Questions

588. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether local authorities that own land for house building are liable for the residential zoned land tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16457/26]

589. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of WTE qualified entomologists employed by his Department as of 24 February 2026, in tabular form. [16507/26]

590. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department is considering a new phase of supports for existing cessation of turf cutting compensation scheme applicants, as per correspondence issued to said applicants; the stage this consideration is at; when applicants will be informed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16510/26]

591. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to confirm if individuals may avail of Government schemes such as the help-to-buy scheme, and first home scheme when purchasing a modular home; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16541/26]

592. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to list all schemes, funding programmes, capital funds, grant streams or other expenditure headings administered by his Department in 2025 and 2026 which result in allocations, awards, or spending that can be identified with a specific geographical location including county, district, town, or project site, to group these by fundin…

593. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide the web link to his Department’s Q4 2025 published report of purchase orders/payments over €20,000, in line with the FOI model publication scheme requirements; the date on which this report was published; and if it has not yet been published, the planned publication date. [16572/26]

594. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to confirm, in respect of his Department’s published quarterly reports of procurement-related payments or purchase orders over €20,000 (details supplied), where such reports are published in PDF format but originate from an Excel or similar spreadsheet file, that the underlying data was fully expanded and validated prior to convers…

595. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there has been any assessment in relation to purchasing the lands included within the SAAO at St. Edmundsbury/Woodville and elsewhere along the Liffey Valley as part of plans to expand the National Parks and Wildlife Service’s land ownership; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16624/26]

596. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the current status of the legislative or Departmental guidelines regarding the restructuring of legacy shared ownership loans into annuity loans; if he is aware of cases where local authorities have failed to process restructuring applications for several years, leading to the 'expiry' of the loan through no fault of the borrower; …

597. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is considering an update or review of the septic tank grant, given the amount of ground water in the State over the past number of months and the very negative effect that this may have on old tanks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16660/26]

598. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if approved housing bodies must carry a sinking fund for repair of their housing stock; the solutions where such a fund may not be available for many urgent repairs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16661/26]

599. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the up to date position on an infrastructural project in County Kildare (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16664/26]

600. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Government the total number of properties acquired by local authorities under the local authority tenant-in-situ scheme, broken down by county, for 2024 and 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16668/26]

601. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 766 of 17 February 2026, his views on whether public sector job applicants that are coming from the private sector are disadvantaged in terms of requiring new hires to start of the bottom of the pay scale; his views on whether this acts as a barrier to unfair competition compared to internal hire…

602. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will overhaul the built heritage investment scheme run by his Department, in view of the fact that this year, very few vernacular buildings received grant funding, so that vernacular buildings would have their own particular grant scheme, similar to years up to and including 2025 (details supplied); and if he will make a stat…

603. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there are any supports available to homeowners who have become disabled after purchasing their home and are struggling with mortgage payments as a result of a change in income; if not, if he is considering enacting supports of this nature; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16683/26]

604. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the present guidance for gardeners on hedge management; whether small-scale hedge trimming is prohibited between the 1 March and 31 August under section 40 of the Wildlife Act 1976, or whether this activity falls under the exceptions for agriculture; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16684/26]

605. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total number of active HAP tenancies with a breakdown by local authority area and an average HP payment per month in each local authority area, in tabular form. [16685/26]

606. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of housing units delivered through the local infrastructure housing activation fund broken down by year in tabular form since 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16692/26]

607. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the annual spend by his Department on the tenant-in-situ scheme for each year from 2020 to 2025; and the number of units purchased under this scheme in each year, in tabular form. [16693/26]

608. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way in which the defective concrete blocks grant scheme complies with the State’s current building regulations and the EU’s revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive in that the defective concrete blocks grant scheme only adheres to the 2007 Building Regulations for the purposes of eligible costs, incentivising…

609. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage where a person who purchased a local authority affordable home but has since identified structural issues or quality issues with said house should report these issues; the remedies that are available to them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16924/26]

610. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there is an audit process in place between his Department and the local authorities setting out the time from which a property is completed and ready to occupy to the time that the property is then made available to those who are on the housing waiting list; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16970/26]

611. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of the implementation of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions Act) 2024 to earmark certain cost rental units for local key workers; the number of units his Department intends to earmark for key workers per year; the location of the housing units; the cost per unit; the timeline for when these units will be available; and…

612. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether he is considering the introduction of emergency legislation to reform or overhaul the current planning system in light of the urgent need to accelerate the delivery of critical national infrastructure, including healthcare, housing and transport projects; the specific measures under consideration to address delays and leg…