Parliamentary questions

517. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the details of the above-the-shop expansion to the vacant property refurbishment grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70162/25]

518. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when he plans to release new draft wind energy guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70190/25]

519. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to a number of instances across County Donegal in which landowners have come into conflict with their neighbouring landowners arising from discrepancies between their original folio Land Registry maps and the maps that have emerged from the digitisation of the mapping sys…

520. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the average time over the past six years it has taken to produce a stamped final bill in his Department from the time when his Department has received government approval for the general scheme and the heads of a bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70276/25]

521. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide a schedule of all funding and grant aid provided by heading and subhead to Kildare, Wicklow and Meath local authorities in 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025; the amount returned and or not expended over the same period. [70312/25]

522. Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 334 of 2 December 2025, whether the information sought in the question is not a matter of policy and resources for him to address; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70348/25]

309. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider a waiver on commercial rates, or a portion of commercial rates or taxes, for the owners of commercial properties with defective concrete blocks who have no government scheme available to them to remediate their properties and have to constantly spend money on necessary maintenance. […

310. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department is aware of correspondence received by the National Parks and Wildlife Service from Mid and East Antrim Borough Council dated 1July 2025 in relation to the spreading of agricultural litter and manure on designated sites in the Republic of Ireland; and if the National Parks and Wildlife Service …

311. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether transport projects can lawfully proceed in an area where the planning authority has been found by the High Court to be in non-compliance with its mandatory duty to prepare a Local Area Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68544/25]

312. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the Office of the Planning Regulator received formal notifications about Local Area Plan non-compliance in a local authority (details supplied); the actions that followed from those notifications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68545/25]

313. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the commitments given to water services workers in June 2023, allowing them to remain in direct local authority employment until at least the end of 2026, preclude any requirement for those staff to undertake Uisce Éireann-led training or to engage with Uisce Éireann operational systems. [68571/25]

314. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to the fact that some local authorities have directed non-transferred water services staff to attend Uisce Éireann safety management system training; if he considers this compatible with Government commitments to those workers; and if he will intervene to ensure that any su…

315. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the safeguards in place to ensure that local authority water workers who chose not to transfer to Uisce Éireann cannot be subject to indirect or functional transfer through training requirements, system dependencies or other measures introduced without agreement. [68573/25]

316. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to publish a comparative league table of local authorities’ performance with regard to housing delivery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68584/25]

317. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of planners currently employed by each local authority; the number of posts that are currently vacant; the measures which are in place to attract more planners to local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68585/25]

318. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the discretion local authorities will have to develop policies under the Short Term Letting and Tourism Bill 2025; when local authorities will be expected to publish these policies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68613/25]

319. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if an application has been received for a homeless day centre in Cork city. [68625/25]

320. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will review the eligibility criteria under the Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme (MARWP) 2024–2026 to allow communities with fewer than 25 houses, such as Glensaul, Tourmakeady, County Mayo, to access funding for community water connections; and if he will consider the urgent health and safety concerns fo…

321. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to outline the full eligibility criteria for each measure under the Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme (MARWP) 2024–2026, with particular reference to the minimum number of houses required for new community water connections; and whether any exceptions apply in cases of public health risk. [68627/25]

322. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on the current stage of the Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme 2024–2026; the number of projects approved; the total funding allocated to date; and the measures still under consideration. [68628/25]

323. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if new applications for funding under the Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme are currently being accepted; if not, when the next application window will open; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68629/25]

324. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the framework for the next Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme beyond 2026 will be published; and if he will ensure that the new programme addresses the needs of smaller rural communities that do not meet the current eligibility threshold. [68630/25]

325. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will introduce an exceptional case mechanism within the MARWP to allow funding for communities with fewer than 25 houses where there is a significant health and safety risk and proximity to an existing Uisce Éireann network. [68631/25]

326. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to publish a breakdown of funding allocations under the MARWP 2024–2026, by county and measure; and to confirm whether any unallocated funds remain available for urgent cases. [68632/25]

327. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the alternative supports or emergency measures that are available for rural households that cannot access MARWP funding due to the 25-house minimum requirement. [68633/25]