I let you speak and as usual-----
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
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| 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 let you speak but you will not let me speak.
It is a democracy. I know you do not really believe in this type of democracy but it is a democracy. What we are doing here is putting in very important legislation to bring consistency to social housing qualification and homelessness in this country. I believe it will help to bring clarity right across the country and will help people, in some cases, who are not getting their rights met by having this level of consi…
This refers to reasonable offers of accommodation, so it is not any offer. It is about turning down a reasonable offer of accommodation. It is up to the local authority to ensure that appropriate and safe emergency accommodation is provided, and for people like that woman in particular. I know the Deputy likes to absolve the local authority of any responsibility whatsoever for anything but it is up to the local autho…
I move amendment No. 2:
In page 5, line 11, after “hearings” to insert “, and the determination of disputes,”.
Amendments Nos. 2 to 4, inclusive, are technical drafting amendments to ensure that the Long Title of the Bill more accurately describes the content and purpose of the Bill, taking account of the Government amendments since publication. The Bill provides for procedures for the determination of disputes by …
I move amendment No. 3:
In page 5, line 12, after “Board” to insert “, and the enforcement of such determinations”.
I move amendment No. 4:
In page 5, lines 12 and 13, to delete “to increase the penalties for certain offences under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004” and substitute the following:
“to increase the penalties for summary offences and to provide for the service of fixed payment notices in respect of certain offences under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004”.
I move: "That the Bill be recommitted in respect of amendments Nos. 5 and 25."
I move amendment No. 5:
In page 5, line 13, after “2004;” to insert “to provide that the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 shall not apply to certain dwellings;”.
Amendment No. 5 is a technical drafting amendment to ensure the Long Title of the Bill more accurately describes the content and purpose of the Bill, taking account of amendment No. 25, which proposes to insert a new section into the Bill to disapply the 202…
We are not talking about stand-alone properties. These properties are on the land and the curtilage of the homeowner. The renter shares all the services with the homeowner, including the driveway and the water and electricity facilities coming in. We already do this with the rent-a-room scheme. People can rent a room under licence in a homeowner's property. The residences we are discussing will likewise be on a homeo…
I move amendment No. 8:
In page 6, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following:
“PART 2
AMENDMENTS TO HOUSING ACT 1988
Interpretation ( Part 2 )
4.In this Part, "Act of 1988" means the Housing Act 1988.".
I move amendment No. 9:
In page 6, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following:
“Amendment of section 1 of Act of 1988
Section 1 of the Act of 1988 is amended by the insertion of the following definition:
“ 'Act of 2009' means the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009,".".[]
I move amendment No. 10:
In page 6, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following:
“Amendment of section 10 of Act of 1988
6. Section 10 of the Act of 1988 is amended—
(a) in subsection (1), by the substitution of “A housing authority may, subject to section 10A and to such regulations” for “A housing authority may, subject to such regulations”,
(b) in subsection (8)—
(i) in paragraph (a)(ii), by the substitut…
I move amendment No. 11:
In page 6, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following:
“Insertion of new sections 10A and 10B in Act of 1988
7.The Act of 1988 is amended by the insertion of the following new sections after section
10:
“Residency requirements
10A.(1) A person shall not be eligible to access arrangements, assistance or accommodation provided by a housing authority by virtue of section 10(1) unless t…
I move amendment No. 21:
In page 14, line 14, to delete “shall” and substitute “shall be in writing and shall”.
Supporting individuals and families experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness is an absolute priority for me, my Department and Government. I welcome the committee's focus on this important area. Indeed, many of the recommendations put forward are addressed in our new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, and are being progressed by my Department in collaboration with other Departments, loc…
We take the report very seriously and are giving it very serious consideration. Many of the recommendations in it are already in place or are being put in place. We are treating this as an emergency. I have already outlined many of the measures we are taking to make sure we address the situation where we have a very high level of homelessness. One person in homelessness is one too many. We have a very high number in …
We are dealing with it as an emergency response. Last year, we saw a 20% increase in housing delivery overall and the highest number of social houses built in a single year in the history of the State. We are putting in record funding to address the housing crisis. Many of the measures highlighted in the report are already in the process of being implemented.
I would remind the Deputy that, in his own housing plan, …
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 point instead of makin…
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 criticises the changes that …
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 brings an end to his ev…
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 has a monopoly on com…
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 regulations prescribe …
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 that kind of process, s…
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 that spectrum that pe…