Parliamentary questions

828. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he accepts that the current operation of the Defective Concrete Blocks Scheme results in unequal treatment between homeowners who remediated defective concrete block damage prior to the scheme and those who did not, despite comparable levels of structural damage, and if not, to outline the basis for this posi…

829. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the consideration given by his Department to recognising documented historic remediation works, including engineering reports and contractor invoices, for the purposes of eligibility or financial support under the Defective Concrete Blocks Scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12879/26]

830. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has examined the potential financial, legal, and compensation exposure to the State arising from the exclusion of homeowners who remediated defective concrete block damage prior to the introduction of the Defective Concrete Blocks Scheme; and if so, to provide details; and if he will make a sta…

831. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has assessed the number of residential properties affected by defective concrete blocks within the area of Fingal County Council; the basis on which that local authority area is currently excluded from the scheme; when a decision will be made on its inclusion; and if he will make a statement on…

832. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if any assessment has been made in relation to the legacy mortgage structures on 2008 purchases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12923/26]

833. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there are relief or restructuring mechanisms available for legacy mortgage structures on 2008 purchases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12924/26]

834. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a list of all State agencies that allocate programme and project funding to section 10 organisations. [13419/26]

835. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide updated figures on the installation of heat pumps in new homes, with a year-by-year breakdown since 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13420/26]

401. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if clarification can be provided regarding the position of owners of short-term lettings who have been involved in short-term lettings for longer than seven years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11286/26]

402. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to review the 20-year claw back for owners who seek to remediate their properties that are not their primary home, under the defective concrete block grant scheme. [11131/26]

403. Deputy Joanna Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the planned new fire station, for Bunclody, County Wexford. [11134/26]

404. Deputy Joanna Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of cases, by each local authority, currently awaiting a decision from Tailte Éireann on rates valuation; and the number which have been with Tailte Éireann for six months or longer. [11135/26]

405. Deputy Joanna Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount which has been paid to each local authority to meet the requirements of the firefighter pay deal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11136/26]

406. Deputy Joanna Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the overheads which must be paid by each local authority, to meet central management costs relating to Uisce Éireann; if all funding is recouped from his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11137/26]

407. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when his Department will provide a directive to local authorities to increase the fresh start mortgage initiative, in line with rising property prices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11153/26]

408. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there is a canteen in his Department headquarters; and if the Minister can provide assurances that all meat sold or provided in that canteen is of Irish origin. [11185/26]

409. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether eligibility for the local authority home loan adequately accounts for demonstrated repayment capacity, particularly in cases where applicants are single-income households due to illness or disability; and if he will outline any plans to revise assessment criteria to ensure that households with susta…

410. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he acknowledges that single-income households are routinely offered lower loan amounts and less favourable terms by commercial lenders, notwithstanding repayment capacity; and whether the local authority home loan scheme is intended to address this market failure; and if he will make a statement on the m…

411. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether he has examined the interaction between disability-related income supports and eligibility for the local authority home loan, in circumstances where the withdrawal of a disability allowance results in a household being treated as single-income and subsequently excluded from affordable credit schemes…

412. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he considers it equitable that a modest disability allowance may be counted as income for means-testing purposes in some contexts, yet the absence of that payment results in households being excluded from affordability supports such as the local authority home loan; if he will review this apparent incons…

413. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the risk assessment underpinning the local authority home loan distinguishes between lack of repayment capacity and changed household circumstances arising from long-term illness or disability; and if not, whether he will commit to refining this distinction; and if he will make a statement on the ma…

414. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to clarify whether the local authority home loan is intended solely for households unable to access credit at all, or whether it is also designed to support households who can access credit only on unsustainable or significantly less favourable terms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11233/26…

415. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has conducted, or plans to conduct, a review of groups disproportionately excluded from the local authority home loan, including households affected by disability or long-term illness; and if so, when this review will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11234/26]

416. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether he acknowledges that households who were compelled to sell their home following the onset of a spouse's disability or long-term illness may be excluded from the fresh start principle and other housing supports through no fault of their own; whether a review of this cohort will be undertaken; and if …

417. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason the Housing Agency did not proceed with the purchase of a property (details supplied) in County Donegal; if the request for the report to be carried out will be made available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11274/26]