variations in what the cost-rental rent will actually be. We have taken the approach of trying to ensure consistency below market rent values. A 30% discount below market rent value is a significant deduction, albeit in circumstances where rent is high, which I acknowledge. However, if we deco…

I thank the Deputy for his question about addressing rent increases in Kerry. As he will know, the key to solving the housing crisis, which includes homelessness and high rents, is through increased supply. That is why the Government is providing record funding towards the supply of homes. It is also why we are taking emergency measures to address the delivery of homes. We are also taking other m…

I thank the Deputy. We are making significant funding available to increase the numbers of social and affordable housing. I encourage the Kerry local authority to maximise the use of the available funding to deliver social homes and affordable purchase homes across County Kerry. The Department will not be found wanting in supporting an increase in the supply of homes. The key to challenging high r…

We want Kerry County Council to provide more affordable purchase homes. The Department and Government would support it. Those homes are essential. I want everybody, across the spectrum, to be able to get the homes they need in their own local community, whether through private purchase, affordable homes or social housing. It is essential that everybody can access a home. Affordable purchase is ess…

I thank Deputy McGuinness for raising the very important issue of strengthening local democracy and also seeking the reconstitution of boroughs or corporations similar to the structures that existed previously. The Local Government Reform Act 2014 dissolved 80 town councils, which represented about 14% of the population, including Kilkenny Borough Council. A lot of these were their own separate le…

We have given this considerable consideration on the local democracy task force. The Deputy is right that my town lost its council and it diminished the representation at the time. The local government task force was established to build on the considerable body of work previously undertaken by the AILG - which represents councillors - the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and Seanad Éire…

I agree that direct access to local democracy is absolutely essential and that is what the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, and I will be ensuring through the local democracy task force and our input. That connection will be reconnected through empowering our local councillors to hold the local officials to account. It will also mean that where representations are being made by local people, the…

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Order in draft: Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 (Designation of Meath County Council) (Parts of Administrative Area) Order 2026, a copy of which has been laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 2nd April, 2026.

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Order in draft: Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 (Designation of Carlow County Council) Order 2026, a copy of which has been laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 15th May, 2026.

I move: That Dáil Éireann, noting that on 21st April, 2026, the Government nominated Mr. Lee Komito and Mr. Ross Frenett for appointment by the President to be Ordinary members of An Coimisiún Toghcháin, recommends that, pursuant to section 9(9) of the Electoral Reform Act 2022, Mr. Lee Komito and Mr. Ross Frenett be appointed by the President to be Ordinary members of An Coimiún Toghcháin.