Questions

1102. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the specific supports that exist for long term renting households with stable employment who are ineligible for social housing due to income and simultaneously ineligible for purchase supports due to age; and if he will bring forward a scheme or pilot to address this cohort; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20200/26…

1103. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department will review eligibility criteria, including age limits, for State backed purchase supports with a view to accommodating mixed age households where one applicant is over seventy years of age but both applicants are working and creditworthy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20201/26]

1110. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has assessed the impact of the new tenancy rules introduced on 1 March 2026 on the volume of notices of termination issued in the weeks preceding that date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20464/26]

403. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of the retrospective defective concrete blocks scheme; the timeline for full sign off, assurances that once signed off, funding will be made available without delay; to ensure commitment that the team are resourced and ready to process payments the moment approval is in place; and if he will make a statement on the matte…

185. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to confirm the mandatory retirement age currently applied to members of the retained fire service, including the requirement for personnel to retire before reaching sixty-two years of age. [17810/26]

186. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to detail the medical fitness requirements for retained firefighters, including bi-annual medical examinations after forty years of age and annual medical examinations after fifty years of age; and to confirm that these requirements remain in place. [17814/26]

187. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will engage with unions (details supplied) which are actively campaigning for reforms to the retirement age and conditions for retained firefighters; and outline any planned or ongoing consultations. [17817/26]

403. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether reviews were undertaken at the end of phase one and phase two of the National Landscape Strategy 2015–2025; if so, to provide an update on Ireland’s ongoing obligations under the European Landscape Convention (ELC) and how these are being fulfilled following the conclusion of the National Landscape Strategy 2015–2025; his p…

404. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to the release of the Coastal Change Management Strategy Report in 2023, to provide an update on the development of Ireland’s National Coastal Change Management Strategy; the current status of the Strategy, which is overdue; the expected timeline for its publication; the current position of the National Coastal Change Manag…

821. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the proposed planning exemptions for modular units will be introduced; and if he will allow flexibility for side placement and generous square footage in constrained sites. [12788/26]

198. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) rent limits have not been increased since July 2016, despite significant rises in market rents during that period; the rationale for maintaining these limits at 2016 levels; his views on an organisation’s (details supplied) confirmation that the HAP limits were last reviewed in July 2…

199. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason the rental accommodation scheme (RAS) has no national rent thresholds despite its central role in housing long-term rent supplement recipients; the absence of updated, standardised rent caps within RAS schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10552/26]

677. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has set any affordable housing delivery targets for each local authority, including Mayo County Council; if so, to provide the target figures for 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026; if not, the reason local authorities are not being given clear, quantified affordable housing delivery targets; and if he will make…

678. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether Mayo County Council currently has any Department-approved affordable housing delivery targets; in the absence of such targets, the steps he will take to ensure Mayo receive clear, measurable affordable housing objectives per each town; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8398/26]

679. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the key performance indicators (KPIs), delivery benchmarks or performance frameworks which currently exist for local authorities in respect of affordable housing delivery; whether any sanctions, corrective measures or funding consequences apply where delivery is weak or absent; if he will commit to introducing mandatory KPIs for af…

680. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether local authority Housing Delivery Action Plans are required to include specific affordable housing targets; the way in which compliance with those plans is monitored; whether any local authority has been formally challenged by his Department for failure to progress affordable housing schemes; if he will strengthen these plan…

681. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the specific affordable housing delivery objectives his Department has for large regional towns in County Mayo; whether the designation of a town as “eligible” for an affordable housing scheme carries any obligation to deliver homes within a defined timeframe; the number of affordable homes he expects to see delivered over the next…

682. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way national affordable housing targets are translated into binding local authority delivery expectations; whether he accepts that national figures without local allocations make accountability impossible; if he will commit to publishing county-by-county affordable housing targets on an annual basis; and if he will make a state…

683. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way in which current housing output compares to the Government’s election commitment to deliver up to 60,000 homes per year; the projected delivery figure for 2026; the specific measures being taken to close the gap; and whether the absence of binding local authority targets is undermining delivery; and if he will make a statem…

684. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether he will publish quarterly affordable housing delivery data on a county-by-county basis, including commencements, completions and pipeline schemes; whether such data is currently compiled internally; if he will commit to making this information publicly available to ensure transparency and accountability; and if he will make…

261. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of former IPAS residents who are currently accommodated under the housing assistance payment scheme, for each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68150/25]

1354. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for a timeline on the introduction of the "above the shop" vacant grant proposed; the criteria to qualify; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73904/25]

1355. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the timeline for the introduction of the enhanced “Above the Shop” Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73906/25]

1356. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the eligibility criteria that will apply to the enhanced “Above the Shop” grant, including vacancy period, construction date, and any additional requirements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73907/25]

1357. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if multi-unit conversions above commercial premises will qualify for the full €140,000 grant package; the number of units which must be included to avail of this amount; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73908/25]