Parliamentary questions

698. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 84 of 14 January 2026, whether the level of funding allocated to the tenant-in-situ scheme in 2026 will exceed the funding provided in 2025; whether his Department has assessed the duration for which the 2026 allocation is expected to remain operational based on current de…

699. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of staff directly responsible for cybersecurity, as distinct from IT, within his Department; if a threat analyst, vulnerability manager and a cyber infrastructure engineer are employed; if not in-house, if this work is outsourced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9434/26]

700. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the extent to which his Department examines third party supply chain vulnerability when it comes to cybersecurity. [9452/26]

701. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of local authority homes purchased under tenant purchase schemes by local authority area for each year from 2016 to 2025. [9465/26]

702. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the Government funds made available to local authorities in each of the years 2024 and 2025 to support the refurbishment and re-letting of homes; the number of properties remediated under the voids programme in 2015, in tabular form. [9581/26]

703. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the progress being made by the Government taking landmark legal cases against companies who manufactured and sold defective concrete blocks to the construction sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9654/26]

704. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether he has met with stakeholders on the implication of SI 374/2024. [9679/26]

705. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether national housing delivery targets assume electricity infrastructure upgrades that have not yet received planning permission or secured funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9709/26]

706. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether coordination mechanisms exist between housing delivery bodies, local authorities and electricity network operators to align housing commencements with electricity grid capacity delivery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9716/26]

707. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to proceed as a matter of priority with the development of a theatre and public plaza, on the Áras Phádraig site in Killarney town under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9726/26]

708. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether projected housing completions to 2030 assume electricity grid upgrades that have not yet received planning approval or secured funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9743/26]

709. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether regional housing targets have been adjusted to reflect regional electricity grid constraints; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9744/26]

710. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will engage and consult with a group (details supplied) regarding S.I. No. 374/2024 - European Union (Invasive Alien Species) Regulations 2024 on the designation of Fallow and Sika deer as invasive alien species; if he will confirm he will apply the lawful EU derogation as intended for Ireland; if he …

711. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has engaged with the Departments of Enterprise, Justice, and Further & Higher Education on the cumulative housing impact of employment- and study-related migration following the EU–India free trade agreement; whether any estimate has been made of additional housing demand arising from p…

712. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether he accepts that introducing revised engineering qualification requirements in July 2025, while being aware that serving local authority engineers would not meet the new eligibility criteria and without publishing any quantified workforce impact assessment, represents a failure of workforce planning; whet…

713. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to state the terms of reference for the national water conservation working group; and to provide details of their meeting and work schedule for 2026. [9792/26]

714. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if consideration will be given to providing an exemption in the new tenancy framework for the principal private residences of individuals in long-term nursing home care, where the property is rented solely to meet care-related costs, in order to avoid unintended hardship or conflicts with fair deal repayment time…

715. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to review issues raised with this Deputy (details supplied) in relation to housing and provide; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9850/26]

716. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider extending the timeframe for completion of works under the vacant property refurbishment grant, given the current high demand for tradespeople; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9913/26]

717. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider the importance of tourism to County Kerry and Killarney town by introducing a planning exemption for those involved in the short-term lets business for three years or longer; if he will increase the population of the towns that the new strict planning guidelines apply to from 10,000 up to 1…

718. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to address the housing crisis by changing national planning guidelines that prevent applicants who wish to build a family home in rural areas (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9995/26]

719. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to urgently review the proposals in relation to short term lets (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10018/26]

720. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to address matters raised in correspondence (details supplied); the planning concerns with change of use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10104/26]

721. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will outline the cost ceilings provided to each local authority by his Department around the country for the tenant-in-situ scheme, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10116/26]

722. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide details of all active interdepartmental, interagency, and department-agency working groups organised under his remit. [10158/26]