Questions

553. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the guidelines applied by Tailte Éireann when determining the rateable valuation of equestrian centres and riding schools, including the treatment of indoor arenas, outdoor arenas, stables, yards, ancillary buildings and car parking areas; whether these components are valued separately or as part of an overall valuation; the way in…

554. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has considered amending the definition of farm buildings in section 3 of the Valuation Act 2001, or Schedule 4 to that Act, to include buildings used for genuine equestrian instruction, riding schools, disability services, horse welfare and associated equestrian activities; whether the exclusion relating to t…

555. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has estimated the potential annual cost to local authorities of exempting qualifying equestrian centres and riding schools from commercial rates, or applying a reduced rate to such premises; whether alternative models, including a partial exemption limited to areas used for equestrian instruction and particip…

556. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of house completions in each of the years from 2022 to date; and the estimated number for 2026 in County Laois. [73481/26]

557. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the preparations and timeline for the statutory review of the operation and effectiveness of the Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2024, as required under section 7 of the Act; and the status of consultations with the Mayor of Limerick, Limerick City and County Council, and the …

558. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of premature deaths of people experiencing homelessness recorded in each year from 2020 to 2025, either by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive or across all homeless regions; and the steps that have been taken on each of the ten recommendations of the interim report on mortality in single homeless population 2020. [7347…

559. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether he will establish a formal review of the commercial rates treatment of equestrian centres and riding schools, in consultation with Tailte Éireann, local authorities, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and representative bodies in the equestrian sector; the terms of reference and proposed timeline for any su…

560. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the criteria under which premises used for community sport may qualify for an exemption from commercial rates under Schedule 4 to the Valuation Act 2001; whether riding schools or equestrian centres providing community-based, youth or disability sport can qualify under the existing provisions; the reasons any such facilities may be…

562. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to outline the policy, legislative framework and standard operating procedures for social housing applicants granted medical priority by one local authority who apply to transfer to another where they reside; whether medical priority points, band placings and accumulated waiting time transfer intact between authorities or if app…

563. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether provisions or standard operating protocols exist to enable social housing applicants granted medical priority status by one local authority to transfer or retain that priority when applying to another local authority where they currently reside. [73408/26]

564. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if an applicant who qualifies for medical priority in one administrative area must undergo an entirely new medical assessment and appeal process under the receiving authority's scheme. [73407/26]

565. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the actions his Department intends to undertake in relation to the findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General review into the operation of the cessation of turf cutting compensation scheme. [73406/26]

566. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the steps his Department is taking to standardise medical priority assessments nationally to prevent administrative delays and disruption in care for vulnerable households and children with medical conditions who relocate across local authority borders. [73405/26]

567. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total amount of money spent on salaries and allowances of agents who were employed to increase the number of people signed up to the cessation of turf cutting compensation scheme as referenced in the Comptroller and Auditor General's review of the scheme; to provide a breakdown of the number of these agents employed for each of…

568. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on whether the current housing legislation is sufficiently prescriptive in terms of directing local authorities to the criteria which they must consider when allocating available council housing. [73417/26]

569. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if it is the case that repeat assessments of houses included in the defective concrete block scheme in County Meath are required, despite already being conducted (details supplied); and if he will review this approach in the interest of time and cost. [73563/26]

570. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of approved applications for the vacant property refurbishment grant scheme that have subsequently been withdrawn or cancelled or have not proceeded to claim (details supplied); the average and median time between grant approval and grant payment; the principal reasons approved applications do not progress to payme…

572. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the criteria local authorities use when determining whether a residential property is derelict; and if written national guidance exists to ensure consistency of assessment between local authorities. [73591/26]

573. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has assessed the feasibility of using anonymised or aggregated utility consumption data, including electricity, gas and water usage, to improve the identification of vacant residential properties; and if such an assessment has been undertaken. [73590/26]

574. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the planned and/or allocated expenditure on infrastructure intended to facilitate housing delivery for each of the years 2026 to 2030, broken down between rural areas and villages, towns and cities; and, where expenditure cannot be categorised in this manner, the way in which the geographic distribution of housing-enabling infrastr…

575. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount of European Union and European investment bank financing which is planned, targeted or anticipated to support housing and housing-related infrastructure in Ireland for each year from 2026 to 2030, broken down by region where available, in tabular form; and the measures being taken to maximise the use of such financing un…

576. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether national housing targets for 2026 to 2030 include targets for the delivery of starter homes; if so, to provide those targets by year and by local authority or county, broken down between rural areas and villages, towns and cities, in tabular form. [73636/26]

577. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the measures contained in the European Affordable Housing Plan have been incorporated into the review or amendment of regional and local planning and housing strategies; and, if so, to identify the relevant measures and implementation timelines. [73654/26]

578. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the National Parks and Wildlife Service has undertaken an ecological assessment of the damage caused by the July and August 2026 wildfires on Slievenamon, including Slievenamon Bog NHA (Site Code 002388); the findings of any such assessment; and whether Slievenamon has been identified for consideration under Ireland's Nat…

579. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has undertaken work or plans to introduce requirements for estate agents and property websites to clearly label AI-generated or digitally altered images in residential property advertisements. [73687/26]