Parliamentary questions

161. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if consideration will be given to introduce a temporary price stabilisation condition for developments participating in either the help-to-buy or first home scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31325/26]

162. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has prepared a business case for the purchase of 1,500 acres of land at Aghavannagh Mountain in Wicklow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31326/26]

163. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the position regarding the mechanisms in place to support agencies under his remit with the increased costs of employing staff; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31364/26]

164. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the position regarding the mechanisms in place to support agencies under his remit to manage the increase in the minimum wages in recent years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31382/26]

165. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the position regarding the mechanisms in place to support agencies under his remit to manage increasing operating costs including insurance, energy and fuel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31400/26]

678. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when Part IV of the Planning and Development Act 2024 will be fully commenced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29567/26]

679. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the Dowth Hall Demesne and National Park will be open to the public; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29571/26]

680. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the instruction to the NPWS to consider a suite of options for the control of cherry laurel; when he expects the NPWS to report back with a determination of the most appropriate measures; whether a public consultation will be held on the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29…

681. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the current status of the fire services Bill; will this Bill move to the next stages. [29688/26]

682. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department is engaging with local authorities with a view to giving rates relief to childcare facilities given these facilitates are now being required to pay commercial rates even though they are providing an essential service to the community, and as a result of this additional cost many of them will not …

683. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to confirm if he has received an application for the interim remediation scheme by an owners' management company of apartments and duplexes (details supplied); if so, the works that are planned and/or the works that have been carried out to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29754/26]

684. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the new Shannon bye laws will require commercial operators to get a licence to operate a commercial activity on the waterway; and if there will be a fee to obtain this licence. [29762/26]

685. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if Waterways Ireland will review the waiting list for the Grand Canal Dock; and the number of persons that currently have a boat on the waterway and who applied to be on the waiting list in the past five years.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29763/26]

686. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if Waterways Ireland will provide a break down on the amount spent on an annual basis for the past five years with PR and communication companies in preparing for appearing at Joint Oireachtas Committees. [29764/26]

687. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the rationale for linking rent increases in the first two years to CPI for new build, purpose-built student accommodation, with no 2% cap where the development commenced after 10 June 2025, as outlined in the National Student Accommodation Strategy 2026–2035; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2…

688. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the financial support, assistance or grant aid that can be accessed via his Department or at local authority level funded by his Department, that persons can access in order to assist with discoveries of items and or remains of cultural and historic significance (details supplied). [29982/26]

689. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if consideration has been given to expanding the first home scheme and help-to-buy scheme to cover second hand homes for first time buyers given the cost of new homes in this housing crisis. [30086/26]

690. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the proposed rural housing guidelines; whether consideration is being given to allowing non-farming families to apply for permission for an additional dwelling on their family land, by reasons of close family ties to an area, increasing the current provision from one to two houses; and if h…

691. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is aware that a plot of land adjacent to and including a part of a rare alluvial woodland in Rathcoole, County Dublin is being considered for a new housing development; his views that this important woodland ecosystem would be better left undisturbed for the sake of recreational use by local residents and t…

692. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether an assessment has been carried out at national level of the impact of invasive plant species, including those affecting dune and coastal systems, on erosion and coastal protection; whether Dublin Bay and areas such as Dollymount Strand and Bull Island have been included in any such assessment; and if h…

693. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures currently in place to monitor, control and manage invasive species in coastal and dune habitats in Dublin Bay, including areas such as Dollymount Strand and Bull Island; the agencies responsible for carrying out this work, including the role of the National Parks and Wildlife Service and local aut…

694. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the level of funding allocated in 2024, 2025 and 2026 for the management and control of invasive species in coastal areas, including Dublin Bay, by year and programme, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30152/26]

695. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the national policies, strategies or programmes in place to address the spread of invasive species in coastal and dune environments; the way these are coordinated with coastal protection and climate adaptation measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30153/26]

696. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of families in emergency accommodation for more than 12 months who have exited emergency accommodation since September 2025, by local authority, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30180/26]

697. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether management companies hold responsibility for drainage; where these responsibilities lie; and the relevant section of the relevant Act. [30232/26]