Questions

433. Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has reviewed the current criteria around the T-test (subsurface percolation test), which assesses subsoil permeability for an on-site wastewater treatment system (e.g., a septic tank or treatment plant) as part of the on-going review around rural planning guidelines (details supplied). [50901/26]

434. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to allow for the replacement of old or defective double-glazed windows under the housing grant scheme, with new double-glazed windows, especially if they are not fit for purpose, drafty, rusty or leaking; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50907/26]

435. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider publishing a partial SAC management plan to cover salmon restoration actions for this environmental emergency given the Boyne salmon stocks only achieving 10 percent of its conservation limit, a qualifying interest for the Boyne /Kells Blackwater SAC; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50922/26]

436. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 620 of 27 January 2026 and 200 of 18 February 2026, the circumstances or criteria that apply in order for an SAC management plan to be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50923/26]

437. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of WTE biodiversity data specialists employed by National Parks and Wildlife Service as of 29 June 2026, in tabular form. [50945/26]

438. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide the date on which the vacant above the shop grant scheme became operational; the date on which applications first opened; the date on which the first application was received; the date on which the first application was approved; and the date on which the first grant payment was made, in tabular form and by local …

439. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide the number of applications received under the vacant above the shop grant scheme; the number approved; the number refused; the number deemed invalid or withdrawn; the number currently awaiting decision; the number of applications awaiting decision for less than one month, one to three months, three to six months a…

440. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide the amount of funding allocated under the vacant above the shop grant scheme in 2026; the amount committed; the amount drawn down or paid to date; the remaining balance available; and whether funding is allocated in advance to local authorities or drawn down on foot of approved applications, and by local authority…

441. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total Exchequer funding provided for the vacant above the shop grant scheme in 2026; the total amount committed and paid to date; whether the scheme is a new standalone scheme or a continuation or expansion of an existing scheme; and the annual Exchequer funding provided for a predecessor scheme in each year from 2021 to…

442. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether every local authority is fully operational in administering the vacant above the shop grant scheme; if not, to identify the local authorities that are not yet fully operational; the reasons therefor, whether a local authority has reported staffing, administrative or operational difficulties to his Department; and the…

443. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide the average processing time for applications under the vacant above the shop grant scheme; the number and value of grant payments made to date; the estimated number of residential units expected to be delivered through approved applications, by local authority, in tabular form. [50967/26]

444. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to examine the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51006/26]

445. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the current status of the proposed transfer of responsibility for the regulation of owners' management companies and apartment management from the Department of Justice Home Affairs and Migration to his Department; the actions taken to-date to progress this transfer; the expected timeline for its completion; and if he will make a…

446. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the regulations relating to service charges and sinking funds for owners' management companies, provided for under the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011, remain under consideration; when it is expected that these regulations will be introduced; whether additional resources are planned for the Housing Agency to support its …

447. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the supports that are available from the Government and State agencies for old age pensioners in vulnerable positions whose mortgages and properties were bought by private equity funds and are now being evicted by such funds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51077/26]

448. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide details of projects approved from the €650 million allocated to his Department to support improvements in water quality as part of the €3.15 billion of the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund (ICNF); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51106/26]

449. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his attention has been drawn to concerns that local authority planning policies relating to residential driveways and the protection of mature trees may, in some cases, create unintended barriers to the installation of domestic electric vehicle charging infrastructure; whether consideration has been given to issuing national p…

450. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if, as part of the new national planning statement, he will review or amend the provisions of the national roads guidelines that restrict one-off housing on national secondary roads such as the N56; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51135/26]

451. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will direct his Department to publish the 2017 review into Donegal County Council planning matters by a person (details supplied) with all personal identifying data completely redacted; if not, the specific legal provision that prevents an anonymised version from being made public; and if he will make a statement on the matt…

452. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the exact date his Department last sought legal advice from the Attorney General regarding the release of a report (details supplied); the specific conditions or legal benchmarks that must be met before this document can be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51181/26]

453. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has exercised his Ministerial discretion to weigh the public interest in transparency against the privacy rights of individuals named in a report (details supplied); his Department's definitive timeline for resolving this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51182/26]

454. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is aware of the proposed rent increases for residents of a facility (details supplied), whereby monthly rents are proposed to increase from approximately €371 to €571, with some individual tenants facing increases of up to 176%; his views on whether such increases are compatible with the objectives of social housing; and if …

455. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has received any reports regarding governance or financial concerns relating to a facility (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51241/26]

456. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether he will consider introducing additional statutory protections for older persons living in approved housing body accommodation to ensure that tenants on fixed incomes are not subject to excessive rent increases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51242/26]

457. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the oversight his Department exercises over rent-setting policies of approved housing bodies funded under the capital assistance scheme; whether his Department has the power to intervene where proposed rent increases would cause financial hardship to elderly social housing tenants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5…