Parliamentary questions

279. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider extending eligibility for the vacant property refurbishment grant to include the conversion of vacant or underutilised retail premises such as "above the shop" units into residential accommodation, given the potential to deliver up to 20,000 additional homes as highlighted in the recent Har…

280. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the timeline for finalising and publishing the revised local authority level social and affordable housing targets for the 2025 to 2030 period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18334/25]

281. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will outline the steps his Department is taking to improve data collection and database construction in anticipation of the increased data processing capacity that artificial intelligence adoption entails; if he will outline the logic behind their approach; and if he will make a statement on the matter.…

282. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will identify any projects which the Department has underway with CeADAR, Ireland’s national centre for AI; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18380/25]

283. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will identify any projects which a body under the aegis of his Department has underway with CeADAR, Ireland’s national centre for AI; if he will send this question to the bodies for direct response; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18398/25]

284. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will specify the specific policy areas where the Department is examining future use of AI; if he will identify what entities the Department is working with, public or private, in relation to this examination; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18415/25]

285. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will identify any AI training offered to people working in the Department; the level of take-up; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18432/25]

286. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will detail how many physical letters the Minister’s offices and the customer service team in the Department received from the public in 2024; whether those letters are digitised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18457/25]

287. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will detail how many emails the Minister’s offices and the customer service mailbox the Department received from the public in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18474/25]

288. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will detail whether any surveys have been carried out to estimate the amount of time taken up with administrative tasks where such time could be used more efficiently; if so, in which areas of the Department has this examination been carried out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18491/25]

144. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if it is necessary to apply for planning permission in circumstances where a wind turbine is dismantled and removed from a wind farm and it is intended to instal a replacement wind turbine at the same location; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17736/25]

145. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the ready-to-build scheme, outlining how many serviced sites are currently available per local authority for purchase, and how many are expected to come on stream in 2025 and 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17656/25]

146. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh den Aire Tithíochta, Rialtais Áitiúil agus Oidhreachta cén líon fóirne ar fud na n-údarás áitiúil a bhfuil an Ghaeilge ar a gcumas acu, agus an bhféadfaidh sé miondealú a thabhairt de réir údarás áitiúil. [17678/25]

147. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the car park at Glenveagh National Park, Donegal was last resurfaced or remarked; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17719/25]

148. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is concerned at the declining number of habitable thatched houses in the State; if he accepts that the cost of thatching together with the difficulty in securing affordable insurance presents particular difficulties for residents in these classic homes; if he further accepts that the level of grant aid…

149. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the action that has been taken to allow for plebiscites to change placenames; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17803/25]

150. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the budgetary provision he is making to enable the unit in the Housing Agency tasked to regulate owners’ management companies (OMCs) commence its work on an administrative basis in the first quarter of 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17810/25]

151. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the grant aid is available to support works on the birthplace of Daniel O'Connell in County Kerry (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17815/25]

152. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the policies in place to reduce dereliction in Dublin city; if he will revise the Derelict Sites Act 1990 and its provisions, including increased CPO powers for appropriate agencies; if he will seek additional resources for local authorities to tackle dereliction in forthcoming budgets; and if he will make a state…

153. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the new revenue-raising measures under consideration for granting local authorities, in particular, for Dublin City Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17867/25]

154. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the new debt-raising measures and financial instruments are under consideration for granting local authorities, in particular, for Dublin City Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17868/25]

155. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the plans for holding an election for a directly elected mayor for Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17869/25]

156. Deputy Noel McCarthy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 557 of 2 February 2025, to provide an update on the scoping process to identify the component factors relevant to the preparation of planning guidelines for solar energy developments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17946/25]

157. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of successful STAR applications; the recipient of each of these awards, the name of the scheme to which each award has been awarded; the number of cost rental units in each of these schemes; and the amount awarded to each scheme, in tabular form. [17965/25]

158. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the target for delivery of cost rental homes by the LDA under Project Tosaigh by 2026 and 2028; the total number of cost rental homes delivered to date under this scheme; the total number in the pipeline; the estimated delivery date for the schemes in the pipeline; if he is concerned that the 2026 target may not…