Questions

376. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of Waterways Ireland’s efforts to enhance biodiversity and habitat protection on the canal network in Kildare. [31351/25]

377. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total estimated cost to the Exchequer associated with the recent renaming and rebranding of his Department including but not limited to cost categories (details supplied); the breakdown of the incurred or projected costs; and if a cost-benefit analysis or any assessment of public value was carried out prior to approving these ch…

378. Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of cross-Border or shared Island initiatives currently being progressed by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31382/25]

379. Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on the Ulster Canal project; the number of phases of the project that have been completed to date; the total spend on each phase of the project to date; the total amount committed by Government for the next phase of the project; if negotiations with landowners have started in respect of future phases…

380. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the latest bundle of public private partnerships social housing projects; whether any of the bundle of six projects is being dropped; and if so, where these projects are and the reason why they have been dropped. [31391/25]

381. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there are any concrete timelines for implementation of the proposed exemptions to planning regarding detached cabins and modular homes as referenced earlier this year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31392/25]

382. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to ensure that State policies support the collaborative development of standard house and apartment types to drive efficiency, reduce costs and support viability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31413/25]

383. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to give a detailed progress report in relation to a matter (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31469/25]

384. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a schedule of the amount expended by his Department, and bodies under his aegis, on external training, simulations and advice in advance relating to appearances as witnesses at Oireachtas committees, from 2021 to date in 2025; if the supplier of services will also be provided, with a brief outline of services provided,…

385. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the mechanism through which funding allocations allocated to each local authority for the provision of disabled persons grant and the improvement works in lieu schemes for local authority housing stock were arrived at; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31522/25]

386. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on whether Fingal County Council is currently in breach of statutory obligations under section 19 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, having failed to adopt Local Area Plans for multiple relevant urban areas since 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31636/25]

387. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether he has considered issuing a direction under section 31 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 to Fingal County Council for its repeated failure to adopt mandatory local area plans in urban centres with populations over 5,000, as confirmed by the High Court in Byrne v FCC & Ors [2025] IEHC 204; and if he will ma…

388. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to clarify the current legal standing of planning permissions granted in North County Dublin in areas where local area plans have been statutorily required but not adopted since 2000, including whether such permissions are legally sound or open to challenge; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31638/25]

389. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether county development plans adopted in the absence of required local area plans are legally valid; the advice issued to local authorities and An Bord Pleanála regarding zoning and planning in these circumstances; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31639/25]

390. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the absence of statutory local area plans in Fingal since 2000 constitutes a breach of Ireland’s obligations under Articles 6 and 7 of the Aarhus Convention and whether he has received legal advice on potential breaches of public participation rights; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31640/25]

391. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to confirm the number of local area plans currently in effect across all functional areas of Fingal County Council and what the Department’s plan is for bringing the county into compliance with the Planning and Development Act 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31641/25]

392. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has carried out or commissioned any audit or review of systemic failures by Fingal County Council to prepare mandatory local area plans since the Planning and Development Act 2000 came into force; and if so, to publish its findings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31642/25]

393. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether he acknowledges that the Office of the Planning Regulator raised concerns during the preparation of the Fingal County Development Plan 2023–2029 regarding the absence of mandatory local area plans for settlements over 5,000 population; and if so, to clarify the reason no action was taken under section 31 of the Plann…

394. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on whether the Office of the Planning Regulator who raised concerns during the preparation of the Fingal County Development Plan 2023–2029 regarding the absence of mandatory local area plans for settlements over 5,000 population, failed to exercise its statutory requirement to ensure the plans as made address the l…

395. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to confirm whether he or his Department has at any time represented in correspondence, Dáil statements, or other public forums that Fingal County Council was in compliance with its obligations under section 19 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 regarding local area plans, and if so, to clarify the factual basis for suc…

396. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated saving from restricting the employer PRSI exemption for share buy-back to SMEs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31765/25]

397. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection the total estimated cost to the Exchequer associated with the recent renaming and rebranding of his Department including but not limited to cost categories (details supplied); the breakdown of the incurred or projected costs; and if a cost-benefit analysis or any assessment of public value was carried out prior to approving these changes. [31373/25]

398. Deputy Brian Brennan asked the Minister for Social Protection to examine the case for the awarding of a pension for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31411/25]

399. Deputy Brian Brennan asked the Minister for Social Protection to examine the case for awarding carer’s allowance to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31412/25]

400. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection to examine the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31431/25]