Questions

422. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether he accepts that treating income earned by local authority tenants under the tenant rent-a-room scheme as reckonable for the purposes of calculating differential rent significantly reduced participation in the scheme; whether this impact was assessed prior to the scheme’s introduction; and whether he will now introduce a mand…

423. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department carried out any formal impact assessment, cost-benefit analysis or behavioural modelling prior to the roll-out of the tenant rent-a-room scheme for local authority tenants; and, if not, how the Department satisfied itself that the scheme would deliver additional housing supply in practice. [11395/26]

424. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of additional rooms his Department projected would be made available nationally under the tenant rent-a-room scheme at the time of its launch; the number of rooms actually delivered during the first twelve months of operation; and whether the scale of any shortfall has been examined at departmental level [11396/26]

425. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of reported breaches of wildlife protection legislation in each of the past five years involving illegal hunting, coursing, or the use of dogs to kill or injure protected wildlife; the enforcement actions taken by the National Parks and Wildlife Service or other authorised bodies; and whether the Minister has assessed the…

426. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to the scheduled commencement of revised rent control and rental sector reforms on 1 March 2026, whether all necessary statutory instruments required to give effect to those reforms have been finalised; whether any instruments remain in draft; and whether the Department is satisfied that full operational readiness has been a…

274. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department receives regular reports, briefings, or statistical updates from the Residential Tenancies Board in respect of notices of termination or eviction notices issued by private landlords; if so, the frequency of such reports; the format in which they are provided; whether they include quarterly or annual aggregate …

275. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department plans to compile, hold, or publish a centralised official dataset on notices of termination or eviction notices issued in the private rental sector, drawing on data held by the Residential Tenancies Board; if not, the reasons such data is not centrally maintained by his Department despite its policy responsibi…

276. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether he considers the number of notices of termination or eviction notices issued in the private rental sector to be a core housing performance and policy indicator; if so, the way in which this indicator is monitored and assessed by his Department; if not, the reasons for his position; and his views on the role such data plays i…

286. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether any rental accommodation scheme tenant whose tenancy ends through no fault of their own is guaranteed an offer of alternative accommodation or housing support sufficient to prevent homelessness; to set out the specific statutory, policy, or administrative basis for such a guarantee, if it exists; to clarify the criteria by w…

306. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when his Department first issued formal guidance to local authorities on the operation of the tenant rent-a-room scheme for local authority tenants; which local authorities formally confirmed to his Department that the scheme had been implemented; and the steps his Department took to ensure the scheme was operational in every local …

307. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department required local authorities to submit data on the tenant rent-a-room scheme, including applications received, approvals granted, and rooms made available; whether any regular monitoring or reporting framework was put in place by his Department for this scheme; and if not, the reasons no such oversight mechanism…

308. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has carried out any internal review or evaluation of the tenant rent-a-room scheme for local authority tenants since its introduction; whether the significant gap between projected housing supply and actual delivery has been examined; and the policy changes or corrective actions which are now being considered …

309. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department issued any circulars, directives, or follow-up instructions to local authorities where no applications were received or where the tenant rent-a-room scheme was not operational; and the steps that were taken by his Department to address non-implementation by local authorities. [7210/26]

310. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department assessed administrative, insurance, tenancy, or welfare interaction barriers faced by local authority tenants under the tenant rent-a-room scheme prior to its rollout; whether such barriers contributed to the extremely low uptake; and the responsibility his Department accepts for the failure of the scheme to t…

665. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the steps his Department is taking to ensure that RAS tenants who receive an eviction notice are guaranteed access to alternative accommodation or support to prevent homelessness including through the Tenant-in-Situ scheme; and the timeline by which these protections will be implemented. [6349/26]

666. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department (or the Residential Tenancies Board under its remit) maintains and publishes up to date statistics on the number of eviction / termination notices issued by private landlords; if so, for each quarter since 2022, the number of notices which have been issued; his views on the trends in this figure; and if he wil…

424. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the current status of the drafting of the regulations and statutory instruments required to implement the Government’s revised rent control and rental sector reforms due to commence on 1 March 2026; the number of such instruments required; the stage each has reached within his Department; the remaining steps necessary before publica…

425. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has conducted, commissioned, or relied upon any economic, rental supply, or market impact analysis in advance of implementing the revised rent control framework scheduled to commence on 1 March 2026; if so, the nature of that analysis, the bodies involved, whether the findings will be published; and if no such…

517. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department currently collects or holds construction and delivery cost data at individual housing unit level for social housing schemes funded or approved by his Department; if not, when a decision was taken not to collect such data; who authorised that approach; and whether he intends to introduce unit-level cost reporti…

518. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has conducted any internal analysis, review or assessment since 2023 to explain increases in the average cost per social housing unit in Cork city and Cork county; and if so, to detail the factors identified as contributing to those cost increases and the actions taken in response. [73644/25]

519. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the average total development cost per dwelling for affordable purchase homes supported under the local authority affordable purchase scheme in Cork city and Cork county for each year since 2023; and to outline the methodology used by his Department to calculate or verify those costs. [73645/25]

520. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department requires local authorities to submit detailed cost breakdowns for affordable purchase housing schemes funded under national affordable housing programmes; if so, the nature of those cost breakdowns; and if not, the way in which his Department assures value for money in the delivery of affordable purchase homes…

521. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has prepared any projections or forecasts relating to future construction and delivery costs, per social and affordable housing unit under Housing for All or any successor programme; and if so, to outline those projections and the assumptions on which they are based. [73647/25]

522. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department benchmarks the cost of delivering social and affordable housing units in Ireland against comparable EU member states; if so, to detail the most recent benchmarking exercise carried out; and if not, the reasons such benchmarking is not undertaken. [73648/25]

605. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the date on which his Department last received an update from the Building Control Management System on the validation of Modern Methods of Construction data; the expected completion date for this validation; and the internal deadline his Department has set for publishing the first tranche of MMC statistics. [72306/25]