Questions

1136. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has considered introducing a targeted support scheme for individuals and families who lost their homes as a result of the 2008–2013 financial crisis, including those who voluntarily surrendered their properties or were subject to court-ordered repossession; if such individuals are eligible for assistance under the current fir…

1178. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the details of the budget, staffing, and operational plan of the newly formed Asian Hornet Management Group; the timelines for implementation, public outreach campaigns, and inter-departmental coordination mechanisms. [45356/25]

1179. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the government plans to introduce specific policies to support first generation homeowners or young families, in view of the campaign by a person (details supplied) highlighting housing affordability challenges faced by younger demographics.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45357/25]

1180. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the specific strategies and resources being mobilised following the recent Asian hornet sighting in County Cork to both eradicate potential nests and safeguard biodiversity, the honeybee population and the substantial economic impact experienced elsewhere in Europe. [45374/25]

1184. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the tenure mix that is, social, cost-rental, affordable purchase of Cork City Council’s 823-home pipeline at the Railyard (217) and Creamfields (606); the projected first-occupation dates; if modern methods of construction, including mass-timber will be facilitated through procurement and building-control guidance; and any funding …

1186. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department conducted an assessment of the impact of family reunification arrivals on demand for social housing and emergency accommodation; and if additional housing units have been earmarked for this purpose. [45566/25]

1197. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has guidelines regarding the distance from work, school, and family supports when placing families in emergency accommodation; if his attention has been drawn to cases where families are placed at such distances that daily commutes of several hours are required; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4577…

1232. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the specific multi-annual allocations, by county for water and wastewater enabling works required to meet the 300,000 homes target by 2030; the scheme names, expected completion dates and dependencies identified by Uisce Éireann; and if he will publish quarterly progress dashboards. [46127/25]

1258. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the county and local authority-level breakdown of Q2 2025 new dwelling completions, apartment share and pipeline indicators for Cork city and county; and if his Department projects the 2025 completions target to be met, given CSO data showing a 35% year-on-year increase in Q2 completions and a doubling in apartments. [46515/25]

1259. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the immediate and medium-term biosecurity actions, beekeeper guidance, public reporting protocols and funding for surveillance and eradication of the Asian hornet in Munster for the next 12-months given confirmation of an Asian hornet nest in Cork. [46516/25]

1262. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to detail the operational plan, budget and timelines for eradication, surveillance and public communications following the first confirmed Asian hornet nest in Cork city, including the role of Cork City Council and beekeeper networks; and if weekly situation updates for August–October 2025 will be published. [46607/25]

1277. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage with four Cork city council projects shortlisted for national innovation awards if he will pledge additional national funding or recognition for award-winning local government initiatives, particularly those advancing energy efficiency, community resilience, and climate awareness. [46811/25]

1279. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason the extension of rent pressure zones announced on 10 June 2025 was not given legal effect until 20 June 2025; if he will publish the Departmental advice he received warning of risks to tenants during this gap; and the monitoring the Department undertook of rent increases in non-RPZ areas during that period. [46924/25]

1280. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has assessed the risk that the new “reset to market rent” provisions will incentivise economic evictions; the safeguards in place to prevent abuse of this provision; and if he will consider mandatory proof-of-market requirements and strengthened penalties for landlords found to be misusing resets. [46925/25]

1281. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on the level of proactive enforcement carried out by the Residential Tenancies Board on rent pressure zone compliance since June 2025; the number of sanctions imposed; and his plans to strengthen Residential Tenancies Board resources to allow for rolling compliance inspections, rather than relying on te…

1319. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in view of the CSO showing Ireland’s population reached 5.38 million, driven by net migration of 79,300 in a single year, the specific housing units, that will be delivered by the Government in 2026 to keep pace with this surge. [47968/25]

498. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will outline, in light of recent reports concerning the status of the tenant in situ scheme in Cork city and Cork county, the number of acquisitions currently paused or delayed due to funding constraints in each of these local authorities; whether he intends to provide supplementary funding to address the reported €1.7 million…

550. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide details concerning the implementation of the tenant-in-situ scheme by Cork City Council, particularly in light of recent developments and guidance under Circular 11/2025 (details supplied), given the pressing need for stability and clarity in the delivery of housing supports; and if he will make a statement on the matter.…

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…

399. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department spent €1.6 million or recouped €1.6 million in relation to the community car initiative (CCI) (details supplied); if all 23 local development companies accepted the full allocation of €118,500 made available to each; his views on the funding arrangements and financial oversight of the CCI; and if he will make a sta…

112. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the exact breakdown of the amount of finance that was allocated to each local development company for 2022 and 2023 regarding the community car initiative for Ukrainians; if information will be provided in relation to an FOI (details supplied); his views on the LDC’s response that they are not subject to FOI’s given that they are in…

678. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total number of individuals, families, and children currently in emergency accommodation, disaggregated by county and by duration of stay with a breakdown of under 3 months, 3 to 12 months and over 12 months. [23331/25]

679. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of children who have been in emergency accommodation for more than six months in each of the past three years. [23332/25]

680. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the impact of child homelessness on education access and well-being, and what cross-departmental supports are in place between the Department of Housing and Children’s portfolios. [23333/25]

681. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of people considered “hidden homeless” (for example in temporary, insecure or unsuitable living situations but not counted in official statistics); and whether the Department accepts that the true scale of homelessness is significantly under-reported. [23334/25]