Parliamentary questions

418. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reasons domiciliary care allowance is treated as household income for the purposes of assessing eligibility and contribution levels under the housing assistance payment scheme; whether he acknowledges that this places an additional financial burden on families caring for children with disabilities; if he will…

419. Deputy Johnny Mythen asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of households currently on the social housing waiting list in Kildare south; the number of people who have been removed from the list since 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11300/26]

420. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the homes delivered over the past five years, by local authority; the number of units transferred to local authorities for social and affordable homes under Part V agreements; whether these units were delivered as part of each development or in a separate site; and if he will make a statement on the matt…

421. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount expended by his Department and by each agency for which he is responsible on advertising, promotion, advertising companies and external communications companies or consultants in 2025 and the expected costs for 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11355/26]

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 …

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. …

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 lev…

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 Minis…

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 …

427. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to expedite the introduction of the over-shop grant (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11486/26]

428. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to expedite reform of the National Planning Guidelines for One-Off Housing and give particular attention to areas under significant urban pressure that is, the single biggest contributing factor to local people being refused planning permission; if he will look at back land development, ribbon development and …

429. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of full-time equivalent staff that work for the National Building Control Office and the National Market Surveillance Office, respectively. [11501/26]

430. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to state, with respect to a proposed change to a local authorities section 48 development contribution scheme review (details supplied), whether the Department has issued any instruction, guidance or circular on the charging of development contributions to cost rental and affordable purchase homes to local autho…

431. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to cases whereby people have been removed from local authority housing lists due to receiving a promotion at work and thereby going over the income threshold; if this acts as a disincentive to career progression; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11507/26]

432. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will engage with local authorities to ensure that existing income thresholds and the lack of flexibility therein do not act as a disincentive to career progression for housing applicants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11508/26]

433. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on the fairness of a person losing 13 years in time accrued on a social housing list due to getting a pay increase that pushed them marginally over the income threshold; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11509/26]

434. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the implementation of the commitment in Delivering Homes, Building Communities to remove the blanket ban on pets in apartments; when this measure will be applied to the private rental market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11572/26]

192. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will take into consideration the exceptionally wet weather and extend the burning season by a month, similar to Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10991/26]

193. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of engineers currently employed by local authorities who have become ineligible for promotion or career progression under revised eligibility criteria, despite having previously been eligible to progress under earlier arrangements; whether his Department was consulted in advance of these revised criter…

194. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the Government will review or issue guidance on qualification recognition, and eligibility criteria to ensure consistency, fairness, and the retention of skilled engineers within local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11283/26]

195. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether a six-year tenancy will roll into a possible ten-year lease for the original tenant who did not leave a property in circumstances (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10533/26]

196. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage under the new tenancy legislation from March 2026 the way in which the property owner will then be able to reset the rent every six years, if they have tenants that are on two different rolling contracts; if it will be possible to charge different rents to people in the same property; and if he will make a statem…

197. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has received business cases in respect of funding remedial works (details supplied); if he or his officials have considered reports received to date in respect of the properties impacted; if he is releasing funding to the local authority to carry out the works; and if he will make a statement on the matt…

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 las…

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]