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saying is wrong and that the figures they are going on are totally and absolutely wrong. I will bring that report to the House as soon as it is put into my hands. I do welcome, after many false dawns, that Shannon LNG will get the green light … energy that is created by wind turbines, we need an alternative in the meantime. People are under savage pressure. Members of this House cannot say, on the one hand, that the cost of living has gone up and, on the other, ask what the Government or anyone else

been said by others, but I am also struck by the pace at which this legislation has progressed and is progressing through the House to a point where it will reach completion this evening. It is fair to say that for the first 18 months of the lifetime … this Government, we have seen very little by way of legislation come through the House. Suddenly, however, we are under dramatic pressure to get this legislation through without any sort of real scrutiny. Providing such scrutiny is why we are all here. That begs the question

from the minute the north runway opened, there was an unmitigated disaster and a level of incompetence that I just find incredible, where houses were noise-insulated on the basis that planes would be flying over their homes, only to realise that the houses that were insulated were … flight path while the houses that were not insulated were on a flight path. That incredible, farcical, ridiculous situation continues. There are really good people who are committed to the aviation sector who want to see Dublin Airport grow sustainably, who are employed in the aviation sector

right that at one stage, there was a proposal that that Bill would be included in the Bill now before these House, and a decision was taken to split those Bills? Is it the Minister of State's position now that, when that Bill is brought before these … Houses, it may also include amendments to this Bill, based on what was said in the pre-legislative scrutiny? I see lots of nodding going on, which encourages me. In fairness to Deputy Ó Cearúil, he highlighted the deadline for establishing the AI office, which

Deputy Kerrane for bringing this important motion forward. For my generation and for young parents like me, or youngish parents anyway, childcare and housing are the crucial issues. Childcare and housing are both issues of accessibility and affordability. Both are also issues that have been left … private sector for far too long and, in both cases, there is an urgent need for strong, direct State intervention. In this House last week, I raised issues with the Tánaiste regarding a local childcare provider in Knocklyon. Recently there has been a large number of last-minute

believe we should separate the limit on the house from any other inheritance. The €40,000 cap in the case of a niece, nephew, brother or sister is absolutely ridiculous and discriminatory. In the upcoming budget, I propose that the Minister increase … separate the house from the inheritance. The bands are less today than they were 15 or 16 years ago, as they were reduced during the recession. If the value of the house and any other assets is over €600,000, a son or daughter is liable

Nobody is ignoring it. We are putting record funding into solving the housing crisis. Almost one third of all the capital being spent by the State is going to be spent on solving the housing crisis. It is reflected in the decisions we are making. We are treating … pretending he has a monopoly on compassion, the Deputy should focus on policy solutions. It would serve everybody better to solve the housing crisis

thank the Deputy for the question. The Government's housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, aims to ensure that the activities and resources used to address vacancy and dereliction are co-ordinated and effective, and that legislative powers are used proactively to tackle dereliction and vacancy. The derelict … owners to bring these properties back into use. This includes using their compulsory purchase powers under the Derelict Sites Act 1990 and the Housing Act 1966 when engagement with the owners of these properties is not successful. All 31 local authorities have full-time vacant homes officers

Laois, as the Minister knows, substantial extra lands have been zoned in the last two weeks for an increase of over 8,000 houses, which will bring an increase of approximately 25% in the population in four or five years. They cannot all be in Portlaoise. I understand … support it to solve the housing crisis, that we need to strengthen villages and smaller towns to provide an option for people to live in a village structure where they are close to pubs, shops, community centres and schools. This means upgrading the water system. Uisce Éireann earmarked

What measures is the Minister taking to address rent increases in Kerry? We recently saw a three-bedroom house in the town of Tralee with an asking price of €2,400 per month. In the public sector, increased rents are being asked for by local authorities. However, because … services have been stripped from the local municipal district, in houses 11 to 16 in Mountain View in Balloonagh Estate in Tralee, sewage is backing up and coming into the houses and the local authority does not even have a jetting machine to allow it to address

thank the Deputy. We are making significant funding available to increase the numbers of social and affordable housing. I encourage the Kerry local authority to maximise the use of the available funding to deliver social homes and affordable purchase homes across County Kerry. The Department will … private homes. We must also ensure that more social homes are built. As I say, that moves people who are availing of the housing assistance payment, HAP, for example, into social homes and frees up properties in the private rental market. That will help to address availability

raise with the Minister the financial contribution scheme whereby local authorities acquire houses from over-60s at market value. In return, one third of the net proceeds of sale are given to the local authority and the senior citizens get a local authority unit and pay a differential … rate on same. There are significant benefits for the economy and the overall housing situation. Those getting older who have empty nests get to offload significant responsibility and the cost of maintaining a house that has outgrown their needs. They usually move into a local authority senior citizens

increasing every month and, therefore, the need for additional accommodation needs to be highlighted. We need to try to fast-track that housing. Cork City Council and Cork County Council are working hard with people making applications for housing and on developing and completing housing units

money to local authorities. I would say respectfully that all of them need to start showing creativity with regard to the type of housing they are delivering, including homes for people with disabilities and homes for older people. Social housing is used as a kind of umbrella term … need to start looking at the types of social housing that are required and that mixed tenure. I would be happy to meet Cork City Council about that at any time

distress for survivors of sexual abuse and their families. It is a difficult and concerning aspect of this awful legacy. I assure the House the Government and I share the dissatisfaction expressed by the Deputy about this issue and I also wish to inform the House this Government … public. The report of the Law Reform Commission will be important to the development of the law in this area. To give the House a sense of how complex the issues regarding unincorporated bodies are, my Department understands that the Law Reform Commission’s report will

learned from Chris Brough, the head of Petrolab, an expert who is testing these concrete blocks, that he estimates the number of houses that will be affected is going to be over 20,000. I believe that is a very conservative estimate. The cost to the Exchequer will … moved on from that now.” To be very clear, it is just the beginning of the realisation of the scale. There are housing estates in Donegal near my home area where only 10% or 15% of the whole estate is being rebuilt. All of those houses will have

that huge credit is due to people like Professor Paul Dunlop and his colleagues at Ulster University, as well as Members of this House, including members of my own party such as Deputy Mac Lochlainn and others who have led the charge along with Deputy Ó Broin … relation to this area here. The reality is that the Government has got this wrong. For many years, we have stood in this House and in committees and told the Government it is analysing the wrong problem and that, as a result, it is coming up with

rúin atá os ár gcomhair faoi láthair. Communities have been battling for years in relation to the very basic premise that the house they have paid for should be of a standard that they can live in and that can stand. Communities have been battling for years … defence of the basic premise that the house they paid for should be of a standard they can live in and that can stand. Aontú has been solidly behind the campaign over the past decade. I have visited many homes in Donegal with Mary T. Sweeney and witnessed

their homes are falling asunder like they are. The faster this is remedied, the better. I welcome the people from Donegal to the House. I know they have plenty of other things to do. It is a priority for them to ensure that the people with defective homes … steel bars to build them up again. They will go off in a couple of days and people can start afresh. A house has to have good foundations when starting out. There is no point in taking chances and saving that amount of money. There is more time

still in people's homes. It is still at the kitchen table, and it is still in their lives. I ask the House one question. Who is carrying the uncertainty? It is not being carried in here. It has been carried elsewhere by the families, by the children … wrong or the children growing up underneath the shadow of the defective concrete. When the bell rings for the vote this evening, this House will decide something very simple: where the burden sits. That decision does not end with this vote; it begins there. I stand with

healthcare provision. It is vital that we discuss Pride and highlight the culture war on the trans community. Many colleagues in this House, in government and in opposition, are allies who stand up to the hate levelled at trans people and I thank them for their advocacy … families cannot get both parents legally recognised on their child's birth certificate from birth. I put it to the Government and the House that we passed marriage equality and changed the law. That work does not end there and I believe we have the numbers in this

would have moved beyond such absolutely craven nonsense but the reality is that it is still happening. We had a Bill in these Houses that aimed to advance the prohibition of incitement to hatred and incitement to violence. That has fallen by the wayside. It shows a certain … political cowardice on the part of these Houses that we cannot address this issue, which we know exists, and put in place measures that protect not just LGBT people but anybody from a set of vulnerable groups listed in the legislation. The fact that we cannot do that

There was the joyous occasion of the marriage equality referendum in 2015. Now, we have a cross-party equality caucus here in Leinster House. I pay tribute to the leadership of the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, in that regard. In many ways, it is now unremarkable that … have so many Members of these Houses who identify as LGBT or as allies and no one really passes many remarks on it. I also see this in my local community, in the likes of The Vault youth centre in Arklow, the Gorey Youth Needs group and FDYS

move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am very pleased to bring this Bill before the House today. The purpose of the Bill is to give full effect in Ireland to EU Regulation 2024/1689 of the European Parliament and Council … concerned specifically with matters relating to board governance, with provisions on board establishment and membership, appointment process, terms of appointment, membership of either House of the Oireachtas, remuneration, conflict of interest and others. Sections 24 to 33, inclusive, relate to the chief executive officer role and provide

create space and time to identify key improvements for this Bill. That is extremely difficult to do when legislation is rushed through these Houses in the manner we are seeing right now. Governance and independence of the AI office is something I have commented … guidance on the regulation of artificial intelligence that is not permitted to comment on Government policy when asked by Members of these Houses at Oireachtas committees. These are very basic and straightforward infringements on the potential independence of the AI office under this Bill. We have a myriad

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when a revised estimate for Vote 34 Sub Head A Housing will be brought to the Oireachtas; to outline the programme level changes within this subhead to those outlined in the revised estimates for Public

Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the breakdown of the €265,000,000 approved for housing acquisitions in 2025; the amount approved for 2023 and 2024 in Laois; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17038/25

Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to increase the threshold to allow qualification for social housing in various local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17040/25

Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the Government intends to increase funding for the Energy Efficiency Retrofitting Programme for local authority housing in 2025 in light of inflation and rising construction costs, to ensure that retrofit targets can be met without

Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in light of the ESRI report "Exploring Investment Requirements for Energy Efficiency Upgrades in the Private Rental Sector", which underscores the scale of investment needed and the challenges specific to the rental sector, when the Government … intends to implement the minimum BER standard for private rental properties as committed to in Housing for All, with a target start date of 2025; and what steps are being taken to ensure the timeline is met in a way that protects tenants, supports retrofitting with tenants

Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in light of the ESRI estimate that €7-8 billion will be required to bring private rental housing up to a B2 energy rating, how the Government intends on meeting this investment need, and whether

Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Housing the number of applications received from Donegal County Council each year since the tenant-in-situ scheme was introduced; the number approved, and number awaiting approval; and if he will make a statement

Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage why the tenant-in-situ scheme no longer provides funding for refurbishment of houses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17341/25

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the capital allocations for social housing acquisitions for 2025 for each local authority, in tabular form. [17528/25

Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the numbers approved for social housing supports in each local authority, broken down by number of bedrooms approved, in tabular form. [16396/25

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a breakdown of the €325 million capital funding for social housing acquisitions announced by the Minister on 31 March, by local authority area, in tabular form; and to confirm that this funding

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an updated estimate for sub heads A4, A7, A11, A236 and A31 following the announcement of an additional €436 million in capital funding for social and affordable housing announced on 31 March

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for a copy of the circular on social housing acquisitions issued to local authorities alongside the capital allocations for acquisitions announced on 31 March 2025. [16423/25

Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the funding allocated for social housing acquisitions to each local authority in each year 2020 to 2024 inclusive; and the amount of the allocation spent in each year and the amount unspent/carried over to the following

Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 476 of 25 March 2025, the current status of the acquisition delivery team to ensure each local authority meets its tenant-in-situ purchase targets; the work the team undertook … meet these targets in 2023 and 2024; the guidelines issued to local authorities and the Housing Agency in respect of the scheme’s operation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15967/25

Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will indicate how he considers it just that a local authority tenant may have the opportunity to purchase their home whereas the tenant of an approved housing body (AHB) under the current system

Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will indicate the total amount of State funding provided to approved housing bodies in Q1 of 2023, 2024, and to date in 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement

Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in relation to the current situation with the section 179A planning exemption that replaced the part 8 process for social housing approvals, if this planning process for local authorities has been or will be extended

Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if plans are in place to review the current tenant purchase scheme and reduce the period of time tenants are required to be in receipt of social housing support to be considered eligible under

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the capital allocations for social housing acquisitions for 2025, in tabular form. [15139/25

Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide data on the total amount spent on the housing assistance payment in each of the past five years, in tabular form. [15235/25

Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide data on the total amount spent on housing assistance payment in each of the past five years, by year and the local authority where the recipients are situated, in tabular form. [15236/25

Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide data on the total amount spent on subventions to approved housing bodies, including funding under the capital assistance scheme and capital advance leasing facility, in each of the past five years, in tabular form

Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide data on the total amount spent on social housing delivery in each of the past five years, by year and category, including spending on new builds, acquisitions, refurbishments and leasing schemes, in tabular form

Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide data on the total amount spent on the Land Development Agency, including operational costs, land acquisition and housing development, in each of the past five years, in tabular form. [15239/25