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housing emergency because there are no rental properties available to rent in Kildare South. Many landlords continue to refuse HAP and a number of tenants are afraid to report poor and dire living conditions to their local authorities because if they … there is simply no other place to rent. I am aware that many local authority houses are taking years to return to council stock. I am aware of houses purchased by local authorities that stand idle years after their purchase, many still at the so-called first stage

general taxation system... In other Member States where city taxes and accommodation levies are applied, the levy is collected at local level, by Local Authorities, who oversee the collection and redistribution of funds for projects locally. If such a levy were to be introduced here, the same system … expenditure in Dublin has increased for the last 17 consecutive quarters so it could be weathered. Ultimately, this is about a choice. Should local property taxpayers pay? Should small ratepayers pay or should it be a combination of providers that can contribute to the rejuvenation of our city

local communities and throughout Ireland. Specifically on accommodation, 90% of our current accommodation needs in this regard are commercially provided through contracted service providers in the range of settings we are all familiar with such as hotels, guest houses, self-catering accommodation and former commercial properties. Most … work, and if they are still in an IPAS centre after six months they can work. If people are earning and paying income tax they can make a contribution to the cost of their accommodation. I will bring forward proposals in this area to the Government. Before

deposit they need to buy or build a new home. The scheme provides a refund of income tax and deposit interest retention tax paid in Ireland over the previous four years, subject to the limits outlined in the legislation. Based on the latest available data from 31 March … individuals or couples to buy their own home. In addition to the conditions laid down in the scheme, including that the property be occupied as the sole or main residence of a first-time purchaser, the scheme defines a qualifying residence. The legislation is very specific

Department so we have faster decisions in terms of housing approvals and, of course, the Housing Activation Office working actively with the 31 local authorities in helping to deliver homes. These are critical measures and this plan will build on that. It provides record funding through the revised … significant part of this and there are key measures in it to provide additional incentives. Equally, if actions are not being taken, a property tax will be established through the Revenue, which is also very important. The real test of this plan will be reducing homelessness in this

serious about dereliction and there are communities finding themselves increasingly broken looking at properties where there has been no action taken year in, year out. It is because we have a derelict site tax that is not worth the paper it is written on. In fact … very much fails in practice because the standards are set so high. It needs to meet the city council standards before the local authority can consider purchasing it, thereby excluding the vast majority of people who go in housing distress. Despite the willingness of the owner of that

around this, put shoulders to the wheel and ensure this permission is granted and Uisce Éireann provides the water. They cannot move; the local authority will not give the permission if the volume of water is not increased. I ask the Government to look at that. We thank … tax. There is no enticement in that. The other problem they have is, if they want their house back in a year or two, they are worried they cannot get them back. We have houses all around us that are vacant and here we are putting a tax

finished to avail of an extension. For generations, developers have been happy to accumulate land and sit on it. The residential zoned land tax was the measure that we were told would stop this but it was delayed repeatedly, and not by evidence. If it had been implemented … would not have found ourselves here. Let us be clear. This Bill is being introduced at the behest and for the benefit of property developers. While this Bill allows holders of permissions to apply for an extension in advance of a commencement of the development claiming that

electricity bills coming into his house because it is an old property. He does not have the money to do the property up, despite what is available from the Government in terms of grants. I have spoken to small business owners from Ballincollig to Little Island … planner, the engineer or the local authority. It is the failure of national leadership. It is a failure of plans and a failure to invest in the future and think ahead. Ireland has some of the highest taxes in Europe and the largest budget surplus in the history

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage unilaterally changed apartment standards, and not in a good way. He outlined changes to rent regulation that were introduced earlier this year and made it clear that it was the Government's intention to give massive tax breaks to apartment developers … explaining what were incredibly complex tenure rules that it has led to an acceleration of the exit of single-property landlords from the market. More than 7,000 eviction notices were issued in the first three months of this year, the highest on record

homes scheme, the focus and priority has and will continue to be to assist individual homeowners who find themselves in distress; Non-residential properties can and are dealt with under other funding streams; and further notes that: — in line with the commitment to keep the scheme under review … legislation is being progressed as expeditiously as possible and the Bill is included in the autumn 2025 Government Legislation Programme for Priority Publication; — Local Authorities, working together with the Office for Emergency Planning and the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management have systems in place to assist

remove the very rent caps that are protecting renters to try to incentivise more of this investment? Why is the Minister speaking about tax breaks for institutional investors? Why are we not taking a different approach? I discussed the potential impact of the removal of rent caps … that, in housing policy, the Government and the Department of housing have been suffering from a classic case of regulatory capture by different property and financial interests for a long time. From the Celtic tiger boom, to the crash, to institutional investors, it is a clear case that

excellent for Limerick, it is clear we have become over-reliant on that sector of our economy. The dangers of over-relying on tax incomes from multinationals has been well flagged by me and others, but this and previous Governments have not done enough to encourage balanced development … launched policy documents on the need to establish a State-wide Irish enterprise agency. It would take over responsibility for the current local enterprise offices, make best practice uniform and provide the Government with advice on what retailers and other SMEs want and help them to grow, sustain

Government includes a commitment to work with stakeholders with the objective of lifting the passenger cap at Dublin Airport. This means working with local communities, not just in Dublin but in my county of Meath and the surrounding areas as well. The commitment the Minister for Transport made … much more than that as well. When it comes to investment overall in Dublin city centre, of course, a huge amount of property tax is taken in but a huge amount is also being reinvested, whether through the national programmes or directly by Dublin City Council. Of course

proper line through a footpath to a charging point on the street so they can avail of the domestic tariffs. The local authority in south Dublin appears to be trying to penalise people by forcing them to use commercial rate chargers. That is not the way to encourage … domestic rate, I know it is much cheaper and obviously environmentally better than using petrol or diesel. I welcome the microgeneration electricity income tax relief up to 31 December 2028. I think it could have continued for longer. I make a small comment on the tobacco excise duty

Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The first is to end rent pressure zones without a safety net for renters while the second is to return to the era of Celtic tiger tax breaks for developers. Indeed, just now on the radio, the Minister said that tax breaks must … understand the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, has set his face repeatedly against the introduction of tax breaks for developers. The former Minister for housing, Eoghan Murphy, documented this in his own book where tax breaks were previously ruled out. Both parties are contradicting each other on this

before the House. I assure Deputies that my Department is finalising revised regulations to accompany the 2024 Act and is working closely with local authorities and a range of other key stakeholders to ensure that the system will be ready for full implementation. As already stated, the main … zoned land tax. Amendments to the Housing Finance Agency Act 1981 are also proposed in order to increase the statutory borrowing limit of the Housing Finance Agency from €13.5 billion to €15 billion. The Housing Finance Agency provides low-cost finance to approved housing bodies, local authorities

more than €30,000. The mind boggles. The Government spends €55,000 to keep one family in emergency accommodation when if it gave local authorities an extra €20,000, they could get that family out. According to the National Homelessness Action Committee NHAC, there are 6,206 individuals … answer that question for me? Why will the Government not do it? This Government is choosing to give tax breaks to the wealthy and the vulture funds and to leave ordinary families struggling to put a roof over their head, in emergency accommodation or at risk of homelessness

person's budget is €1,500 per month, there are just two two-bed properties for rent on daft.ie today. The housing crisis has been normalised on the Taoiseach's watch. As a local TD, it is getting harder and harder to support people through this deepening crisis … mercy of the rental market. It has passed laws unleashing a tsunami of eviction notices and its solutions are "shedsits" and tax breaks for developers. When will the Government take radical action to end the housing disaster, stop evictions of renters and refugees, and ramp up the Land

asked a question here. This is serious business for anyone who does not have a home and is trying to find a property to rent. In many instances, they can be hit with a traumatic event that they were never ready for. Since the Residential Tenancies Bill … needed for it to buy the house. This is wrong as Kerry County Council could rent it back to the tenants at local authority rent prices and perhaps later sell it to the tenants when they get on their feet. All of us elected to this Chamber support

roadmap to phase out fossil fuel heating systems. The SEAI has a number of schemes in place to support homeowners to upgrade their properties and move to renewable heating systems, thereby allowing homeowners to choose the best home upgrade option to suit their particular needs. These include … residential and community retrofitting across our Department and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage's schemes was invested in upgrading home energy performance for households at risk of energy poverty across privately owned, local authority and approved housing body homes. The Department continues to build

budget 2025 as an apparent replacement for the Government's refusal to reduce VAT rates. However, the criteria the Department laid down to local authorities for this grant have proven unworkable and unfair and leave many businesses locked out of the scheme. It is ironic that this scheme … criterion. Another issue in cases with which I have engaged are instances where a business pays its rates to the business property owner. That property owner in turn pays rates to the county council, as is correct, but there is no way for the person renting the businesses

taxation measures aimed at stimulating the supply of new apartments, including a reduced VAT rate on new apartments, and an enhanced Corporation Tax deduction for apartment construction costs; and affirms Government efforts to: — continue to bring forward measures that will increase the supply of new homes across … capacity through apprenticeships and modern methods of construction, and bringing vacant and derelict homes back into use through grants and a new derelict property tax. The second pillar, supporting people, recognises that supply alone is not enough. We must ensure that those most impacted by the housing crisis

What type of a mess is that? Likewise, I have heard of cases where it is obvious to everyone that half of a property will need to be rectified down the line. Many homeowners cannot afford to enter the scheme. They cannot afford to pay upfront … scheme available in respect of those homes. That needs to be rectified. There needs to be a scheme. We need to ensure that local authorities can get on with the business of rectifying the problems with those houses. This problem was created as a result of either light

Competitiveness and Productivity Council. He has refused to publish the data that would provide any evidence for such a significant cash transfer and tax relief for one sector over another. He will not publish it because he knows the evidence is thin. All of this was because … political will is simply not there. The Government prefers to transfer taxpayers' money to certain economic sectors rather than focus on alleviating child property. They are the choices the Government will make. When it does that, workers will not benefit. History has shown that this particular battle